Institute of Forest Biotechnology Hires Executive Director

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Institute of Forest Biotechnology Hires Executive Director

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, Jan. 21 -/E-Wire/-- Jan. 18, 2002 â Edward J. Makowski, a senior manager with 24 years' experience in the crop-protection industry, has been named the first executive director of the Institute of Forest Biotechnology.

Makowski, 48, began working this month at the Institute, housed initially at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. The Center created the non-profit Institute in 2000 to work for societal, ecological and economic benefits from appropriate uses of biotechnology in forestry worldwide.

"This is a unique opportunity to ensure that biotechnology is introduced to forestry in a responsible manner that pays attention to all the stakeholders and all the issues involved," Makowski said. "I'm excited to be working for an organization that was created so early in the development of an unfolding new technology."

Makowski has 15 years' experience in plant biotechnology. Most recently he was vice president of market development at Aventis CropScience in Research Triangle Park. He previously held a similar job at AgrEvo USA in Wilmington, Del. Prior to that he was business director of Hoechst-Roussel Agri-Vet Co. in Bedminster, N.J., and director of research and development at Hoechst Canada Inc. in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. He has a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in environmental biology from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Bob Friedman, a member of the Institute's founding board of directors and vice president for research at the John H. Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment in Washington, D.C., said Makowski is a good choice to lead the Institute.

"The mere notion of the use of biotechnology in forestry raises deeply held feelings among both supporters and opponents," Friedman said. "We were very lucky to find a director with the needed skills and sensitivities to make this new Institute a meeting ground for both."

Makowski and Project Manager Susan McCord are developing a strategic plan for the Institute with four cornerstones: scientific analysis of the potential ecological risks of forest biotechnology; assessment of the ethical and societal issues involved; development of a program to help restore endangered tree species such as the American chestnut; and dissemination of general information about forest biotechnology to the public and technical information to the academic community.

Makowski reports to an 11-member, international board of directors composed of executives from forestry companies, universities and public-interest groups. The board's members are:

W. Steven Burke, senior vice president of corporate affairs & external relations, North Carolina Biotechnology Center

Christine A. Dean, Ph.D., director of western timberlands research, Weyerhaeuser

Robert M. Friedman, Ph.D., vice president for research, the John H. Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment

Kevan Gartland, Ph.D., University of Abertay Dundee, Scotland

Robert C. Kellison, Ph.D., professor emeritus, North Carolina State University

Lori Knowles, LL.B, B.C.L., M.A., LL.M, associate for law and bioethics and director of education and outreach, the Hastings Center

Dennis LeMaster, Ph.D., professor and head of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University

Alan A. Lucier, Ph.D., senior vice president, National Council for Air and Stream Improvement Inc.

John Pait, director of forest productivity, the Timber Company

Ronald R. Sederoff, Ph.D., professor of forestry and director of the Forest Biotechnology Group, North Carolina State University

Ben Sutton, Ph.D., executive vice president for business development, CellFor

The North Carolina Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation established and funded by the state's General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic benefit to North Carolina through support of biotechnology research, development and commercialization statewide.

Editors: For more information about forest biotechnology, visit the Institute's Web site at www.forestbiotech.org. The Web site also includes a color photo of Ed Makowski, available as a .jpg file for downloading.

Institute of Forest Biotechnology

http://www.forestbiotech.org

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