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Dr Steven Schilizzi , senior lecturer in UWA's School of Agricultural and Resource Economics, and Dr David Bennett, of Natural Resource Management Consultants, will talk about the economics of bioenergy.

They will investigate the concept known as Energy Returned on Energy Invested: the ratio of usable energy acquired from a particular energy resource to the amount of energy expended to obtain that energy resource.

Competition for limited natural resources, freedom from pollution (including carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) and affordability will also be considered.

Dr Schilizzi's expertise is in farming and aquaculture systems, energy analysis, bio-economic modelling, and experimental economics, equity in economic analysis and policy assessment, and environmental management by business.

Dr Bennett is founder of the Sustainable Transport Coalition and has been a principle research scientist with the CSIRO for 20 years, the inaugural Wesfarmers Professor of Rural Management at Curtin University of Technology and technical consultant to the former minister for agriculture, Ernie Bridge.

The details of the forum are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, August 11
Time: 4.00pm
Venue: Molecular and Chemical Sciences Building, Room G35, UWA, Fairway

The Bioenergy Forum will be holding 2 more events for 2009 to be held in the Molecular and Chemical Sciences Building G35 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 20 October, 4.00pm - 5.00pm and featuring Professor Michael A. Borowitzka, Algae R&D Center, Murdoch University, plus Matthew Timmins with the latest info on algal diversity and biotechnology
• Tuesday 1 December, 4.00pm - 5.00pm . Featuring Dongke Zhang who will present on Thermal and Thermo-chemical Processing of Bio-Materials for Poly-Production of Bioenergy and High-Value Chemicals

Please contact Professor Steven Smith on 6488 4403, email [email protected] if you:

• would like to discuss the possibility of presenting on a topic that may be outside the strictest definition of the word ‘bioenergy', and of course we will be developing our program for 2010 shortly if you have any suggestions; or
• are interested in giving presentation for the final date of Tuesday 1 December; or
• are passionate about your research in bioenergy and looking for stimulating discussion on energy possibilities for the future.

Media references

Magdalena Matuszczyk / [email protected] / 6488 4277