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DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Greetings,I am writing this message less than 24 hours since our FY26 Annual Science Meeting (ASM) concluded, and with everything still fresh in my mind, I wanted to share a few reflections. For those of you who are new to CBI and attended your first ASM, I hope you found both the environment and the science engaging and welcoming. The CBI ASM is one of the most interdisciplinary scientific meetings you are likely to attend, bringing together expertise spanning feedstock development, computational biology, deconstruction, lignin valorization, catalytic upgrading, economics and land-use modeling, and sustainable aviation fuel. At first, the breadth of topics can seem overwhelming, but as the meeting progresses, the connections between these efforts become increasingly clear and reveal the power of our integrated approach to advancing a sustainable bioeconomy. Most importantly, I hope you left Asheville having made new connections, identified future collaborators, and gained a deeper appreciation for the remarkable talent across our Center. For those who have attended several ASMs, I hope this year’s meeting was particularly rewarding. The Team Overview presentations provided a comprehensive look at progress across the Center, while the Deep Dive talks showcased the depth and quality of science being conducted within each research area. From advances in fungal symbiosis and lignin engineering to climate adaptation genomics, consolidated bioprocessing, and rapid genetics, the presentations highlighted both the scientific excellence and collaborative spirit that define CBI. One of the most encouraging aspects of this year’s ASM was the strong participation of our early-career researchers. Across six flash-talk sessions, students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career staff shared exciting results and innovative ideas that reflect the future of our field. The Early Career Breakfast with members of the Science and Industry Advisory Board, along with professional development sessions focused on career pathways, science communication, and data stewardship, reinforced our commitment to developing the next generation of scientific leaders. Beyond the formal presentations, the poster sessions, working lunches, and informal discussions created countless opportunities to exchange ideas, strengthen existing collaborations, and develop new ones. The interactions between CBI researchers, our Board of Directors, Science and Industry Advisory Board members, and colleagues from the other DOE Bioenergy Research Centers provided valuable perspectives and highlighted the broader impact of our collective work.Sincerely,  VIEW ON COMMERCIALIZATION – BREE URBANOWICZ  Developing cost-competitive, high-performance bioplastic composites using matrices like PBS, PLA, or PHA has historically been limited by plant biomass recalcitrance and traditional processing techniques that fail to achieve the sub-micron particle sizes required for uniform industrial blending. At the University of Georgia’s Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. Our path to commercialization took shape when Research Scientist, Nataraja Sekhar Yadavalli, envisioned that high-shear homogenization techniques commonly used in the biopharma industry could be uniquely repurposed to deconstruct pre-treated Consolidated Bioprocessing (CBP) residues. Critical equipment funding support from CBI during 2024 and 2025 allowed our team to steer the trial runs that successfully proved this organic solvent-free method, nearly doubling the mechanical strength of biocomposites while slashing production costs, was a breakthrough. This work was recently published in Green Chemistry. Crucially, contributing to the CBI Industrial Liaison team activities allowed Nataraja to conduct firsthand market research with bioenergy and plastic industry leaders. Identifying these exact industrial gaps is what directly led us to launch our spin-off, CiruLign LLC, in March 2026. Our experience shows that matching targeted scientific innovation with active industrial network engagement is the key to transforming academic research into a scalable, commercial reality. UPCOMING EVENTS/DEADLINES Early Career Council Interest Deadline to submit Form by August 1st Apply HERE DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that CBI has access to DNA synthesis capabilities at the Joint Genome Institute? It’s a great resource for building DNA constructs to support CBI research. CBI has access to up to 560 kb of synthesis per year (minimum of 100 kb per proposal submitted). We have used this resource for evaluating enzyme variants and