WWU's Steve Hollenhorst to discuss aviation biofuel alternatives May 19 at WWU

[ Editor's note: The original speaker, Rebecca J. Cole, had to cancel. Steve Hollenhorst, the dean of Huxley College of the Environment, will speak instead, as noted below. ]

Steve Hollenhorst, dean of Huxley College of the Environment, will discuss aviation biofuel alternatives at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, in Communications Facility 110 on the Western Washington University campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Aviation requires energy-dense liquid fuels, currently derived exclusively from petroleum. This fossil energy dependence poses tremendous challenges to carbon emissions reductions. In the Pacific Northwest, considerable research is focused on developing viable biofuel alternatives from existing waste streams like forest harvest residues and municipal solid waste. In his speaker series talk titled "The Race for Renewable Aviation Fuels and Environmentally Preferred Co-Products," Hollenhorst will discuss the proposition that biofuel alternatives offer significant positive environmental and economic benefits, including lower carbon emissions, improved air/water quality, and the development of regional sustainable energy and co-product industries.

Hollenhorst has been the dean at WWU's Huxley College since 2012. Prior to that he was on the faculty at the University of Idaho, where he served as associate dean of the College of Natural Resources, Chair of the Department of Conservation Social Sciences, founding director of the university’s award-winning Building Sustainable Communities Initiative, and founding director of the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS).

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate.

The Huxley College Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact Western’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-2554 or at Jen.VanderWeyden@wwu.edu.