Date: September 3-4, 2025
Location: Dollywood’s HeartSong Conference Center, Pigeon Forge, TN
The University of Tennessee AgResearch hosted the inaugural Bioderived Materials and Chemicals in Circular Bioeconomy Systems Conference in Pigeon Forge, TN, September 3-4, 2025. This event was designed to promote the potential to advance the Circular Bioeconomy Systems (CBS) concept by diversifying sustainable products derived from the spectrum of renewable carbon sources that are available across the southern region. A central theme was identifying novel strategies to extend the lifetime and value of sustainably produced carbon in the marketplace while exploring workforce development needs and industry engagement approaches.
Topics covered included:
- Cascading Material Systems – Explore the science and engineering gaps that are hindering innovation in bioderived materials and chemicals.
- Circular System Innovations – Identify supply chain efficiencies; biomanufacturing advances.
- Systems Modeling – Identify missing data and explore new data needs for improved assessment of carbon impacts to steer innovative strategies that create new pathways extending lifetime and value.
- Novel Partnerships – Discuss approaches to better address workforce needs to meet industry challenges.
2025 Planning Committee
- Haibo Huang, Virginia Tech
- Sam Jackson, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology
- Niki Labbé, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
- Tim Rials, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
- Joe Sagues, North Carolina State University
- Gary Thompson, agInnovation South
- Gopinath Munisamy, University of Georgia
