OBT associate director edits new journal

As societies around the globe look to reduce their dependence on petroleum-based fuels, plants and other biobased materials are being viewed as the raw materials for fuels, chemicals and other products. But making the change to products made from renewable resources will require new skills, knowledge and research.

"The movement toward a bioeconomy presents great opportunities for forward-thinking institutions to become catalysts for beneficial change and reap the related benefits," said Bruce Dale, MAES chemical engineering and materials science researcher and Office of Biobased Technologies associate director. "But given the breadth of the issues involved -- agronomy, public policy, microbiology and chemical engineering, to name just a few -- and the depth of expertise required along with that breadth, it may be difficult for many institutions to successfully navigate the bioeconomy transition."

To help a wide variety of institutions understand and better manage the bioeconomy transition, a new journal, Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining (BioFPR), has been launched with Dale as editor.

"This is not another technical journal," Dale explained. "Many good technical journals already exist in related fields. BioFPR will provide reviews by recognized experts across the breadth of related issues, perspective pieces and many other services to help move the bioeconomy forward."

BioFPR bills itself as the definitive source of information on sustainable products, fuels and energy. Each issue will present a mix of news, patent intelligence and feature articles, as well as peer-reviewed articles.

The journal is published by the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. BioFPR subscription information and selected free content are available online.