On October 21, John (Jack) N. Saddler the endowed Professor of Forest Products Biotechnology & Bioenergy (originally an NSERC Industry Chair) and Dean Emeritus, Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia, Canada, guested at the “Inspiring Wisdom” Distinguished Lectures. He delivered a wonderful speech under the title "Worldwide growth in renewable energy and the contribution of bioenergy/biofuels ".

Prof. John (Jack) N. Saddler is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has received many awards such as the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO’s) Scientific Achievement Award, the Charles D. Scott award and the British Columbia Life Sciences Leadership award. Jack has published more than 390 peer reviewed papers, several books, holds several patents and is a regular reviewer/advisor for agencies such as DOE, USDA, NSERC, World Bank, VTT, etc. He has trained/supervised more than 85 graduate students/Post Docs and Research Associates, many of whom are currently employed in senior positions in industry, government and academia. He is the Co-Task Leader of the IEA Bioenergy Liquid Biofuels Task 39.