The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) is pleased to congratulate Dr. Arthur Ragauskas on his selection as a Fulbright scholar grantee to Sweden. The FSB is the Presidentially appointed 12-member Board that is responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the program and for selection of Fulbright recipients. The grant is made possible through funds that are appropriated annually by the US Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector.

As an academician and researcher, Ragauskas' core belief is that a professor can only be as successful as the students he educates, mentors and graduates. As such, Ragauskas' academic mission has been, and remains, the cornerstone of his career objectives. These career objectives include:

· Develop a challenging and enriching undergraduate educational and research experience that facilitates the intellectual development of science, engineering and liberal arts students and introduces these students to the exciting opportunities and challenges focused about the development of the sustainable biorefinery

· Recruit, educate, and develop the next generation of scientists that will be nationally/internationally recognized leaders in sustainable chemistry of biofuels biomaterials, biopower, from renewable bioresources

· Develop a nationally/internationally recognized research center for sustainable green chemistry of biopolymers and their conversion to innovative biofuels in a modern biorefinery.

This Fulbright Chair will provide Dr. Ragauskas the opportunity to share his internationally recognized expertise in lignocellulosic biofuels/biorefinery with Scandinavian students, postdoctoral research fellows and faculty. Furthermore, it will catalyze his growing interactions with Swedish and Scandinavian institutions. As highlighted in his CV, Dr. Ragauskas has in the past decade been:

· An invited visiting professor at Chalmers University of Technology and the Royal Institute of Technology/STFi in Stockholm

· Co-supervised/publishing with several Swedish students in his laboratory on research exchanges

· An invited expert for Swedish and Finnish scientific institutes, including Sweden's VINN Center of Excellence, the Finnish Academy of Science and several Scandinavian Forest Product companies, all interested in the next generation of Biorefineries.

These professional interactions have evolved over the past 18 years due to a common interest in the sustainable development of the forest resources located in the southeastern USA and in Scandinavia. Both regions are endowed with plentiful forest resources that provide an opportunity for innovative social and economic development. Although traditionally this was accomplished via the established forest products industry, new challenges in sustainable biofuels and biomaterials production from biomass, including wood, have ushered in a step-change in the science and engineering of woody biomass to value-added materials. The critical challenge at this time is the development of tomorrow's leaders and fundamental research principles that will lead this green industrial revolution. This Fulbright position address' this challenge. This program will facilitate Ragauskas not only to guide students at Chalmers and associated universities to address the challenge of renewable biofuels from woody lignocellulosics, but also help develop a lasting relationship between students and faculty at GA Tech and Sweden. A natural outcome of this program will be the development of an ongoing program, sponsored by philanthropic institutes and corporations to further develop collaborative programs in renewable biofuels from biomass. The students and technical outcomes will be a positive force of change to address mankind's most notable challenge of the new millennium, that being, the development of sustainable energy and mitigating climate change.