Range Fuels, a cellulosic ethanol company,  has announced (7th August) that David Tilman has joined the company’s scientific advisory board.

Regent Professor David Tilman is the McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology at the University of Minnesota. He has over three decades of experience researching and teaching ecology, specializing in biodiversity and ecosystem management. Tilman’s ecological emphasis is centered on exploring how managed and natural ecosystems can sustainably meet human needs for food, energy, and ecosystem services. A focus of his research is on the cause, consequence, and conservation of biological diversity, including using biodiversity as a tool for biofuel production and climate stabilization through carbon sequestration.

“As we get ready to break ground on the United States’ first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol plant, it is more important than ever to bring in experts like David Tilman who can provide valuable knowledge on how to use our resources in a sustainable way for our ecosystem,” said Range Fuels’ CEO, Mitch Mandich. “We look forward to integrating David Tilman into our scientific advisory board as we lead in the production of sustainable and eco-friendly fuel.”

Tilman joins a board of engineers and academics which include Bryan Jenkins, a Distinguished Professor of biological and agricultural engineering at University of California, Davis; David Bransby, a professor in the College of Agriculture in Auburn University; Douglas H. Cortez, formerly an executive of Flour with international experience in major energy project development; Enrique Iglesia, Chancellor’s Professor of chemical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley and a renowned leader in catalysis; and Leo E. Manzer, formerly of DuPont where he directed the company’s catalysis center and now a DuPont fellow.