{"690222":{"#nid":"690222","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Chris Luettgen Named Interim Director of Georgia Tech\u2019s Renewable Bioproducts Institute","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter more than 25 years at Georgia Tech, including six years leading the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), Executive Director \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/carson-meredith\u0022\u003ECarson Meredith\u003C\/a\u003E will depart the Institute this summer to begin a new role at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEffective August 1, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/directory\/person\/christopher-luettgen\u0022\u003EChris Luettgen\u003C\/a\u003E will assume the role of interim director of RBI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCarson has made lasting contributions to Georgia Tech and to RBI during his time as executive director,\u201d said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/julia-kubanek-0\u0022\u003EJulia Kubanek\u003C\/a\u003E, vice president for Interdisciplinary Research. \u201cWe are grateful for his leadership and wish him continued success in this next chapter.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDuring his tenure, Meredith helped expand RBI\u2019s research footprint, strengthen partnerships across academia and industry, and advance the Institute\u2019s leadership in sustainable bioproducts and bio-based innovation. His work helped position RBI as a key driver of collaboration and research in the forest products and renewable materials sectors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELuettgen brings extensive experience in forest-based and bio-based research, industry collaboration, and technical leadership. He has held leadership roles at Georgia Tech and has longstanding ties to the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), working extensively at the intersection of academic research and industry collaboration. He currently serves as Professor of the Practice in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, where he teaches in Georgia Tech\u2019s pulp and paper program and serves as RBI\u2019s strategic lead for Pulp and Paper.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBefore joining Georgia Tech, Luettgen spent many years at Kimberly-Clark and Scott Paper Company, where he held senior technical and research leadership positions focused on translating research into commercial impact. He is also widely recognized for his longstanding involvement with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.tappi.org\/\u0022\u003ETechnical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI)\u003C\/a\u003E, reflecting his commitment to advancing innovation, workforce development, and collaboration across the forest products and bioproducts industries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cChris brings deep expertise, strong industry connections, and a clear understanding of RBI\u2019s mission and community,\u201d Meredith said. \u201cI\u2019m confident he will provide steady leadership and continuity for the Institute during this transition.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERBI will share additional details regarding the transition in the coming months.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAfter more than 25 years at Georgia Tech, including six years leading the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), Executive Director Carson Meredith will depart the Institute this summer to begin a new role at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"After more than 25 years at Georgia Tech, including six years leading the Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI), Executive Director Carson Meredith will depart the Institute this summer to begin a new role at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.  "}],"uid":"36757","created_gmt":"2026-05-11 15:16:43","changed_gmt":"2026-05-11 16:24:11","author":"ychernet3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-05-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680251":{"id":"680251","type":"image","title":"ChrisL-Headshot.jpg","body":"\u003Cp\u003EChris Luettgen, incoming interim director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1778516550","gmt_created":"2026-05-11 16:22:30","changed":"1778516550","gmt_changed":"2026-05-11 16:22:30","alt":"Headshot of Chris Luetggen","file":{"fid":"264495","name":"ChrisL-Headshot.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/11\/ChrisL-Headshot.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/05\/11\/ChrisL-Headshot.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":635254,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/05\/11\/ChrisL-Headshot.jpg?itok=LjgbYlYj"}}},"media_ids":["680251"],"groups":[{"id":"372221","name":"Renewable Bioproducts Institute (RBI)"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39491","name":"Renewable Bioproducts"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto: ychernet3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EYanet Chernet\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr\u003ECommunications Officer I\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}