Draft:Ronalds Gonzalez



Ronalds Gonzalez
Ronalds Gonzalez with his son Ronald
Born
NationalityVenezuelan, American
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsEconomics, sustainability, bioeconomy, pulp and paper industry
InstitutionsNorth Carolina State University

Ronalds Gonzalez (born 1980) is a Venezuelan-American engineering researcher specializing in conversion economics and sustainability within the bioeconomy and pulp and paper industry. He was born in Barrio Bolivar, Acarigua, Portuguesa, Venezuela, in 1980.[1] He is an Associate Professor at North Carolina State University (NC State). [2][3], including the valorization of alternative fibers and understanding their carbon footprint.[4] He earned bachelor's degrees in Business Administration and Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela). He completed a master's degree in Marketing Forest Products from North Carolina State University in 2008, a Ph.D. in Supply Chain and Conversion Economics from North Carolina State University in 2011,[5] and an MBA in Corporate Finance from Jenkins MBA, USA, in 2012. He also holds a certification in Value Creation for Forest Products and Consumer Goods from the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.[2][3]

Scientific Work

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His research has focused on waste valorization,[6][7][8][9], and transforming biomass into value-added products [10][11]. He has authored over 70 papers in scientific journals, including publications on biomass conversion.[12] One of his most cited research is in the field of risk and financial analysis.[13]. He is Editor of the Journal Forest [14]

At NC State, Gonzalez serves as Co-Director of the Conversion, Economics & Sustainability (ConEcSus) research group.[15] He also leads the Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative (SAFI), a university-industry consortium involving over 28 companies and federal agencies. SAFI's mission is to advance the responsible sourcing, development, and use of sustainable fibers to mitigate climate change impacts [16]. His awards include the Chancellor Innovation Fund Award,[17] being named a Faculty Scholar at NC State University in 2019,[18] and the Best Research Award by the American Cleaning Institute in 2023.[19]

Gonzalez is a consultant [20] [21] and has patents related to the hygiene tissue industry [22] He has contributed to enhancing sustainability metrics for hygiene tissue products and identified the effect of sustainability as a global megatrend in the hygiene tissue industry.[23] [24] Gonzalez is an instructor on sustainability metrics at Aalto University.[25] He serves as a consultant to the US International Trade Commission [26]

The SAFI Consortium collaborates globally with the BioProducts Institute at the University of British Columbia, Auburn University, Georgetown University, private companies (Familia, WestRock, Valmet, Cascades, Adidas, Unilever, Mercer, Kimberly-Clark, Rayonier Advanced Materials, Procter & Gamble, CMPC, Suzano, Eastman, Essity, International Paper, PSF, Genera Energy, Andritz, Treeco, Nalco Water, Tech Trade, Red Leaf Pulp, National Bamboo, Caboo),[27] federal agencies (Sun Grant Initiative, USDA), and non-profit organizations (Rockefeller Foundation, Climate Breakthrough, and Canopy).[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Biomass Supply Chain and Conversion Economics of Cellulosic Ethanol". NC State University. 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Ronalds Gonzalez - Leadership". NC State University. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "The Evolution of the Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative". PaperFirst Mag.
  4. ^ Forfora, Naycari; Azuaje, Ivana; Vivas, Keren A.; Vera, Ramon E.; Brito, Amelys; Venditti, Richard; Kelley, Stephen; Tu, Qingshi; Woodley, Alex; Gonzalez, Ronalds (1 February 2024). "Evaluating biomass sustainability: Why below-ground carbon sequestration matters". Journal of Cleaner Production. 439: 140677. Bibcode:2024JCPro.43940677F. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.140677.
  5. ^ "Economic Analysis of Biomass Supply Chains for Bioenergy Production in the Southern United States". NC State University. 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Sweet Science of Sustainability". Cotton Today. 17 March 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  7. ^ "Cotton Incorporated and NC State". NC State University. 10 January 2022.
  8. ^ "NC State Professors Combat Textile Waste Through Research". Technician Online. 9 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Our Clothes are Polluting the Environment, Here's a Solution". NC State Recycling. October 29, 2020.
  10. ^ de Assis, Camilla Abbati; Greca, Luiz G.; Ago, Mariko; Balakshin, Mikhail Yu.; Jameel, Hasan; Gonzalez, Ronalds; Rojas, Orlando J. (2018). "Techno-Economic Assessment, Scalability, and Applications of Aerosol Lignin Micro- and Nanoparticles". ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 6 (9): 11853–11868. doi:10.1021/acssuschemeng.8b02151. PMC 6135578. PMID 30221095.
  11. ^ Zwilling, Jacob D.; Jiang, Xiao; Zambrano, Franklin; Venditti, Richard A.; Jameel, Hasan; Velev, Orlin D.; Rojas, Orlando J.; Gonzalez, Ronalds (2021). "Understanding lignin micro- and nanoparticle nucleation and growth in aqueous suspensions by solvent fractionation". Green Chemistry. 23 (2): 1001–1012. doi:10.1039/D0GC03632C.
  12. ^ Gonzalez, R.; Treasure, T.; Wright, J.; Saloni, D.; Phillips, R.; Abt, R.; Jameel, H. (2011). "Exploring the potential of Eucalyptus for energy production in the Southern United States: Financial analysis of delivered biomass. Part I". Biomass and Bioenergy. 35 (2): 755–766. Bibcode:2011BmBe...35..755G. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.10.011.
  13. ^ de Assis, Camilla Abbati; Houtman, Carl; Phillips, Richard; Bilek, E.M. (Ted); Rojas, Orlando J.; Pal, Lokendra; Peresin, Maria Soledad; Jameel, Hasan; Gonzalez, Ronalds (2017). "Conversion Economics of Forest Biomaterials: Risk and Financial Analysis of CNC Manufacturing". Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining. 11 (4): 682–700. doi:10.1002/bbb.1782.
  14. ^ "Section Editors: Wood Science". MDPI. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  15. ^ "Ronalds Gonzalez". NC State University. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  16. ^ "Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative". NC State University.
  17. ^ "Chancellor's Innovation Fund Supports Six Promising Projects". NC State University. July 1, 2020.
  18. ^ "2018-19 University Faculty Scholars Named". NC State University. February 19, 2019.
  19. ^ "Research Award Recognizes Antiviral Activity on Packaging and Surfaces". American Cleaning Institute. May 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "Toilet Paper Shortage Hits Costco and Sam's Club Again". Supply Chain Dive. September 24, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  21. ^ "How Sustainable are Paper Products? We Asked the Experts". Popular Science. March 2, 2021. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  22. ^ "Ronalds W. Gonzalez Patents". Justia. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  23. ^ "Enhancing Sustainability Metrics for Hygiene Tissue Products". Tissue World Magazine. 15 January 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  24. ^ "Is sustainability shaping the hygiene tissue industry? Evidence from the..." PaperFirst Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  25. ^ "Summer School: Measuring the Sustainability Potential of Your Research". Aalto University. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  26. ^ "Consultant to the US International Trade Commission" (PDF). US International Trade Commission. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  27. ^ "Sustainable and Alternative Fibers Initiative Members". NC State University.
  28. ^ "Next Gen Fibers". NC State University.
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