biosensors, as well as for the construction of genome scale CRISPR interference libraries. If you have any questions, reach out to Carrie Eckert or Melissa Cregger, or check out the JGI synthesis website here. If you have a proposal, it can be submitted through the JGI portal as a BRC request. NEW MEMBERS Welcome our new members to CBI – reach out and say “hi.” —————————————————— 1- Nathan Gladden, Grad Student (ORNL), Rapid Genetics 2- Trinity Mehler, Postdoc (ORNL), Poplar 3- Lydia Mindermann, Intern(NLR), Deconstruction 4- Vivian Nguyen,Postdoc, (ORNL), Rapid Genetics 5- Susmita Sigdel,PhD student, (UGA), Switchgrass 6- Phuoc Ngo,Postdoc, (NLR), Deconstruction 7- Beant Kapoor,Postdoc (ORNL), Poplar 8- Natalie Hamada,Postdoc, (ORNL), Poplar AWARDS AND RECOGNITION If yours isn’t listed, email it to John Wagner. We would love to recognize you. —————————————————— 1- Robert Davis- Selected for the Irving Wender Award for Excellence in Catalysis by the PCCS 2- Jason Bates– was awarded the National Science Foundation CAREER Award 3-Skye Remko– won the 2026 E. Broadus Browne Research Awards Competition 4- Elise Kammerdiener- won best postdoc presentation at KY-TN branch of the American Society for Microbiology 5- Adam Guss- appointed treasurer for the Society of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT FEEDSTOCK DEVELOPMENT: Constitutive and inducible oleoresin defenses share genetic architectures and mechanisms in Pinus taeda Mallory M. Morgan, Jared Westbrook, Christopher Dervinis, Tania Quesada, Salvador Gezan, Robert Sykes, Timothy S. Johnson, Gabriela Madrid, Matthew Lane, Alice Townsend, Thomas A. Colquhoun, John M. Davis, Daniel Jacobson, and Gary F. Peter New Phytologist (2026) https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.70104 Background: The oleoresin defense system of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) protects against insects and fungal pathogens and is an important source of terpene-based chemicals; however, the genetic mechanisms controlling oleoresin production are poorly understood. Significance: This integrated approach enabled prioritization of high-quality candidate genes and advances the development of more resilient loblolly pine optimized for ecological performance and a source of valuable terpene-based chemicals. CROSSCUTTING: MechFind: a computational framework for de novo prediction of enzyme mechanisms Austin D. Hartley, Vikas Upadhyay, Veda Sheersh Boorla, and Costas D. Maranas Nature Communications (2026) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71957-0 Background: Tens of thousands of biological transformations lack the detailed, step-by-step mechanistic annotations required for de novo enzyme design. Existing computational tools require elusive 3D structural data and knowledge of the amino acid residues. A predictor that relies solely on reaction stoichiometry could overcome these barriers. Significance: By bypassing structural bottlenecks, Mechfind enables the high-throughput annotation of reaction databases and acts as an exploratory engine that maps the landscape of catalytic strategies available for a single reaction.Mechfind turns enzyme design into an actionable engineering task by providing information on the potential active site needed by AI protein design models to build more efficient and selective enzymes. CONVERSION: Kinetic model development for single step ethanol to butene rich olefin process over Cu-Y/Beta Catalysts Canan Karakaya, Meijun Li, and Andrew D. Sutton Chemical Engineering Science (2026) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2026.123999 Background: Direct conversion of bioethanol to C3+ olefins for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), is a promising alternative to conventional fossil-based jet fuel. However, a comprehensive and validated kinetic model capable of describing the process at the reactor scale necessary for SAF scale-up, optimization, and techno-economic analysis is currently unavailable. Significance: This study presents the first intrinsic kinetic model for the single-step conversion of ethanol to butene-rich olefins over bifunctional Cu-Y/Beta catalysts, addressing a critical gap in the design and scale-up of SAF processes. Click Here for all the exciting Research Highlights See the CBI Google Scholar Page to uncover all the cutting-edge, hard work by your CBI colleagues. Please cite them in your future publications, if appropriate. Click Here for the CBI Linkedin Account Check out CBI: A Look Forward Video (Link to video) CBI ANALYTICS  Your feedback on the CBI Connection matters to us, and we genuinely look forward to it. If you have any ideas or thoughts you’d like to share please email CBI Headquarters at [email protected].  |