Energy & Materials

Science in the Park : Discovering Scion

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65th Appita Annual Conference and Exhibition

Innovate for the Future

Energy Events Centre, Rotorua, New Zealand

The 65th Appita Annual Conference & Exhibition showcasing the latest innovations, technologies and techniques is to be held in Rotorua, New Zealand at the Energy Events Centre, 10 – 13 April 2011. Following on from a highly successful 2010 Appita Annual Conference & Exhibition which attracted over 250 delegates, the event in 2011 will once again bring together the pulp and paper community to discuss the latest technologies and techniques to drive operational performance.
The 2011 event themed “Innovate for the Future” – Resources-Pulp-Paper-Print-Packaging will cover all aspects of the industry through the supply chain, from resources through to print and packaging. The  Conference will explore new opportunities and techniques to drive innovation in manufacturing and converting processes.

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Delegates include academic and institutional researchers and representatives from the preservation industry and preservative suppliers.

For more information, visit www.irg42.com

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Food Innovation New Zealand Chairman Tony Nowell will be speaking on how FINZ is able to deliver transformational food solutions to meet market opportunities with its commercial success and unique open innovation mode. Tony is also Chairman of Scion.

Scion’s Martin Markotsis (Biopolymer and Green Chemical Technologies Scientist) is also presenting.

For more information visit http://www.plastics.org.nz/

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Venue: Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology

The conference theme is “Reinventing Wood”, so come along and participate and learn how our industry intends to position itself, post Canterbury earthquakes.

The target audience for the conference will be wood processing and manufacturing companies and we expect 100 delegates to participate.

Reinventing Wood is an apt title for a conference that is attempting to lift the focus of participants from commodity production to high valued manufactured and branded timber solutions (in domestic and export markets).  There is to be a strong emphasis on the potential for re-creating Christchurch with innovative wooden buildings of the style just constructed at NMIT - we see Christchurch as a trigger point for the industry to significantly lift its game.

For more information visit http://www.pine.net.nz/annual-conference

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The Future Role of Bioenergy from Tree Biomass in Europe conference (organised by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology in partnership with the European Science Foundation (ESF))

Venue: Vienna, Austria

In 2011, the International Year of the Forest, the COST-ESF High-level Research Conference will contribute to understanding bio-energy drivers, options and impacts on forest growing, management and production of traditional goods and services in the future.

The scientific programme will focus on:
- Obstacles to achieve the 20-20 goal  (target for the EU to achieve a 20% renewable energy share by 2020)
- Role of forest biomass in comparison to other renewable forms of energy
- Competition for land (forest vs agriculture)
- Competition for biomass (against pulp and paper)
- Potential emission reduction (expected effect of bioenergy)
- Cascaded utilisation of wood products

The conference will feature lectures by invited high-level speakers, short talks by young and early stage researchers, poster sessions and open discussion periods as well as a forward look panel discussion about future developments.

Dr Elspeth MacRae, Scion's General Manager, Bioproduct Development, is Vice Chair of the event.

For more information, visit http://www.esf.org/activities./esf-conferences

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Venue: Rydges Hotel, Queenstown

28 August - 2 September, 2011

The 2011 QMB meeting will be held in conjunction with the NZ Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

We are pleased to announce the 2011 QMB Lecture will be delivered by Professor Barry Marshall, University of Western Australia, winner of the 2005 Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine, on "Helicobacter pylori in the post-genomic era".

Other sessions include:

RNA world: Professor Warren Tate and Dr Chris Brown
Genome evolution: Professor Barry Scott
Enzyme evolution: Drs David Ackerley and Janine Copp
Proteomics: Assoc. Prof Dave Greenwood and Dr Bill Jordan
Animal genomics: Dr Paul MacEwan
Emerging researchers: Dr Damien Fleetwood
Science communication: Dr Wayne Patrick

Scion is a proud sponsor of the 2011 QMB. For more information on the event, visit http://www.qmb.org.nz/

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Venue: Scion, 49 Sala St, Rotorua

Bioplastics are one of the fastest growing material sectors globally with annual growth rates forecast to be in excess of 10% pa to 2020 and beyond. 

