Abstract
Co-Editor in Chief
Whether it is building the first semiconductor or sequencing the human genome, visionary leadership has played an essential role in catalyzing innovations. It is not enough just to have a vision. There is a need to roll up one's sleeves and work smart to move the vision forward. Our industrial biotechnology community has been fortunate to have such leaders helping to build agriculturally-based bioindustries. One of those leaders is Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President, Industrial and Environmental Section, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
Brent is leaving BIO after nineteen years of service and leadership. During these years, he has been an important champion and spokesman for our innovation community. Working with a handful of pioneering industrial biotechnology companies, Brent founded BIO's “Industrial and Environment Section,” whose mission is to advocate for the role of industrial biotechnology in expanding the global bioeconomy, inform critical policy making to spur commercialization, and build a network of companies, academicians, government leaders, regional economic development leaders and other stakeholders to translate the vision into reality. This journal was also inspired and catalyzed by Brent, and we have been fortunate to have access to his insights and thoughts through his role as Consulting Editor.
Brent occupied a unique vantage point for observing the doings of our community and pushing it forward. Like any good catalyst, he accelerated our innovation activities, but was never consumed by them. Watching Brent work a World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology (WCIB) meeting was to observe an accomplished networker building essential networks of diverse stakeholders. His ability to communicate what is at stake to policymakers, government leaders, and consumers was an essential part of Brent's mission. A successful leader is also a good mentor, and Brent was a mentor to countless member of our community.
We at IB could not let Brent depart his BIO leadership role without him sharing some final thoughts on battles fought and won in advancing the industrial biotechnology cause. Thus, we offer a farewell piece from Brent in this issue. For some of the more recent members of our community, this piece is historical, while for older members such as myself, it is a chronical of what has been accomplished during the 19 years of Brent's leadership of the Industrial and Environmental Section. The journey over the past 19 years has been very engaging and productive!
Our features in this issue validate my earlier statement that our community has a cadre of leaders helping shape the industrial biotechnology landscape. Whether it is a leaders like Tony Duncan, CEO and Co-founder of Circa Group (Melbourne, Australia) sharing insights into how we extract value from waste biomass, or Lauri Lehtonen, Senior Vice President and Head of innovation at Stora Enso Division Biomaterials (Stockholm Sweden), sharing perspective on how to lead in the renewable material sector, we have a diverse group of leaders catalyzing innovation in our industry.
For much of the past two decades, renewable fuels and chemicals have been a major part of the innovation stories coming out of our community. However, our community has always been more than just fuel and chemicals, and that is also true for BIO's Industrial and Environmental Section. In championing the carbohydrate economy, our community has not only viewed agriculture as the source of essential building blocks for producing fuels and chemicals, we have also viewed agriculture as a sector where biotechnology can be deployed to address some of the sustainable challenges facing the industry. Thus, the Catalyzing Innovation feature by Asaf Tzachor, University of Cambridge, Center for the Study of Existential Risk (Cambridge, UK), on balancing animal feed needs and environmental factors is also who we are. Similarly, Julie K. Holmquist, Cortec Corporation (Saint Paul, MN), and Tonya Decterov, Technical Sales Representative at Bionetix International (Quebec, Canada)—sharing insights in how bioaugmentation, the use of microorganisms to help clean-up oil spills or to improve soil health—also highlight the broader innovation landscape that our community navigates. These leaders are translating visions into reality, not only based on new science and technology, but also on an understanding of markets and policy. This is also illustrated by our interview with Frederick Feddes, Vice President, Corbion Biochemicals (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) and a Commentary by Bob Horton, Research Analyst, NNFCC (York, United Kingdom), entitled “UK Waste Strategy: Bioeconomy Opportunities Aplenty.”
All the exciting technology and commercial opportunities that are presented at the WCIB were built on the exciting basic and applied research coming out of the life science community. IB has also sought to capture this excitement through the publication of peer-review research articles. In this issue of IB, we offer several research articles from researchers working in different corners of the world—Brazil, Iran, and India—but focused on the same goal: the identification and development of novel industrial enzymes and microorganisms The science of what we do was always very present in Brent's efforts to advocate on behalf of our community, and that remains true for the journal.
Brent leaves behind a legacy of advocacy, networking, mentorship, and engagement that will serve our community well into the future. He has been the quintessential leader for championing the cause of industrial biotechnology and in expanding the global bioeconomy. He will be missed by those of us that have shared this innovation and commercialization journey!