19th Annual California Bioresources Alliance Symposium Agenda
This year, virtual attendance will not be available. However, we will post a recording of the event afterward. We highly encourage in-person attendance to fully benefit from the collaborative atmosphere and the valuable networking opportunities. Presentation titles will continue to be updated.
DAY 1: Tuesday, November 19th
8:00 – 8:30 am Check-in
8:30 – 8:45 am Welcome
- Lauren Fondahl, Biosolids Coordinator, Water Division, U.S. EPA Region 9
- Jonna Mazet, Vice Provost, UC Davis Grand Challenges
8:45 – 9:15 am Opening Keynote by Krystal Acierto, Deputy Secretary for Public Policy, Cal EPA
9:15 – 10:00 am Session 1: Transformation through Collaboration
- Moderated by Paul Dodd, Associate Vice Chancellor, UC Davis Grand Challenges
- Krystal Acierto, Deputy Secretary for Public Policy Cal EPA
- Karen McDonald, Professor Emerita, UC Davis Chemical Engineering
Transformation Through Collaboration: Opportunities in Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing
- Dan Noble, Executive Director, Association of Compost Producers
Framework of the Bioresources Industry
- Jim DiPasquale, Wood & Biomass Utilization Program Manager, USFS
Wood & Biomass Utilization Program: Why is Wood Utilization Needed?
- Dan Adler, Deputy Director for Climate Finance, IBank
Financing California’s Climate and Sustainability Goals
10:00 – 11:15 am Session 2A: Biorefining
- Moderated by Michael Long, Principal, Long Thermochemical
- Mike Hart, CEO, Sierra Energy; CEO, Sierra Railroad Company
Sierra Railroad Company: California’s Green Hydrogen Solution
- Paul Erickson, Professor, UC Davis Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering
A Reasonable Pathway toward Sustainability
- Greg Shipley, CEO and Founder, Bioenergy Design, LLC
The WRT Testing – Engineering Program
- Brian Bauer, CEO, Resynergi /Roger Ruan, Professor, University of Minnesota Dept. of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; Center for Biorefining
11:15 – 11:30 am Break
11:30 – 12:30 am Session 2B: Biorefining
- Moderated by Steve Kaffka, Emeritus Professor, UC Davis Cooperative Extension
- Eric Mayer, Founder, NapaChar
Biochar in the Vineyard – From Burn Piles to Biochar in Napa & Sonoma
- Rod Kux, Operations Lead, Takachar Limited
Decentralized Biochar Production to Scale Carbon Removal and Rural Climate Justice
- Jeff Greef, CEO, Plumas Wood Fiber
Producing Horticultural Potting Substrate from Forest Biomass
- Ruihong Zhang, Professor, UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Renewable Energy Anaerobic Digester (READ) as Biorefinery Powerhouse
12:30 – 1:30 pm Lunch and Poster Session
1:30 – 2:30 pm Session 3: Alternative Technologies
- Moderated by James Dunbar, General Manager, Lystek International
- Ramin Yazdani, Associate Professional Researcher, Air Quality Research Center, UC Davis
Organic Waste and Biosolids Management: Challenges & Opportunities
- Russel Adams, President/CEO, Advanced Organic Methods Inc.
PyReformer™ Technology for Efficient Production of Hydrogen, Fuel Gases, and Activated Carbon From Woody Biomass
- Valeria La Saponara, Professor, UC Davis Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Harnessing Fungi for Climate Change Mitigation and Contaminant Remediation
- Brian Kolodji, Founder and CEO, Kolodji Corp/Black Swan LLC
Rapidly Scalable to 2 million Tons/Year of CO2 by 2027- Free Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) Makes Profit Capturing Carbon
2:30 – 3:30 pm Session 4: Bioresource Contaminant Management
- Moderator: Maile Lono-Batura, Director of Renewable Resource Program, CASA
- Joseph Yonkoski, Superintendent, Central Heating and Cooling Plant, UC Davis
Contamination in Food Waste at the UC Davis Biodigester
- Lynda Paxton, Principal, Waste Reduction Enterprises, LLC/Phenix Resources
Transforming Waste to Resource: Pioneering a Zero-Waste Future Through Municipal Solid Resource Innovation
- Angel Zhang, Environmental Scientist, CalRecycle/Sandrine Matiasek, Associate Professor, CSU Chico
Straw Wattle and Compost Filter Sock Performance for Retaining Stormwater Contaminants Following the 2018 Camp Fire
3:30 – 3:45 pm Break
3:45 – 4:45 pm Session 5: Community Bioresources
- Moderated by Michael Theroux, Vice President, JDMT Inc.
