Edward Yu Lends Expertise to Board’s Standing Committee on Environmental Issues in Aviation
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Edward Yu, professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, has been appointed to the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences, where he will lend his expertise to its standing committee on Environmental Issues in Aviation.
“I am honored to serve as a member of the TRB’s Committee on Environmental Issues in Aviation,” said Yu. “The aviation industry is striving to decarbonize its sector through sustainable aviation fuels and other means. Locating relevant feedstock for various sustainable aviation fuel pathways and developing the supply chains is crucial to achieving the goal.”
Over the past two decades, Yu has extensively researched the economics of biofuels, focusing on agricultural and forestry biomass logistics, the bioenergy-agriculture-environment interface, and spatial- temporal analysis. The logistics generated through his research is crucial information needed to successfully expand the use of sustainable aviation fuels and accelerate its adoption. This strategic information will be used to inform stakeholders on production pathways that can increase economic efficiency, enhance sustainability, leverage economies of scope and scale, and reduce renewable fuel costs — all necessary to achieve the aviation industry’s goal of carbon-neutral growth by 2050. Yu and UT AgResearch Associate Dean Tim Rials co-lead a Tennessee team conducting feedstock supply analysis for sustainable aviation fuel for the Aviation Sustainability Center, which is funded by the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, the Department of Defense, Transport Canada, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
“Being appointed on the TRB of the National Academy of Sciences is another strong testament of Dr. Yu’s national prominence and recognition as a distinguished expert in the field of environmental issues in aviation,” said UT AgResearch Dean Hongwei Xin. “We are excited that Edward will share his expertise and wisdom with this scientific advisory board.”
Members of the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board’s standing committees are recognized as experts in their field and play a vital role in facilitating the exchange of transportation research information and results.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which includes the National Academy of Sciences, is a private, nonprofit society of distinguished scholars who work together to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions.
Yu is currently serving as an editor of the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics and is a Buford and Beatrice Irwin Endowed Faculty Fellow. He joined UT’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in 2009.
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of teaching, research and outreach, the Institute touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu.