Opportunities for Young Professionals in the Forest Bioproducts Division (FBP)

This month we sat down with Sridharan Ramaswamy, chair of Forest Bioproducts (FBP) Division, to discuss opportunities in the FBP Division. 

• Tell us a little about the FBP Division?

FBP aims to:

1. Provide a forum for engineers and scientists to meet and to discuss forest and plant bioproducts and related topics of interest.

2. Promote the discovery, publication, and dissemination of knowledge and advancements in the field, through papers and presentations at major Institute meetings, and publishing of relevant information.

3. Coordinate the Institute's activities in the fields of forest and plant bioproducts with the activities of other societies working in similar areas.

4. Cooperate with other divisions and committees of the Institute in dealing with matters of mutual interest.

5. Implement the general objective of the Institute in promoting cross-fertilization of ideas and transfer of knowledge from one field to another.

• What benefits have you received from becoming a member of FBP?

I've had the opportunity to network with professionals and colleagues interested in the areas of conventional forest products, pulp and paper, and emerging bioproducts such as biofuels, bioenergy, biomaterials, biochemicals, biopolymers, and biocomposites etc. I've also had the chance to meet fellow graduates, learn more about the opportunities in this area, and learn how to be involved and contribute to this field. The forest bioproducts community is a small community within AIChE. Becoming a member of this division gives an immediate opportunity to get to know fellow colleagues in this field from industry, academia, and national labs. We also have a very strong international participation with active international directors. This also provides a great opportunity to extend your network internationally.

• What opportunities are available for members to get involved? What is a good way for Young Professional Members to get started?

The best way for YP members to get involved is to attend the AIChE Annual Meetings, participate in the sessions organized by the division, including presenting papers and posters, attend the division meeting and dinner at the Annual Meeting and learn more about the key activities and get involved. There are opportunities for providing leadership in the division by serving as organizers, co-chairing sessions etc.

• When does the FBP Division hold events or meetings?

The main division meeting is at the Annual Meeting. This generally includes a dinner with fellow division members. In addition we have occasional phone calls as needed.

• How does someone become a member?

One must be an AIChE member first. Then while you pay your annual membership dues, you can also select to become a member of the division. The additional cost is only $9 per year. As you see above, this is well worth the investment. 

• Who can I contact with any questions or to get more involved?

Please contact Shri Ramaswamy (shri@umn.edu), JY Zhu (jzhu@fs.fed.us), Shijie Liu (sliu@esf.edu) or B.V. Ramarao (bvramara@esf.edu). You can also visit the division's webpage. 

• Anything else you want to discuss about FBP Division?

It is a great division. There are members who have been involved in this division for decades. We help the students and future members by encouraging them to present at the Annual Meeting and provide a travel award to help with the costs. It is a great way to get started and get involved. We are looking forward to having new members join us and help contribute to engineering a sustainable future!