Executive Director, Crop Commercialization Program
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North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Dr. Paul Ulanch is the Executive Director of the Crop Commercialization Program at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center where he facilitates value-add opportunities to improve crops that result in increased profits for NC growers and strengthens the state’s agribusinesses. Many projects add value to the greater Southeast. Current project work is pursuing increasing feed grain production in the Mid-Atlantic region to sustain North Carolina’s production animal industry, optimize parameters for growing cellulosic biomass grasses to sustain a high-value chemicals industry, scale the use of winter oilseeds as a way to improve wheat production and attract specialty oil markets, and explore niche specialty crops that can be deployed at scale for food ingredients. He served as the Enterprise & Technology Development Director where he led efforts to support ag biotech entrepreneurs, enable partnership development, and assist companies locating to North Carolina.
He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Texas A&M University where he developed a process to accelerate construction of physical genome maps, and MBA from the Katz Executive Program at the University of Pittsburgh, with Beta Gamma Sigma honors. He served as Director of Technology Commercialization at the NC SBTDC and research faculty at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, and consulted for and advised industry, commodity groups, and non-profits in areas of science, marketing, and intellectual property.