Lignin Workshop 2025: Future Horizons in Lignin Science & Technology
Lignin Workshop 2025 aims to foster collaboration and innovation in lignin research.
Join us on June 9-10, 2025 in Madison, WI for Lignin Workshop 2025, an invite-only event hosted by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). This workshop aims to foster collaboration and innovation in lignin research by bringing together experts from the Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs).
Discussion topics will include:
- Future of lignin research and barriers
- Catalytic and biological processes for lignin deconstruction
- Smart catalysts and engineered plants/microbes
- Lignin's contribution to the bioeconomy
- Use of AI in lignin research
- Scale-up issues, automation, and robotics in the lignin industry
- Lignin-based biomaterials
Agenda
Day 1: June 9, 2025
| 9:00 – 10:00 | Registration and Welcome Coffee | Fluno Center Skyview |
| 10:00 – 10:15 | Introduction by Chairs | |
| 10:15 – 12:15 | BRC’s Perspective on Lignin’s Future – Breaking Barriers Moderator: Canan Sener – Hemant Choudhary Speakers: Timothy Donohue, Blake Simmons, Brian Davison |
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| 12:30 – 1:15 | Lunch | Fluno Center Dining Room |
| 1:30 – 2:30 | Engineering Lignin in Plants for Next Generation Biorefineries Speakers: Hiroshi Maeda, Nidhi Dwivedi |
Fluno Center Skyview |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | Flash Talks – Junior Researchers | |
| 3:00 – 3:20 | Break | |
| 3:20 – 5:00 | Smart Chemical Catalysis & AI-Guided Design for Chemicals & Materials from Lignin Moderator: Blake Simmons Speakers: Art Ragauskas, Shannon Stahl, Sankar Nair |
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| 5:00 – 5:15 | Day 1 Highlights Canan Sener – Hemant Choudhary |
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| 5:15 – 6:00 | Break/Networking | |
| 6:00 – 7:00 | Dinner | Edgewater Hotel Grand Ballroom |
| 7:00 – 9:00 | Poster Session/Networking | Edgewater Hotel Grand Ballroom |
Day 2: June 10, 2025
| 9:00 – 9:15 | Welcome Note Day 2 | Fluno Center Skyview |
| 9:15 – 11:00 | Bridging the Gap – How Close Are We to Microbial Lignin Valorization? Moderator: Timothy Donohue Speakers: Daniel Noguera, Thomas Eng, Josh Michener |
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| 11:00 – 11:15 | Break | |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Developments in Lignin Analytics Moderator: Sankar Nair Speakers: Steven Karlen, Jenny Onley |
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| 12:30 – 1:15 | Lunch | Fluno Center Dining Room |
| 1:30 – 2:45 | Lignin Bioeconomy: Process Engineering and Systems Analysis Moderator: Tirath Raj Speakers: Nawa Baral, Christos Maravelias |
Fluno Center Skyview |
| 2:45 – 3:00 | Break | |
| 3:00 – 5:00 | Vision 2035 Discussion – The Future of Lignin: AI, Automation & Robotics in Lignin Research & Processing Moderators: Canan Sener – Hemant Choudhary Speaker: Reid Van Lehn |
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| 5:00 – 5:15 | Closing Remarks and Next Steps |
Fluno Center
Skyview – 8th floor
Dining Room – 1st floor
Map
Contact Information
For more information, please contact the workshop organizers:
- Canan Sener: csener@wisc.edu
- Hemant Choudhary: hchoudhary@lbl.gov