Janis GRAVITIS
Born: February 11, 1948, Aluksne,
Latvia
Interests:
- Formation and structure of the wood cell wall lignin-carbohydrate matrix.
- ZeroEmissions concept and environment protection
- Biomass Refinery (Biorefinery) approach for biofuels and chemicals. Petrochemicals
replacement with chemicals from biomass
- Biomass-Based Production Systems (BPS)
- Ecotechnologies, identification and operation of new sustainable and integrated clusters
for forest, agricultural and plantation biomass - based industries in framework of the UNU
ZERI (Zero Emissions Research Initiative) Program
Education:
- University of Latvia (Faculty of Chemistry), 1970
- Visiting student at the Department of High Molecular Weight Compounds, Moscow
University, Russia, 1969
- Dr.chem. (Candidate of Science in former USSR, Ph.D. in Western countries), USSR Academy
of Sciences, 1977
- Dr.habil.chem. (Doctor of Science in former USSR), USSR Academy of Sciences, 1989
Languages: Latvian, English, Russian
Research and Professional Experience
Latvian State Institute of
Wood Chemistry:
Engineer, 1970 - 1972
Senior Engineer, 1972 - 1976
Junior Researcher, 1976 - 1979
Senior Researcher and Head of Research Group, 1979 - 1988
Head of Laboratory, 1988 - 1992
Head of Department, 1992 -
- Professor, 1993
Abroad:
- United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies, Tokyo, Japan, 1996 -
- Visiting Researcher, University of Tokyo, Asian Natural Environmental Center, 1997
- 1998
- Visiting Professor, University of Tokyo, 1999 - 2000
Honours and Awards:
- Corresponding Member, Latvian Academy of Sciences, 2006
- The Latvian Academy of Sciences Presidium First Award,
1979, 1984
- The Latvian Academy of Sciences Presidium First Award for Young Scientists, 1982
Professional Activities and Memberships:
- Member, Habilitation and Promotion Council, Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry,
1992 -
- American Chemical Society, Division of Cellulose, Paper and Textile, 1993
- The International Lignin Institute, Switzerland, 1993
- Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Sciences, 1994
Member of the UNU/ZERI Scientific Advisory Committee, 1996
- Member of the Shehy Shagari World Institute (SSWI) International
Advisory Board, 1999
Supervising and Lecturing:
- Supervisor of 11 B.Sc., 2 M.Sc. and 4 Ph.D.
- Lectures at the Technical University of Bratislava (former Czechoslovakia), 1988
- Lectures at the United Nations University, Institute of Advanced Studies, Tokyo, Japan,
for Ph.D. Fellows, 1996 -
- Lectures at the University of Tokyo, Asian Natural Environmental Center, 1997
Invited presentations: Sapporo University, Kyushu
university, Mie University and The Science Council of Japan
- 5 Keynote lectures at the International Conferences and
Symposiums, 1996 -
Research Projects:
- J. Gravitis (Head of Project). Structure of Wood, Its Components and Modifications as
Fractal and Nonfractal Elements Simbiotic Compositions under Conditions of Extreme
Actions. Latvian Council of Science (1997-2000).
- J. Gravitis (Head of Project). Establishment of Ecological Preparations Appropriate to
European Standards (EN) for Prevention of Wood Biodegradation, Latvian Council of
Science (1997-2000).
- J. Gravitis (Head of Project). New Materials obtained from Steam Explosion
Autohydrolysed Biomass. Latvian Council of Science (2001-).
- J. Gravitis (Head of Project). Molecular and Supermolecular Structure of New Materials
Obtained from Steam Explosionn Autohydrolysed Biomass. Latvian Council of Science
(2001- ).
J. Gravitis (Co-coordinator of Project). UNU/IAS ZERI
Project (1996 - 2000).
- J. Gravitis (Co-coordinator of Project). UNU/IAS QITS (Quartz
Industrial Trade System) Project (1997 - 2000).
- J. Gravitis (Foreign Member of Steering Committee). Japanese
Monbusho Ministry Zero Emissions Project (1997 - 2001).
Publications:
More than 220 publications, 10
reviews, chapters for 2 books.
Recent Significant Publications:
- Serimaa R., Vahvaselkä S., Kokorevics A., Teeäär R., Gravitis J., Pakkari T.