Crown Research Institute Scion is pleased to once again host the Bioplastics Workshop on Thursday, 20 October 2011 at its Rotorua campus.

The day-long workshop provides a forum for leading experts in the bioplastics field to share their insights on global trends and examine recent developments in bioplastics related technologies. Scion is New Zealand’s centre of expertise for bioplastics and for manufacturing with bioplastics and has been leading the way for New Zealand in this field for more than 10 years. Our researchers have won major international awards and will also present their unique technologies and commercialisation experiences in the field of bioplastics.

The workshop will cover the basics of bioplastics, renewability, biodegradability and compostability and will include a session specifically on packaging. A tour of Scion will also be available.

The workshop is designed for marketing and business professionals, technology managers, materials selectors, and innovators in New Zealand and international companies, as well as product and packaging designers, manufacturers and brand owners.  Bioplastics and packaging technologies are relevant to almost all sectors manufacturing in, and/or exporting from New Zealand.

Further programme and registration details are to follow in the coming weeks.

9.30am - 4:30pm, Thursday 20 October 2011
Scion, Rotorua
Cost: $85 excluding GST per person (includes lunch and morning/afternoon tea). $65 excluding GST for 2010 attendees.

For further information email simone.walker@scionresearch.com

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Venue: Te Papa, Wellington

'Celebrating Biofuels Today, Ensuring Biofuels for Tomorrow’

This year’s conference is about showing why more and more customers are using biofuels in New Zealand today – resulting in current demand for biofuels outstripping supply. It’s also about celebrating the achievements of key players in the sector who, though their efforts on quality, sustainability and customer service, have created a solid basis on which the sector can now build.

But what about future sources of supply? Internationally, the production of advanced biofuels is entering commercial scale and a number of potential producers are eyeing New Zealand as a mature feedstock supplier. Some of these parties are already seeking partnerships with resource suppliers and this is expected to accelerate as advanced biofuels become attractive to suppliers of retailer fuel.

Scion is a proud supported of this event and Trevor Stuthridge (General Manager Sustainable Design) will be joining the panel discussion titled 'Investing in advanced biofuels in New Zealand'.

For more information on the event, visit http://www.bioenergy.org.nz/

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Clean Energy Expo

Venue: Clean Energy Centre, Taupo

“Energising Biomaterials” is a pragmatic, industry focused workshop and exhibit, and is about showing what’s available today, what’s being done today, and what’s coming in the pipeline in the very near future in terms of not only energy production from biomass, but also green chemicals.

Energising Biomaterials is relevant to:
- Industrial and institutional energy users
- Biomass resource owners
- Land owners
- Councils

Scion is proud to support the event and will exhibiting at the Clean Energy Expo. Dr Elspeth MacRae (General Manager, Science) will be speaking on Lignocellulosic Biorefinery Product Opportunities and Dr Trevor Stuthridge (General Manager, Science) will discuss the 'Waste 2 Gold' programme, looking at the successful local partnership for creating energy from biosolids.

For more information visit http://www.cleanenergyexpo.co.nz/

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ABIC, the world’s top agbiotech conference, will this year be hosted by New Zealand’s biotechnology industry organisation NZBIO with support from its Australian counterpart AusBiotech. The Ministry of Science and Innovation is the founding partner for the event.

The conference theme for ABIC 2012 is ‘Adapting to a Changing World’. The event will be a mix of high-impact plenary and streamed sessions with programme themes centred on the key drivers of change: environmental, social and economic.

Scion's Dr Elspeth MacRae, General Manager Manufacturing and Bioproducts, will be speaking at the event. Also in the speaker line-up are:

• Dr Clive James, Founder of ISAAA “the International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-biotech Crop Applications” (Based – United States)
• Dr Roger Beachy, President Emeritus - Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Professor – Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis (Based – United States)
• Dr John Bedbrook, Vice President for DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology (Based – United States)
• Dr Richard Flavell, Chief Scientific Officer for Ceres (Based – United States)
  
• Dr Robert Reiter, Vice President Biotechnology for Monsanto (Based – United States)
  

For more information and to register, visit the ABIC website. Earlybird registrations close on Wednesday 30 May 2012 and discounts for group bookings are available.

A bio energy powered future (media release)

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