A plot of switchgrass grows in the Great Lake Bioenergy Research Center's fields at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, WI. Photo by Matthew Wisniewski

Great Lakes Bioenergy

Great Lakes Bioenergy is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded research center dedicated to developing sustainable biofuels and bioproducts.

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Who We Are

The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is a U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison. With Michigan State University and other partners, we are developing sustainable biofuels and bioproducts made from dedicated energy crops grown on marginal lands. Our mission is simple: creating biofuels and bioproducts that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

Research Themes

Sustainable cropping systems

Engineering bioenergy crops to enhance their environmental and economic value

Generating multiple products from plant biomass

Understanding and optimizing the field-to-product pipeline

Advancing science through service: GLBRC scientist Trey Sato honored for collaborative leadership

Two researchers wearing safety glasses examine colony plates, with one pointing to colony growth on a gridded agar plate held by the other.

As a microbiologist, Trey Sato occasionally witnesses a genetic interaction, a rare phenomenon that occurs when the combination of two traits results in an impact greater than the sum of its individual parts.

He sees a parallel in his career.

System approach innovations improve understanding of plant resilience

A researcher in a white lab coat examines a sorghum plant stalk in a greenhouse, photographed through surrounding foliage with climate control equipment visible in the background.

Since joining GLBRC in 2022, Dae Kwan Ko has helped develop computational frameworks and data sets that support other GLBRC scientists in the quest for genes that contribute to more resilient and bountiful bioenergy crops.