The University of Kentucky Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment welcomed faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and industry collaborators across the country for the 2026 S1075 Symposium. Held in the new Martin-Gatton Agricultural Sciences Building, the symposium showcased one of UK's newest facilities while providing a space to share ideas, build connections and advance technologies that support a sustainable, circular bioeconomy.
The symposium serves as the annual meeting of the S1075 Multistate Research Project, titled "The Science and Engineering for a Biobased Industry and Economy," a national collaboration of land-grant universities focused on research in biobased fuels, foods, feeds, biomaterials and biomanufacturing systems. By bringing together researchers from engineering, agriculture, biology, chemistry, materials science and related disciplines, the project develops sustainable technologies that transform renewable biological resources into fuels, materials and other biobased products, advancing a more resilient bioeconomy-an economy that uses renewable biological resources to produce food, materials, chemicals and energy.
Hosted by Tyler Barzee, Ph.D., one of The Bill Gatton Foundation Early-Career Professors in BAE, the symposium brought together 70 attendees representing 23 universities and organizations from 20 states. The event featured presentations from leaders representing national research organizations and universities, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, BioMADE and the U.S. Department of Energy.
James Matthews, Ph.D, associate dean for research with the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, welcomed attendees and emphasized the importance of collaborative research in addressing national agricultural and environmental challenges.
"The annual symposium for this multistate project is critical for building collaborations in the U.S. to advance sustainable bioeconomy research. The networks created are particularly important for graduate students and early-career researchers," said Barzee. "We were honored to host it in Lexington this year and showcase our facilities and regional strengths in agriculture and technology while creating opportunities to exchange ideas and purposefully build collaborations."
Developing the next generation of scientists and engineers was also a central symposium focus. Undergraduate students participating in UK BAE's Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program were invited to attend, providing opportunities to engage with leaders in the field and learn more about emerging research in the bioeconomy. Graduate students showcased their research through poster sessions held throughout the day, presenting their work to faculty, industry experts and fellow researchers while competing for outstanding poster awards.
The student poster competition winners were:
- Suvro Talukdar, University of Kentucky - Performance of a Continuous Fungal-Assisted Microalgae Cultivation System
- Yosselin Castro-Islas, University of Kentucky - Environmental Impacts of Craft-Scale Bourbon Production and Backset Recycling
- M. M. Mahdi Hasan, University of Kentucky - Improving Thermochemical Conversion of Nonrecycled Municipal Solid Waste via Feedstock Preprocessing
- Tosin O. Olanrewaju, Purdue University - Technoeconomic Assessment of Integrated Aquaponics Systems for Circular Water and Nutrient Management
- Pradip Adhikari, Auburn University - Thiosulfate-Engineered Biochar for Nutrient Adsorption and N₂O Mitigation: Mechanistic Insights
For Suvro Talukdar, a UK BAE doctoral student and poster competition winner, the experience offered valuable opportunities to exchange ideas and strengthen his research.
"The poster competition was a great opportunity to share my research and receive valuable feedback from researchers with diverse expertise," Talukdar said. "Interactive discussions during the poster session were especially rewarding, providing new perspectives and encouraging me to think about my work from different angles. Experiences like this are especially valuable for students because they create opportunities to learn from others, expand professional networks and refine how we communicate our research."
UK Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering master's alumnus Tosin O. Olanrewaju, now a doctoral student at Purdue University, also reflected on the value of the poster competition and the connections it fostered across institutions.
"Presenting at the 2026 S1075 Symposium was a valuable opportunity to communicate my research to a diverse audience and engage in substantive discussions with researchers working across the bioeconomy," Olanrewaju said. "The questions and feedback from the judges and attendees helped me consider new perspectives on my work and strengthened my ability to explain its significance clearly. Being selected for the Student Poster Award was a meaningful recognition and reinforced my commitment to advancing research in sustainable food production, resource recovery and circular agricultural systems. Opportunities like this matter because they bring students together with researchers from many institutions across the bioeconomy, and those conversations are often where future collaborations begin."
In addition to technical sessions, attendees toured the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits to learn more about UK research programs and interdisciplinary partnerships. An optional second day of programming included visits to the UK Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) and Alltech's global headquarters in Nicholasville, highlighting Kentucky's role in agricultural innovation, renewable energy and biobased manufacturing.
Throughout the meeting, researchers shared updates on projects focused on sustainable feedstock production, biomass conversion technologies, biobased materials, circular bioeconomy systems and data-driven modeling tools. Breakout sessions allowed participants to identify future research priorities and develop new collaborations.
"A very exciting aspect of the project this year is that our members are serving as guest editors of a special issue in the journal Bioresource Technology," Barzee said. "This issue will showcase the integrated approaches and collaborations that have been built through this multistate program and the positive impacts it has had on U.S. agriculture, technology and rural communities. The symposium this year also included first discussions about planning for the future of the project to ensure it is keeping up with the times and delivering positive results to our stakeholders."
