This program handbook consists of the text of the Graduate Bulletin for BioRenewable Systems (BRS), maintained by the Penn State Graduate School, plus important additions and clarifications provided by the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, which administers this graduate program.
Program Description
Graduate Program Head: Peter Butler
Program Code: BRS
Campus(es): University Park (Ph.D., M.S.)
Degrees Conferred:
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Dual-Title M.S. and Ph.D. in Biorenewable Systems and International Agriculture and Development
- Dual-Title M.S. and Ph.D. in Biorenewable Systems and Operations Research
- Integrated B.S. in Agricultural and Biorenewable Systems Management and M.S. in Biorenewable Systems
Biorenewable systems are the structures and processes that create and support biologically-based products capable of being continuously replaced through sound technology and management. The BioRenewable Systems (BRS) degree is offered as a resident instruction, research-based M.S., and Ph.D. programs. The degree requires a thesis at both levels.
The BRS graduate program encompasses renewable biologically-based materials, products, and processes that fully integrates scientific research with the principles of systems technology, business, management, marketing, leadership development, and entrepreneurship. Toward that end, the academic requirements for BRS are closely related to the disciplinary focus of agricultural and biological sciences, technological innovation and application, and business, management, and leadership within the continually evolving biobased sectors. This multidisciplinary aspect makes BRS unique from other fields of science and management. To promote and fulfill this uniqueness, continuation of courses in science, business, management, and technology at the graduate level is encouraged and expected.
Excellent facilities, including equipment and instrumentation, are available for research in the designated areas. Collaborative arrangements allow access to a large variety of other resources:
- Materials Research Institute;
- Penn State Institutes of the Energy and Environment;
- Huck Institute of the Life Sciences
- Housing Research Center;
- USDA Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Lab;
- a mushroom research and demonstration facility; and
- a 1,500-acre agricultural research center for cooperative work with agronomic and horticultural production systems as well as animal production systems.
Economic systems throughout the world are transforming as production and processing shifts from non-renewable-based materials to more sustainable and renewable biologically-based systems. Toward that end, the agricultural/biological enterprise is uniquely positioned to play a pivotal role as the producer and supplier of resources and personnel to maintain the competitiveness of emerging biobased industries. At the national level, the National Academy of Sciences, and agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and the National Science Foundation, envision biobased materials, processes, and energy production as significant components of this biobased economic transformation.
The BRS graduate program leverages science, engineering, and wood products expertise to conduct novel research on bio-based systems and develop well-educated and well-qualified graduates who, in turn, will help traditional forest- and agriculturally-anchored industries transition into production, processing, and recovery systems based on emerging biobased products.
The BRS degree program augments, broadens, and strengthens the ABE Department's and the College's research enterprise through enhanced collaborations in bioproducts, bioenergy, biofuels supply chains, nanotechnology, and green products while adding complementary components in topics such as bioproducts packaging, green adhesives, biobased composites, chemistry and structure of biomaterials, biofuels supply chains, marketing/management, entrepreneurship, etc.
Objectives of the Program
The overall goal of the BRS Graduate Program is to be a world renowned research-oriented graduate program in renewable biologically-based materials, products, and processes that fully integrates the principles of systems technology, science, and management of resilient/sustainable biosystems. Toward that end, the major objectives are:
- Offer M.S. and Ph.D. graduate degrees that integrate science and technology with business, management, marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership;
- Provide advanced educational and research experiences that prepare graduates to lead the development and advancement of the growing biobased economy via industrial, governmental, and academic positions;
- Offer a competitive graduate degree program for students specifically interested in science and business-related aspects of biobased products and materials such as wood and wood-based products, bioenergy, and sustainable/renewable biological systems;
- Promote advanced, interdisciplinary research addressing the science, technology, and business approaches to sustainable and safe bioenergy, biomaterials, and bioproducts and their supply chains, including the integration of marketing, management, entrepreneurship, and leadership; and
- Enhance economic development by offering a continuing supply of well-educated and qualified future employees to both existing stakeholders from the agricultural and forest products industries and to an emerging, growing, and broader stream of biorenewable systems stakeholders in companies such as: chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, materials and energy recovery, biobased packaging/processing for food and other products, sustainable systems including safety, and bioenergy.