The Structure of Weakly Ordered Cellulose. - Univ. Helsinki Rep. Ser., Phys., 1992,
Vol. HU-P-259, pp. 1-29.
- Gravitis J. Lignin Structure and Properties from the Viewpoint of General Disordered
Systems Theory. In: Ligno-Cellulosics. Science, Technology, Development and Use \ Ed.
by J.F.Kennedy, G.O.Phillips, P.A.Williams - New York, Ellis Horwood, 1992, pp.
613-627.
- Teeäär R., Lippmaa E., Gravitis J., Kokorevics A., Kreituss A., Zharov A.
Structural-Changes of Cellulose, Wood, and Paper Under Sheer Deformation and High-Pressure
- J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 1994, Vol. 54, N 6, pp. 697-708.
- Gravitis J., Andersons B., Teeäär R., Kallavus U. Studies on the Structure of the
Steam Explosion and Swelling-Salvation Cellulose and Lignin Using 13C CP/MAS NMR. - Third
European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp. - Stockholm, Sweden, August 28-31,
1994, pp. 5-7.
- Kokorevics A., Gravitis J., Kalnacs J. Fullerene C-60 Destruction under Shear
Deformation and High-Pressure Action. - Chem. Phys. Lett., 1995, Vol. 243, N 3-4,
pp. 205-210.
- Kallavus U., Gravitis J. A Comparative Investigation of the Ultrastructure of
Steam Exploded Wood with Light, Scanning and Transmission Electron-Microscopy - Holzforschung,
1995, Vol. 49, N 2, pp. 182-188.
- Gravitis J., Kokorevics A., Andersons B., Kallavus U., Teeäär R. A New General Model
of Wood Cell Wall Substance, Developed on the Bases of Recent Experimental and Theoretical
Studies - The 8th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry. June 6-9,
1995, Helsinki, Finland. Proceedings, vol. 1, pp. 93-100.
Kokorevics A. and Gravitis J. Cellulose
Depolymerization to Glucose and Other Water Soluble Polysaccharides by Shear Deformation
and High Pressure Treatment. - Glycoconjugate J., 1997, Vol.14, No.5, pp. 669-676.
- J.Gravitis. Thermodynamics Aspects of Steam-Explosion Pulping as a Potential Method for
Paper Deinking - Fourth European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp. Stresa,
Italy, September 8-11, 1996. Extended Abstracts, pp. 180-183.
- J.Gravitis. Material Separation Technologies. - Proceedings of the Second Annual
World Congress on Zero Emissions, May 29-31, 1996, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA, Published by the UNU/IAS, Tokyo, Japan, 1996, pp. 168-173.
- J.Gravitis, T.Della Senta, E.D.Williams. The conversion of biomass into fuels, fibers
asnd value added chemical products from the perspective of the zero emissions concept. -
Proc. Symp.Biomass Conversion, Sapporo, Japan, October 26, 1997, pp. 1-18.
- J.Gravitis. Can biomasss replace oil fuels and petrochemicals?
Proc. Int. Symp. on "Towards Zero Emmissions: the Challenge for
Hydrocarbons", EniTechnologie, Rome, Italy, March 11-13, 1999, pp. 95-106.
- Zandersons J., Kokorevics A., Gravitis J. Reduction of
Amazon and Cerrado Deforestation Using Sugar Cane Bagasse as an Alternative Wood Source
for Charcoal Production. Technological Feasibility Studies - UNU/IAS Working Paper No.
57, 1999, pp. 1-44.
- Gravitis J., Suzuki M. Biomass Refinery A Way to Produce
Value Added Products and Base for Agricultural Zero Emissions System Proceedings
of the International Conference on Agricultural Engineering for 21st Century. December
14-17, 1999, Beijing, P.R. China, pp. III-9 III-22.
- J.Zandersons, J. Gravitis, A.Kokorevics, et al. Studies of
the Brazilian sugarcane bagasse carbonisation process and products properties. -
Biomass & Bioenergy, 1999, vol.17, N 3, pp. 210-219.
- Gravitis J. Forest and Agricultural Conversion into
Biofuels and Chemical Products Abstracts of the Symposium organized by the
Science Council of Japan, February 16, 2000, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 2-3.
