Sustainability Alumni Interview: Henry Wallace, Product Innovation Scientist, Lignetics

Describe yourself in a couple sentences: where are you from, what degrees do you have, when did you graduate from VT, and give us some basics about your home life:

"I’m from Warrenton, VA, and graduated from Virginia Tech in 2023 with a B.S. in Sustainable Biomaterials. I now live in Boulder, Colorado with some wonderful housemates and cats. In my free time, I enjoy trail running, rock climbing, skiing, cooking, and various arts and crafts."

What was your major in the SBIO department and what made you choose that major?

"I was an SBIO major in the Creating Sustainable Society track. I started at VT undecided within CNRE - I’d always had a passion for the natural world and conservation, but I was also drawn to engineering and technology. SBIO felt like the perfect way to merge those interests, while also supporting my mission to make the world a better place through sustainable materials and actions."

What jobs have you had since graduation, and what is your current job title?

"After graduation, I joined Lignetics as an Associate Product Innovation Scientist. The company focuses on extending the life of wood residuals (like sawdust and chips) by turning them into consumer and industrial products instead of letting them go to waste. A little over two years later, I’m still on the innovation team, now at a higher level than when I started."

How did your choice of major and your education at VT help you decide on and qualify for your current position?

"My SBIO education in wood science and circularity, combined with my love for research, made my role at Lignetics a natural fit. There’s always some luck and timing involved in landing the right job, but choosing a major that aligned with my values, diving deep into my favorite subjects, and connecting with so many great faculty members made all the difference."

What does a typical workday look like for your current position?

"As part of the innovation team, I split my time between research and reading, running experiments in the lab, and coordinating projects with external partners. I also travel to our manufacturing facilities for trials and learning, and occasionally attend conferences or visit customers."

What have you learned in your SBIO department classes, or through your overall time at VT, that’s helped you the most with your career?

"I regularly draw on my classroom knowledge of wood anatomy, mechanics, manufacturing, and circular economics. The communication skills built along the way are equally, if not more important. The CNRE Leadership Institute also helped me to better understand myself and build industry connections. Overall, university is the time to try everything – classes, research groups, clubs, and just talking to people. That kind of exposure is how you figure out what you want to do, and how you want to get there."

Have you stayed connected with SBIO since graduating?

"Yes. I’ve been co-leading a collaboration between a current SBIO graduate student and Lignetics, focusing on modeling biomass utilization at the facility scale. The project explores material, environmental, and economic tradeoffs between the business-as-usual case and potential biomass utilization scenarios for one of our facilities in Virginia."