BPI Connect 2025 Celebrates Innovation, Partnerships, and a Year of Collective Achievement

BPI Connect 2025 brought together the BioProducts Institute community and partners on December 11 at the UBC Life Sciences Centre to celebrate a year defined by collaboration, innovation, and shared success. Nearly 300 guests attended the event, representing 45 organizations across academia, industry, and government. The event was made possible through the support of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) and the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions.

The program opened with welcoming remarks from Gail Murphy (VP Research and Innovation, UBC), and Orlando Rojas (Professor & Scientific Director, UBC BioProducts Institute). Their messages set the stage for a day focused on advancing the bioeconomy through research excellence and strong partnerships.

Keynote presentations featured leaders from across academia, government, and industry. Speakers included Jean-Francois Levasseur (Director of Industry Relations & Innovation Programs, Natural Resources Canada), Emma Master (Professor & Director, BioZone - Centre for Applied Bioscience and Bioengineering, University of Toronto), Aldo Pizzino (Scientific Lead, Kering, Paris), and Elicia Maine, (AVP Knowledge Mobilization & Innovation, Simon Fraser University). Together, they shared perspectives on emerging industry trends, innovation pathways, and the evolving future of the bioeconomy. Sergio Berretta (Professor of Practice - Resident Expert on Process Design & Development, UBC) also provided an update on the BPI Accelerating Technology Readiness Launch Program, highlighting its role in supporting the transition of bio based technologies toward commercialization.

A central highlight of the event was the Showcase Competition, where 31 teams of students and postdoctoral researchers presented their work through one minute flash talks and interactive booth exhibits. Thirty six judges from academia, industry, and government evaluated the presentations. 

Congratulations to the Showcase Award winners:

• Best Showcase Awards: Daniel Barker-Rothschild, Rameez Ahmad Mir, Julia Desbiens, Evelyn Lewicki
• Climate Impact Award: Lukas Bauman
• EDI.I Excellence Award: Majid Shirazi
• People’s Choice Award: Jeffrey To

We thank our Showcase judges for their valuable time and expertise: Avid Khamenehfar, Andrea Lloyd, Araz Rajabi, Catherine Nutting, David McCormick, Hana Mohammadi, Hisham Zerriffi, Haibo Feng, Iain Begg, Jim Wearing, Johan Foster, Jody Swift, Jonathan Verrett, Keith Gourlay, Kwang Ho Kim, Kyra Laverdiere, Matyas Kosa, Marcelo Mora, Marina Mehling, Murray McLaughlin, Nigel Fisher, Peijin Jiang, Qingshi Tu, Rahul Singh, Richard Chen, Richard Sones, Rishikesh Mankidy, Sean Lumb, Susan Baldwin, Tao Zou, Tianxi Yang, Vijay Pediredla, Wenbo Chen, Yankai Cao, Yale Zhu, Yitzac Goldstein

The event also recognized outstanding contributions from within the BPI community. Heather Trajano (Associate Professor & Associate Director of Clean Energy Research Center, UBC) was acknowledged for her leadership as a BPI research theme lead and her dedicated service on the EDI.I Committee over the past few years. George Soong (BPI Safety & Operations Officer) was recognized for his tireless dedication and support in maintaining the Pulp and Paper Centre building and BPI operations over the decades.

Orlando closed the event by thanking the speakers, judges, participants, staff, and volunteers, and by emphasizing the critical role of partnerships in advancing innovation and strengthening the bioeconomy.

BPI Connect 2025 served as a vibrant platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and celebration, marking a strong conclusion to a productive and impactful year for the BPI community.