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Dr. Thomas Amidon Honored as ESF Exemplary Researcher
Dr. Thomas Amidon has been honored with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry's (ESF) Exemplary Researcher Award.
The award recognizes a current researcher who has exemplary research activity, an impressive publication record and active graduate/undergraduate student research programs.
Since coming to ESF in 2000 as chair and professor of the Department of Paper Science and Engineering (now the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering) and director of the Empire State Paper Research Institute (ESPRI), Amidon has been a leader in research and development.
He has led the college's efforts in biorefinery research, and is recognized globally for his development of the hot water pre-extraction process for lignocellulosic biomass. As evidence of his prominence in this field are the steady stream of invitations to give keynote or plenary lectures, chair important conferences, and invitations to collaborate with renowned leaders from national laboratories and leading academic institutions around the world.
Amidon has been the principal investigator for a number of large research grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and, most recently, from the highly competitive National Science Foundation. Many processes that he has either originated or collaborated in developing are now at various licensing stages with private industry.
Along with his research activities, Amidon is an academic advisor who developed and administers a SUNY bioprocessing advanced certificate program. This program provides 15 graduate credit hours of biology and bioprocess engineering training with two to 18 graduates per year. Students are B.S. graduates currently in the work force and more than 60 have graduated so far.
A graduate of ESF, (B.S.'68, M.S.'72 MS, Ph.D. '75) Amidon has authored or co-authored more than 60 publications.
This award, which is made annually, provides a $5,000 research account that can roll over for three years. Amidon will present a campuswide research seminar highlighting his work as the first seminar in the Adaptive Peaks Series during the 2013-14 academic year.