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DURHAM, NC (October 15, 2008) -Southern Research Institute, a not-for-profit organization that conducts basic and applied research in the areas of preclinical drug discovery, drug and vaccine development, advanced engineering, environmental and energy production, today announced that Stephen Piccot has been named to the Board of Directors at the Biofuels Center of North Carolina. Piccot, director of Advanced Energy and Transportation Technologies in Durham, North Carolina, will provide strategic guidance and counsel as one of 35 senior executives appointed to the Board.
The Biofuels Center is a private, non-profit funded by the NC General Assembly to coordinate the creation of the biofuels industry in North Carolina. The Center is working to reduce dependence on imported liquid fuels by creating a new renewable fuels industry sector in North Carolina. The Center is mandated by the NC General Assembly to implement North Carolina's Strategic Plan for Biofuels Leadership. The strategic plan sets the goal of 10% in 10 years or by 2017, North Carolina will produce 10% of its liquid fuels from locally-grown feedstocks; a total of about 600 million gallons of biofuels a year.
"As most of North Carolina's liquid fuel comes from outside the state, it does not contribute to the state's agriculture or manufacturing economy as much as it could," said Stephen Piccot. "The creation of a significant biofuels industry will not only reduce the state's environmental footprint but it is a major step towards providing energy security and the opportunity for the state to lead in a new, promising industry."
Piccot has more than 28 years experience executing and managing environmental research projects and he leads the Carbon to Liquids (C2L) Development Center, one of several Centers he oversees at Southern's Durham North Carolina facility. The C2L Center facilitates the commercial development and acceptance of new technologies that convert America's diverse, non-petroleum carbon sources into high- value products such as clean diesel fuel, jet fuel, methanol, ethanol, ammonia and electric power. The Center serves commercial, government, and research institutions that are interested in developing and commercializing carbon-to-liquids technologies at laboratory, pilot, and demonstration scales.
About Southern Research Institute
Southern Research Institute is a not-for-profit organization that conducts basic and applied research in the areas of preclinical drug discovery, vaccine and drug development, advanced engineering, environmental research and energy production. To date, Southern Research has discovered six FDA-approved cancer drugs and discovered six additional drugs that are currently in late stage preclinical and early clinical trials. No other company or institution has brought six of its own cancer drug discoveries to market. Southern Research has also contributed to the development of many groundbreaking advancements in energy, materials, defense, space, and environmental technologies from it's inception in the early 1940's. For more information, please visit www.southernresearch.org.