Dr. Thomas Amidon

02/10/2013

We are very pleased to announce that Dr. Thomas Amidon, Professor in the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, was named the College’s Exemplary Researcher for 2013-14. This College-level award recognizes a successful, currently active researcher with exemplary research activity, publication record and a graduate/undergraduate student mentorship program. The nomination process allows for nominations from different categories: Lifetime Career Achievement - for which Dr. Amidon was nominated, Mid-Career Achievement, and Early Career Achievement.

Dr. Amidon:

• Joined ESF in 2000 as Chair and Professor of the Faculty of Paper Science and Engineering, and Director of ESPRI
• From 2007 to the present: Professor, Department of Paper & Bioprocess Engineering (PBE)
• 1976-2000: International Paper. Career progressed from the bench to Laboratory Manager for the Corporate Research Center in Tuxedo N.Y. Managed the Primary Process Development group, the Pulp Mill Technical Support Group, and the Forest Sciences Group during career in addition to staff service in Research Evaluation, a research and capital investment evaluation group, and a Quality Improvement Process Facilitator.
• 1968: SUNY ESF Forest Management, B.S., Cum Laude
• 1972: SUNY ESF Forest Tree Improvement, M.S.
• 1975: SUNY ESF Silviculture, Ph.D.
• 1975-76: Postdoctoral Associate and Instructor in ESPRI and the Faculty of Paper Science and Engineering

Dr. Amidon’s career at ESF since 2000 has been exceptional. He has led our efforts in biorefinery research, and is recognized globally for his development of the hot water pre-extraction process for lignocellulosic biomass. A few key indicators 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. He has been the principal investigator for a number of large research grants from the US 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. Dr. Amidon has authored or co-authored over 60 publications.

A sampling of Dr. Amidon’s synergistic activities include:

• Served the AF&PA Chief Technology officers Committee as the leader of the New Forest Based Materials section and later conducted pilot plant work for the Value Prior to Pulping Consortium. Membership is ongoing.
• Attended IEA meetings for three years as the USA country expert in the Biorefinery.
• Delivered invited talks on the Biorefinery in Montreal, Helsinki, Brazil, Barcelona, Washington, Argonne NL, Stockholm, and Lisbon and six cities in China and technical talks on this subject at TAPPI, AIChE, IWCS, and many local sections of TAPPI. Chaired session on Biorefinery current state of development at TAPPI Atlanta Conference May 11, 2007 and Portland May 2009 and May 2011.
• Co-Chair of the second International Conference on the Biorefinery (ICB2009) held in Syracuse, NY. The first ICB was in Beijing in 2007.
• 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 2-18 graduates per year. Students are BS graduates currently in the work force and over 60 have graduated so far.

This award provides a $5,000 research account that can roll over for three years, and a Presidential salary adjustment. Dr. Amidon will present a campus-wide research seminar highlighting his work as the first seminar in the Adaptive Peaks Series during the 2013-14 academic year. At that time he will be presented with a plaque recognizing this achievement, as well as a reception in his honor.

Congratulations to Dr. Thomas Amidon on this well-deserved honor!!