Moscow, Idaho
July 30, 2007
International businessman Jim
Faber will lead the University
of Idaho effort to capitalize on outstanding research on
biodiesel, oilseed crops and biological pesticides from its
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences to industry.
Faber spent the last year consulting with the Kenyan government
and the four years before that running a 114,000-acre farm in
Australia and said serendipity helped make the connection to
Idaho.
"Our researchers are among the best in the world at what they
do. International and national firms are beating a path to our
door because of our faculty members' expertise. We needed to
make a strategic investment to ensure we build on those
opportunities while serving the interests of Idaho agriculture,"
said John Hammel, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
dean.
The college created the new business specialist job to
commercialize research and look for funding opportunities on
biodiesel, biopesticide or fertilizer applications for mustard
meal and new oilseed cultivars.
"It is clear that hiring a business specialist was the right
move and that Jim Faber was the right person to help us
accomplish those goals," Hammel said.
In 2006, a Gibraltar company signed a $2 million-plus agreement
with the college to commercialize plant breeder Jack Brown's
oilseed crops internationally.
Faber's experience includes serving as general manager for a
farm management company that oversaw nearly 350,000 acres in
Florida, California and Arizona. He has also worked in Mexico,
Australia, Kenya, Russia, Ethiopia and Uganda.
"When I was in Australia, I got interested in biofuels. Then
when I began working in Kenya, the government began looking for
products that could add value to its 2 million acres of
agricultural operations. I began researching biodiesel and
learned about the University of Idaho while I was in Africa,"
Faber said.
"I think the university can really be a leader in these areas,"
Faber added.
The university's research and education groups already have
amassed a strong business track record.
Brown, the plant breeder who focuses primarily on brassica
oilseed crops including canola, mustard and rapeseed, signed a
five-year pact worth nearly $3 million pact with Gibraltar-based
Eco-Energy Ltd. in November.
Jon Van Gerpen, Biological and Agricultural Engineering
Department head, leads a national biodiesel education program
that has sold out every regularly scheduled workshops since
2003.
Matt Morra, a soil biochemist, leads a $613,000 National
Research Initiative project testing mustard meal as an organic
farming tool. Morra is leading the effort to win U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency registration of mustard meal as
a biopesticide.
An exploratory trip with Lewiston leaders took a university
contingent to Spain in May to visit corporate officials
considering Lewiston as a biodiesel plant site and closer links
with college researchers.
Another initiative teams UI Extension Crop Specialist Stephen
Guy and colleagues with growers and businessmen studying
camelina, an ancient oilseed crop with potential as a biofuel
feedstock.
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences magazine Programs
and People explores efforts by its faculty to develop renewable
fuels and aid growers in its summer issue.
The magazine is online at
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/magazine. The printed magazine is
available free to those who write to: Mary Ann Reese, editor;
Programs and People Magazine; College of Agricultural and Life
Sciences; P.O. Box 442332, Moscow, ID 83844
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state's
flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate
education and research university, bringing insight and
innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University
researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and
contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only
institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie
Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university's
student population includes first-generation college students
and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 150 degree
options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of
a large university with the intimacy of small learning
communities. For information, visit
www.uidaho.edu. |
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