RBI Initiative Lead: Plant production for sustainable fiber supply for renewable bioproducts 

Else-Marie Ulrika Egertsdotter is a Principal Research Scientist at the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. 

Her research interests are focused on plant development, specifically understanding fundamental regulatory processes involved in early development and adaptation, and to apply biotechnology for a sustainable supply of plants to society for renewable products, food, fibers and bioenergy. She is particularly interested in AI applications and automation for plant production to capture the benefits from plant improvements for increased productivity and novel applications of plant fibers and other plant-based products.

She received her B.Sc. degree in Biology and Chemistry from Uppsala University, Sweden, and her Ph.D. degree in Molecular and cellular biology from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. 

After completing her studies, she was awarded the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European Union to study plant signal-transduction pathways at University of York, UK. She then moved to Norway to initiate and lead forest tree biotechnology projects at the Norwegian Forest Research Institute. 

In 2000, she was awarded the Gunnar Nicholson Fellowship to join the Forest Biology team at IPST (Institute of Paper Science and Technology), Atlanta, GA, followed by appointments as research scientist at IPST until 2004 when she became Associate Professor of Genetics and Biotechnology at the Department of Forestry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, to lead the new biotechnology efforts at the College of Natural resources. 

She has been directing several projects for forestry companies to develop cost-effective technology for large-scale clonal production of conifer plants by somatic embryogenesis (SE).  These efforts ranged from fundamental research to experimental and pilot scale technology development and has resulted in an ‘SE Factory’ now being implemented in full commercial scale in Sweden. As recognition of her leadership, she was awarded a VINNMER Marie Curie Fellowship from VINNOVA (Swedish Innovation Agency) for further training on technology applications at Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech, and executive management at Stanford University and Goizueta School of Business at Emory university.

Since 2008, in addition to her position in US, she has also served as an Adjunct Faculty and scientific advisor for conifer R&D at the Umeå Plant Science Center, Sweden. She was appointed by the Swedish government in 2019 to serve on the Gene Technology Advisory Board to monitor developments in the field of gene technology, oversee ethical issues, and give advice to the government on use of gene technology. 

The Gutekunst Lab is interested in pushing the limits of complexity in macromolecular systems using innovative concepts from synthetic organic chemistry. 

Specific projects in the lab will explore the design of novel monomers for the construction of functional polyamides, the development of small molecule reagents for the dynamic modulation of branched polymer architectures, and the investigation of new concepts for creating covalent bonds in challenging contexts. Each of these research projects will enable the generation of new functional materials with structures or assemblies that were previously inaccessible for study. 

Prospective students will obtain extensive training in synthetic organic chemistry, as well as polymer synthesis and characterization.

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Professor of the Practice                       
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
College of Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Associate Director, Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Tissue, Renewable Bioproducts Institute, an Interdisciplinary Research Institute at GT

Director, GT Pulp and Paper Engineering Undergraduate Certificate Program and Foundation
 

Brief Biography:  
Luettgen has 25 plus years of industry experience, with Scott Paper and Kimberly-Clark Corp., where he most recently served as head of North American Innovation the Kimberly-Clark Professional business sector. He has held positions in product development and innovation as well as in capital project management and manufacturing facility leadership.

For several years, Luettgen has served on the Georgia Tech Renewable Bioproducts Institute Industry Board of Advisors, and as the Chairman of the Board of the Technical Association of the Pulp & Paper Industry (TAPPI).  He earned his bachelor's degree in Paper Engineering at Western Michigan University (’85), his master’s degree at the Institute of Paper Chemistry, Appleton, WI (’87), and his Ph.D. in Surface Chemistry at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology - now the Renewable Bioproducts Institute at Georgia Tech (’91).

He rejoined Georgia Tech in November 2014 as a Professor of the Practice in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Associate Director of Pulp, Paper, Tissue and Packaging at RBI. He also serves as the Director of the undergraduate Pulp and Paper Certificate Program and its Foundation.

Areas of research interest include:  Recycling; renewable cellulosic feedstocks; replacing fossil-based products with bio-based materials; commercialization of nanocellulosic materials in consumer and packaging products; Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0; tissue/towel manufacturing and converting; and manufacturing leadership / operational excellence.