Georgia Tech’s Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), Atlanta, Ga., USA, has issued a request for proposals for 2018 fellowship grants under the RBI Endowment. Proposals are due Feb. 15, 2018.  The scope includes specific opportunities in RBI’s strategic thrusts—Biorefining and Biochemicals, Biocomposites and Nanocellulose, and Operational Excellence (which includes pulp and paper process improvement as well as product innovation).

"We expect to award seven or eight fellowships in March of 2018," said Norman Marsolan, RBI's executive director. "Research aligned with the priority needs of the forest products industry is the principal criterion for selecting a proposal. These industry priorities are articulated by the Alliance for Pulp & Paper Technology Innovation (APPTI – formerly, Agenda 2020). 

"Our mission is not only to create a body of knowledge to support the industry, but to prepare leaders to advance the industry," Marsolan continued. "Over the years, more than 1,500 endowment-supported fellows have been provided to forest bioproducts and other companies, academia, and national laboratories."

Funding pursuant to these awards will commence in the fall of 2018, for the 2018-19 academic year. The fellowships provide stipend and tuition support for up to four years. RBI awarded eight fellowships beginning in the fall of 2017. About 40 Georgia Tech graduate students are currently supported by RBI fellowships.

This year, RBI is again encouraging Integrated Graduate Education and Research (IGER) proposals, requiring collaboration by three faculty of at least two Georgia Tech schools.  

"The ‘IGER’ approach allows expanded investment in an idea," Marsolan said, and he emphasized that interdisciplinary research is "a strategic advantage of RBI, and a great benefit to the experience of our students." 

 

For further information, contact Dr. Marsolan.

 

In the photo below, graduate students Cameron Irvin and Matthew Orr present their research to Steven Parker of WestRock and Dean Benjamin of Verso Paper Co.