News

An assistant research specialist at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) has designed a new strain of yeast that could improve the efficiency of making fuel from cellulosic biomass such as switchgrass.

Long before Tim Donohue became the director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), he was a teenage beach cleaner and would-be biologist growing up on the boardwalk of New York City’s Rockaway Beach.

To tackle what many consider the next frontier in biofuels research, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) recently joined forces with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville, California. The focus of their collaboration? Lignin, a glue-like compound in the cell wall of most living plants that gives them their sturdiness.

A six-year Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) study on the viability of different bioenergy feedstocks recently demonstrated that perennial cropping systems such as switchgrass, giant miscanthus, poplar, native grasses, and prairie can yield as much biomass as corn stover.

MADISON - About 500 years ago, the accidental natural hybridization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast responsible for things like ale, wine and bread, and a distant yeast cousin gave rise to lager beer.

Today, cold-brewed lager is the world's most consumed alcoholic beverage, fueling an industry with annual sales of more than $250 billion.

David Ryder recently shared with us his thoughts about serving as scientific advisor to GLBRC, the past eight years of GLBRC research, and the next decade of bioenergy advancements.

As a boy, wet and muddy to the knees, John Greenler did his share of up-ending rocks in streambeds to search for the crayfish and salamanders dwelling below.

We tend to assume that all botanists have green thumbs. But friends and colleagues stopped giving Federica Brandizzi plants long ago.

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) has hired Tina Nielsen, 2008 geology Ph.D. graduate, as Associate Director to help elevate the Center’s efforts. Her combined experience in research, scientific instruction and university-industry relations makes her a promising addition to the GLBRC.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Christoph Benning, Michigan State University professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, will become the director of the MSU/ U.S. Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory beginning Aug. 16.