London, United Kingdom and Sao Paulo, Brasil
7 March 2012

FuturaGene, a world leader in the enhancement of yield and sustainability of woody crops for plantation forestry, biopower and biofuel markets, has appointed Dr. Mark Elless as Grants and Alliances Manager.

A soil scientist by training, Mark will be working closely with academic groups, international organizations and governmental agencies worldwide. Mark was previously Director of Grants, Contracts and Environmental Technologies at Edenspace Systems Corporation, securing over $8m of funding, and has held R&D positions at Edenspace, Phytotech, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, working on biofuels, phytoremediation and the enhancement of ethanol yield from cellulosic feedstocks. Mark will report to Dr. Nissim Chen, VP Business Development.

Mark’s Ph.D. is in soil genesis from the University of Maryland, building on his M.Sc. in soil mineralogy and B.Sc. in geology from North Dakota State University. He will be based in Leesburg, VA, outside Washington, D.C.

Dr. Stanley Hirsch, CEO of FuturaGene, said; “Mark will help us grow FuturaGene’s grant funding from a wide variety of sources. He brings highly relevant senior-level experience in securing grants and alliances, as well as substantial R&D experience in biofuels. His input will be of great value in nurturing our yield enhancement and yield protection plantation forestry technologies.”

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Mark Elless said; “FuturaGene is a world leader in developing advanced technologies for plantation forestry, which is turning out to be a significant and highly influential approach to sustainably meeting ever increasing demands for energy and fibre. Having secured substantial grant funding in related fields, I am delighted to be in a position to help grow FuturaGene’s third party funding to support the development of its eucalyptus and poplar crop programs.”

Website: http://www.futuragene.com

Published: March 7, 2012