Athens, Ga. – Ryan Adolphson, who has served as the director of the Georgia Industrial Technology Partnership as an international spokesman and adviser on biomass energy and fuel technologies, has been named director of the University of Georgia Engineering Outreach Service. Adolphson succeeds Thomas Adams, who retired from the University in January.
Adolphson has been involved in several technology and technology-transfer policy areas at UGA since 1995, serving as director of the university’s Fiber Processing Pilot Plant Facilities and coordinator of the UGA biomass processing facilities for bio-energy and fuels research and development. As a program coordinator in the Engineering Outreach Service, Adolphson has traveled and consulted widely on the development of renewable energy and fuels, including roundtable discussions with President George W. Bush in 2007.
“UGA’s Engineering Outreach Service has been effectively serving Georgia and key Georgia industries such as food processing, forest products, carpet and textiles since 1995,” Adolphson said. “With ever-increasing demands for clean energy and water within the state and across the nation, the opportunity for the university’s outreach engineers, scientists and professionals is greater today than ever.”
The UGA Engineering Outreach Service enables Georgia industries, communities and agencies to improve their profitability, sustainability and competitiveness by providing technical assistance, education and practical solutions. Engineers, scientists and staff work with university researchers and the business community to facilitate technology transfer between sectors and foster greater overall cooperation in making Georgia competitive across industries. The Engineering Outreach Service is organized within the UGA Faculty of Engineering. For more information about the Engineering Outreach Service, please http://outreach.engineering.uga.edu/
“Whether it is with the largest energy companies, the newest cellulosic ethanol plant or small manufacturing firms, we seek to partner with industries focused on economic development in Georgia,” said Dale Threadgill, director of the UGA Faculty of Engineering. “Ryan brings a special blend of expertise and enthusiasm to this position and I look forward to his leadership of the Engineering Outreach Service.”
The UGA Faculty of Engineering was established in 2001 to advance comprehensive engineering at the University of Georgia. With over 100 members from twenty-four departments in nine schools and colleges across campus, the Faculty of Engineering provides an entrepreneurial setting for engineering academic programs in the unique environment of UGA. For more information, visit www.engineering.uga.edu.