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Wim Soetaert is a chemical and biochemical engineer who heads the Centre of Expertise for Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis (InBio.be) at Ghent University, Faculty of BioScience Engineering. His research group is active in the development of fermentative and biocatalytic production processes.
Soetaert received a PhD in bioengineering from Ghent University. He worked as a research director in Germany and France, for the sugar group Pfeifer & Langen and the wheat processing company Chamtor.
He is the founder and chairman of Flanders Biobased Valley, a public-private partnership to promote the development of biobased activities in the Ghent area. Soetaert is also the director of the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, an open innovation pilot plant for biobased products and processes based in Ghent.
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The economy of Belgium is a modern, capitalist economy that has capitalised on the country's central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Belgium was the first country to undergo an Industrial Revolution on the continent of Europe in the early 19th century. It has since developed an excellent transportation infrastructure of ports, canals, railways, and highways, in order to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours.
Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
Baldwin II was the second margrave of Flanders, ruling from 879 to 918. He was nicknamed the Bald (Calvus) after his maternal grandfather, Emperor Charles the Bald.
Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural biopolymers including polysaccharides and proteins, while others are chemically synthesised from sugar derivatives and lipids from either plants or animals, or biologically generated by fermentation of sugars or lipids. In contrast, common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics are derived from petroleum or natural gas.
VIB is a research institute located in Flanders, Belgium. It was founded by the Flemish government in 1995, and became a full-fledged institute on 1 January 1996. The main objective of VIB is to strengthen the excellence of Flemish life sciences research and to turn the results into new economic growth. VIB spends almost 80% of its budget on research activities, while almost 12% is spent on technology transfer activities and stimulating the creation of new businesses, in addition VIB spends approximately 2% on socio-economic activities. VIB is member of EU-LIFE, an alliance of leading life sciences research centres in Europe.
Marc, Baron Van Montagu is a Belgian molecular biologist. He was full professor and director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the faculty of Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and scientific director of the Genetics Department of the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). Together with Jozef Schell he founded the biotech company Plant Genetic Systems Inc. (Belgium) in 1982, of which he was Scientific Director and member of the board of Directors. Van Montagu was also involved in founding the biotech company CropDesign, of which he was a board member from 1998 to 2004. He is president of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI).
Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), since 2002 part of Bayer CropScience, is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The focus of its activities is the genetic engineering of plants. The company is best known for its work in the development of insect-resistant transgenic plants.
The European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) was established by European scientists in 1978. It is a non-profit federation of national biotechnology associations, learned societies, universities, scientific institutes, biotechnology companies and individual biotechnologists working to promote biotechnology throughout Europe and beyond.
Science and technology in Flanders, being the Flemish Community and more specifically the northern region of Belgium (Europe), is well developed with the presence of several universities and research institutes. These are strongly spread over all Flemish cities, from Kortrijk and Bruges in the Western side, over Ghent as a major university center alongside Antwerp, Brussels and Leuven to Hasselt and Diepenbeek in the Eastern side.
Rudy Dekeyser was until May 2012 the Managing Director of VIB. He was until May 2012 head of the technology transfer team of the institute. He obtained a PhD in molecular biology at the University of Ghent.
Biobased economy, bioeconomy or biotechonomy is economic activity involving the use of biotechnology and biomass in the production of goods, services, or energy. The terms are widely used by regional development agencies, national and international organizations, and biotechnology companies. They are closely linked to the evolution of the biotechnology industry and the capacity to study, understand, and manipulate genetic material that has been possible due to scientific research and technological development. This includes the application of scientific and technological developments to agriculture, health, chemical, and energy industries.
Marc Zabeau is a Belgian scientist and businessman.
The Ghent Bio-Energy Valley is a joint initiative, started in 2005, of Ghent University, the city of Ghent, the Port of Ghent, the Development Agency East Flanders and a number of industrial companies. The initiative aims at the development of biofuels and bio-enzymes. It is an initiative of Professor Wim Soetaert of the university and aiming towards a bio-based economy.
Ann Van Gysel is a Belgian scientist and businesswoman. In 2011 she started Turnstone Communications, offering communications and business development services to biotech and pharma industry. She teaches science communications at the University of Antwerp and University of Ghent and is a director to the board of the Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp.
Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological resources.
Charles Joel Arntzen is a plant molecular biologist. His major contributions are in the field of "plant molecular biology and protein engineering, as well as the utilization of plant biotechnology for enhancement of food quality and value, for expression of pharmacological products in transgenic plants, and for overcoming health and agricultural constraints in the developing world."
The United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) is a Research and Training Institute of the United Nations University (UNU). Based in Bruges, Belgium since 2001, UNU-CRIS specializes in the comparative study of regional integration and the provision of global and regional public goods, including environmental stability, poverty reduction, peace and justice.
Bio Base Europe is an innovation and training center for the bio-based economy. It is a platform that supports the development of bio-based products such as bioplastics, biomaterials, bio-detergents, and bioenergy from renewable biomass resources. Its mission is to stimulate sustainable development and economic growth by facilitating R&D and training for bio-based process development. It consists of a Pilot Plant for the bio-based economy in the port of Ghent (Belgium) and a Training Center for the bio-based economy in Terneuzen (Netherlands).
MBI is a non-profit 501(c)(3) biotechnology research accelerator based in Lansing, Michigan. MBI came into existence in 1982 through a joint collaboration between the State of Michigan and a few different organizations, including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. MBI's original goal, as stated by Russell G. Mawby, Chairman and CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, was to "link university research with applications of biotechnology to expand our forest and agricultural industries, create jobs, and further improve the state's economic situation." The W.K. Kellogg foundation made a 4 year, $10 million grant to carry out this objective.
Amar K. Mohanty is a material scientist and biobased material engineer, academic and author. He is a Professor and Distinguished Research Chair in Sustainable Biomaterials at the Ontario Agriculture College and is the Director of the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre at the University of Guelph.