- N.Vedernikov, J.Zandersons, A.Kokorevics, J.Gravitis.
Furfural and Levoglucosan as Building Blocks for Chemicals and polymers. - Proc. 6th
European Workshop on Lignocellulosics and Pulp, Sept. 3-6, 2000, Bordeaux, France,
pp. 645-648.
- J.Zandersons, N.Vedernikovs, A.Kokorevics,
J.Gravitis. Energy, material and chemicals flows in integrated zero emissions biomass
refinery cluster. - Proc. 4th Int. Conf. on Environmental Impacts of the Pulp and
Paper Industry, June 12-15, 2000, Helsinki, Finland, pp. 122-126.
- J.Gravitis, N.Vedernikovs, J.Zanderson, A.Kokorevics.
Furfural and levoglucosan production from decideous wood and agricultural wastes. - In: Chemicals
and Materials from Renewable Resources. Amer. Chem. Soc./, New Orleans, 2000, pp.
110-122.
- G.Shulga, G.Zakis, B.Neiberte, J.Gravitis.
Synthesis and properties of novel polyelectrolyte on the basis of wood polymer. - In: Recent
Advances in Environmentally Compatible Polymers /eds. J.Kennedy, G.Phillips,
P.Williams/, 2001, Woodhead Publ. Ltd.: Cambridge, pp. 123-128.
- J.Gravitis. Biomass conversion trend towards
biorefineries in Europe and world wide. - Proc. Biomass Symposium, Japan, 2003,
pp. 11-18.
- J.Gravitis, A.Kokorevics, V.Ozols-Kalnins.
Biologically controlled determinism versus physical randomness as a two faces of lignin
complexity in plant cell wall. - Proc. IAWS Meeting in 2003, Cesis, Latvia; 2004,
Riga: Institute of Atomic Physics and Spectroscopy, University of Latvia, pp. 53-62.
- J.Gravitis, J.Zandersons, V.Ozols-Kalnins,
A.Kokorevics. How can the Baltic Countries' resources be oriented towards sustainability?
- In: Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 15,
"Integrative Approaches Towards Sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region" ( W.L.Filho
and A.Ubelis- Eds.), 2004; Peter Lang Publ. House: Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern,
Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, pp. 67-85.
- O.Bikovens, J.Gravitis, K.Iiyama. Biomedification of
lignocelluloses under composting environment and heavy metal binding by compost humic
substances. - In: Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability, Vol. 15,
"Integrative Approaches Towards Sustainability in the Baltic Sea Region" ( W.L.Filho
and A.Ubelis- Eds.), 2004; Peter Lang Publ. House: Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern,
Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, pp.439-444.
- J.Zandersons, J.Gravitis, A.Zhurinsh, A.Kokorevics,
U.Kallavus, C.K.Suzuki. Carbon materials obtained from self-binding sugar cans bagasse and
deciduous wood residues plastics. - Biomass & Bioenergy, 2004, vol. 26, pp.
345-360.
- J.Gravitis, J.Zandersons, N.Vedernikov,
I.Kruma,V.Ozols-Kalnins. Clustering of bio-products technologies for zero emissions and
eco-efficiency. - Industrial Crops & Products, 2004, vol. 20, Issue 2, pp.
169-180.
- U.Vainio, N.Maximova, B.Hortling, J.Laine, P.Stenius,
L. K.Simola, J.Gravitis, R.Serimaa. Morphology of dry lignins and size and shape of
dissolved lignin particles by x-ray scattering. - Langmuir, 2004, vol. 20, pp.
9736-9744.
- U. Vainio, R. Serimaa and J. Gravitis. X-Ray Scattering Methods in the Study
of Soft Materials. - Latvian J. of Physics and Technical
Sciences, 2006, N 4, pp. 14-24.
- J. Gravitis. Nano Level Structures in Wood Cell Wall Composites. - Cellulose
Chem. Techn., 2006, vol.40, N 5, pp. 291-298 (Review).
J.Gravitis. Green biobased chemistry platform
for sustainability. - In: Environmental Education, Communication and
Sustainability, Vol. ..., , 2006; Peter Lang Publ. House: Frankfurt am Main,
Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien, (accepted).
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Last update 29.12.2006