BEE 6640

Sustainable Bioenergy Production on Marginal Lands of New York and the Northeast

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

Marginal agricultural lands are an oft-cited but largely untapped regional resource base for bioenergy crop production. They constitute the primary available land base for production of "second generation" bioenergy crops such as perennial grasses and short-rotation woody crops in New York and the Northeast. In this broadly multidisciplinary seminar series we will explore the challenges of and opportunities for using marginal lands from multiple viewpoints: researchers, agency personnel, and bioenergy advocates.

When Offered Spring.

Permission Note Enrollment limited to: graduate students and upper level undergraduate students.

• Seminar goal: To expose participants to issues involved in the development of low-cost sustainable perennial bioenergy feedstock production based on marginal lands of New York and the Northeast. Seminar outcomes: Having heard and interacted with speakers representing a broad spectrum of disciplines and perspectives (ranging from academic researchers to practitioners to policy advocates), participants will be better able to understand, evaluate, and/or contribute to the development of bioenergy resources in the region. Participants will develop an appreciation for challenges of bioenergy development and the cross-disciplinary efforts required to address them. Second credit hour option goal: To afford participants additional opportunities for extended discussion of seminar topics, exploration and critical review of relevant literature, local field trips to bioenergy research and development sites, and development and presentation of a literature-based poster on bioenergy-related topics of interest. Second hour option outcomes: participants will have extended periods of interaction with a number of seminar speakers, will learn to iteratively search and critically evaluate literature on a bioenergy subtopic of interest, and will learn to compose and present an effective and visually-attractive poster on their subtopic of interest.

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