Industrial Biotechnology – Sustainable Growth and Economic Success

Professor Wim Soetaert is a Professor of Biotechnology at the University of Ghent, Belgium. After being awarded his PhD in 1991, he started his career in industry as research director of large agro-industrial companies in Germany and France. He then moved to Ghent University in 2003 to become full professor at the Center of Expertise InBio.be. He is vice-chairman of the biocatalysis section within the European Federation of Biotechnology (ESAB). Prof. Soetaert is the founder and chairman of Ghent Bio-Energy Valley and the bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, an open innovation pilot plant for biobased products and processes. Professor Erick J. Vandamme is Emeritus Professor at the Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Belgium, where he received his MSc, PhD and DSc in molecular biology, fermentation science and industrial biotechnology, respectively. He held postdoctoral positions at Oxford University, UK, MIT, Cambridge, USA, and at the University of London, UK. Professor Vandamme has edited or c-edited 12 reference books, written over 400 papers, holds several patents, and serves on the editorial boards of a number of journals. He has been awarded three honorary doctorates, and is the recipient of national and international scientific awards. He is an Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, has served on the boards of several European microbiological societies and is a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.