NAABB Executive Director Named Leader for Bioscience Division

ST. LOUIS, MO, July 26, 2012 (Press-News.org) The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB), a consortium of leading scientists and engineers from universities, private industry, and national laboratories led by the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center announced Executive Director, Jose Olivares has been selected to serve as Division Leader for the Bioscience Division, a central hub for biotechnology development at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Olivares who has considerable experience in algal biofuels research, will lead a team of 180 researchers and staff within disciplinary groups that include Genome Science, Biosecurity and Public Health, Bioenergy and Environmental Science and Advanced Measurement Science, who execute a portfolio of more than $70 million per year.

"This is an inspiring time to be researching algal biofuels and I pledge to continue to lead NAABB as its Executive Director until the end of the currently funded consortium term, which is April 2013," said Olivares. "The LANL efforts within NAABB are executed primarily out of the Bioscience Division, therefore NAABB and its future will remain a major focus of mine for the time to come."

NAABB's next objectives will focus on the performance of the third year, including the production of a closeout report for the current NAABB efforts and development of the vision for NAABB beyond 2013. The consortium will continue to support algal biofuel research in the growing biofuel industry.

About NAABB
The National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) was created through the association academic institutions, industry, and national laboratories, to develop innovative technologies that will help bring biofuels to a commercial reality. The NAABB was recently funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Biomass Programs, to focus on the development of the algal biofuels industry. As a public-private partnership, the NAABB will devote $49M of federal funds along with $20M of cost share commitments from its partners to new research, development and demonstration activities in algal biofuels. The NAABB will develop technologies for cost-effective production of algal biomass and lipids, economically viable fuels and co-products, and provide a framework for a sustainable biofuels industry.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center's work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, http://www.danforthcenter.org; featuring interactive information on the Center's research, scientists, news and public education outreach. RSS feeds and the brand new "Roots & Shoots" blog allow visitors to keep up to date with Center's current operations and areas of research.