National Program Leader, Engineering and Energy U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Dr. Erbach began his tenure as National Program Leader for Engineering and Energy in 1999. He serves as team leader of the ARS Bioenergy and Energy Alternatives national program. The mission of this program is to develop technology to create jobs and economic activity in rural America, reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, and improve the environment by developing alternate energy sources and increasing the use of agricultural crops and materials as feedstocks for biofuels. Dr. Erbach's research career has focused on development of technologies to improve soil management and crop production. He began his career with the USDA in 1966 as an Agricultural Engineer for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Ames, Iowa. ARS is the in-house research arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1987 Dr. Erbach became Research Leader for the Soil and Water Conservation Research Unit and from 1989 until 1996 he was an Agricultural Engineer for the National Soil Tilth Laboratory. Then Dr. Erbach moved to Auburn, Alabama and from 1996 to 1999 Dr. Erbach was the Research Leader / Laboratory Director for the Agricultural Research Service, National Soil Dynamics Laboratory. Don Erbach grew up in New Holstein, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin where he received B.S. degrees in Agriculture and in Mechanical Engineering in 1964 and 1965 respectively. One year later he received his Masters degree in Agricultural Engineering. He earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from Iowa State University in 1974.