Sam Jackson, Ph.D.
Vice President of Feeedstock Operations
As Genera Energy Vice President for Feedstock Operations, Dr. Sam Jackson has worked to develop feedstock supply chains for bioenergy and bioproducts in the state and region. He has worked with university faculty, legislators, and farmers to spur the development of switchgrass as a bioenergy feedstock through the University’s Biofuels Initiative. Dr. Jackson works for sustainable, practical, and economical supply chain solutions.
Dr. Jackson also holds a faculty position at the University of Tennessee, serving as a Research Assistant Professor in the University’s Office of Bioenergy Programs. In his faculty role, he is focused on the research, development, and commercialization of sustainable feedstock supply chains for the emerging bioenergy industry. He works with a variety of feedstocks including perennial grasses, short-rotation woody crops, forest materials, and other agricultural crops and residues. A significant focus of effort for Dr. Jackson has been the $70 million University of Tennessee Biofuels Initiative. The program, funded by the state of Tennessee, seeks to integrate the switchgrass feedstock supply chain with bioenergy and bioproducts industries in the state. The program has led to the establishment of nearly 3,000 acres of switchgrass and the construction of a demonstration-scale biorefinery. He has also served with the Southeastern Sun Grant Center, part of a nationwide bioenergy research program funded by the US Departments of Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture. Dr. Jackson has helped coordinate a regional grant program that has provided nearly $5 million for bioenergy research across the southeast. Dr. Jackson currently leads a $2.3 million project focused on switchgrass production that was competitively funded by the Joint Biomass Research and Development Initiative of the US Departments of Energy and Agriculture. He is also part of another $4.9 million research project focused on high-tonnage logistics for switchgrass biomass.
Dr. Jackson received an undergraduate degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science and his master’s degree in forest ecology and management from the University of Tennessee. He earned his doctoral degree in Natural Resources from the University of Tennessee as well.