- Christopher Danch, Executive Director, Ojai Valley Fire Safe Council
Introduction to the Ojai Valley Community Resilience Centers Project
- Knud Balslev, Director, Mercurius Biorefining
Creating Carbon Negative Fuels & Materials from Biomass
- Fernando Mora, Pomo Tribe
Refining California’s Future
- Boon-Ling Yeo, Research Scientist, UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering Forest Resource and Renewable Energy Decision Support System
4:45 – 5:00 pm Wrap Up
5:00 – 5:30 pm Lightning Presentations
5:30 – 7:00 pm Reception
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DAY 2: Wednesday, November 20th
8:00 – 8:45 am Optional Coffee/Tea and Networking
8:45 – 9:00 am Welcome and Announcements
- Lauren Fondahl, Biosolids Coordinator, Water Division, U.S. EPA Region 9
9:00 – 10:15 am Session 6: The Future of Compost
- Moderator: Jeff Ziegenbein, President, CA Association of Compost Producers
- Regina Guerra, Founder and CEO, Be the Earth
Natural Organic Reduction: On Body Composting with Be the Earth
- Patrick Beckett, Vice President of Quality and R & D, BioFiltroVermifiltration: A Nature-Based Water Resource Recovery Technology for Circular Food and Agriculture
- Dan Noble, President, Noble Bioresources, Inc.
Emerging Biofertilizer Production
- Darek Trowbridge, Owner, Old World Winery
Woody Biomass Composting
10:15 – 10:30 am Break
10:30 – 11:45 am Session 7: Research and Regional Innovation Opportunities
- Moderator: Ruihong Zhang, Professor, UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Somayeh Nassiri, Professor, UC Davis Civil and Environmental Engineering
Use of Agricultural and Wood Residues in Concrete: Opportunities and Challenges
- Somen Nandi, Adjunct Faculty in Chemical Engineering, Founder & Managing Director, Global Healthshare Initiative
Perspective and Power of Plant Synthetic Biology: Personal Perspective
- Christopher Simmons, Dept. Chair and Professor, UC Davis Food Science & Technology
Harnassing Residual ç Matter from California Fruit and Nut Processing to Produce Diverse Byproducts
- Sanjai J. Parikh, Associate Professor, UC Davis Dept of Land, Air, and Water Resources
- Gabriel Youtsey, Chief Innovation Officer, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Future Food: Pioneering a Tech-Enabled Regenerative Food System in Forgotten California and Nevada
11:45 – 12:00 pm Wrap-Up Final Discussion and Q&A
- Lauren Fondahl, Biosolids Coordinator, Water Division, U.S. EPA Region 9
- Ruihong Zhang, Professor, UC Davis Biological and Agricultural Engineering
- Paul Dodd, Associate Vice Chancellor, UC Davis Grand Challenges
- Dan Noble, President, Noble Bioresources, Inc.
- Michael Theroux, Vice President, JDMT Inc.
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Optional Additional Activity
12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch for Tour Participants
1:00 Optional Tours –
UC Davis Renewable Energy Anaerobic Digester (READ; UC Davis Campus)
Sierra Northern Railway Zero Emission Hydrogen Fuel Cell Locomotive (West Sacramento)
Lystek’s Fairfield OMRC Site (Fairfield)