Dr. Terry Walker is a professor of Biosystems Engineering (BE) with over 20 years of experience in sustainable bioprocessing. He obtained his Ph.D. in BE in 1997 from the University of Tennessee in cooperation with the Chemical Technology Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He was an assistant professor at Louisiana State University from 1997 to 2002 and then joined Clemson University Biosystems Engineering in 2002. In 2011, he joined the EEES department where the BE program is now located.
Dr. Walker’s research focuses on biorefinery concepts for the integrated bioconversion of feedstock materials to bioenergy components (switchgrass to fuel ethanol, algal lipids to biodiesel esters and biomass power production), nutraceuticals (essential lipids emphasizing omega-3 FA metabolism), and hydrolytic enzymes. Separation processes include supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), emphasizing thermodynamic and computational transport modeling. Dr. Walker has obtained more than $3.5 M in research and educational funding ($1.5 M in research instrumentation and pilot bioprocessing equipment) and participated on grants that total more than $6 M. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed research articles and proceedings, one biofuels textbook, 4 book chapters, and over 10 public communications. He has been invited to present at more than 20 national and international professional conferences. Dr. Walker currently develops biorefinery concepts in collaboration with the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), USDA-ARS, and biomass/bioenergy-related industries. He was recently a member of the SC Biomass Council (directed by SC State Energy Office) and the Clemson University President’s Commission on Sustainability. He has served on grant review panels for Department of Energy renewable energy programs and as a reviewer for many bioenergy and nutraceutical related journals (e.g., Bioresource Technology, Biotechnology for Biofuels, Biomass, and Applied Energy). Dr. Walker teaches BE/ChE 4280/6280 (Biochemical Engineering); BE 4380/4381/6380/6381 (Bioprocess Engineering Design); BE 8380 (Advanced Bioprocess Engineering); BE 8650 (Advanced Biological Transport Processes); and he co-teaches BE 4400 (Renewable Energy Engineering).
Dr. Walker’s extracurricular activities include sustainable practices (renewable energy consulting with Resilient Biosystems LLC, Green Light SC under the umbrella of Green Light New Orleans – a non-profit business installing raised-bed organic gardens and energy-efficient lights into low-income homes), sailing, tennis, biking, hiking, classical guitar, and watercolor painting.
