Tim Rials is Professor (Dept. of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries) and Director of the Center for Renewable Carbon, and Associate Dean of AgResearch at The University of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture. Dr. Rials is a graduate of Mississippi State University, and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. in wood science from Virginia Tech. He joined the university following 13 years with the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station in Pineville, Louisiana, after two years on the faculty of the University of California–Berkeley. Tim’s research career has focused on the efficient and effective utilization of renewable resources in advanced composite materials, including development of high throughput analytical methods for characterizing wood. As director of the Center for Renewable Carbon, he facilitates UTIA’s research and development program on the use of forest and agricultural biomass for alternative liquid fuels, industrial chemicals, and advanced materials. The CRC is home to the Southeastern Regional Sun Grant Center that supports an expansive research portfolio in biomass and bioenergy throughout the region. He also leads a regional team of research and outreach specialists in the Southeastern Partnership for Integrated Biomass Supply Systems, a competitively awarded grant from USDA’s AFRI program. Dr. Rials was recently recognized for his contributions in the area of renewable carbon science with the 2011 AgResearch Impact Award. He is a fellow in the International Academy of Wood Science, and an active member of the American Chemical Society’s Cellulose and Renewable Materials Division.