Professor Lew P. Christopher has twenty years experience in wood science, the pulp and paper industry, biotechnology, and bioprocessing. His research output exceeds 230 scientific contributions including peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, technical reports, invited lectures, and conference presentations. He is also the inventor of several international patents. For eleven years, Professor Christopher worked in research and development at Sappi, a large international pulp and paper company. He was also Affiliate Professor at the University of the Free State and University of Pretoria in South Africa. Now Director of the Center for Bioprocessing Research and Development at the South Dakota… School of Mines and Technology, Professor Christopher leads a large team developing technologies for production of biomass-derived biofuels and value-added bioproducts. He is also on the Editorial Board of several international journals and is an active member of a number of professional societies. He has chaired sessions at various international biotechnology conferences and, in 2004, organized the 9th International Conference on Biotechnology in the Pulp and Paper Industry. Dr Christopher is currently serving on the National Science Foundation Industrial Advisory Board of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center on BioEnergy R&D and on the International Scientific Advisory Committee on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries.