Industry and Entrepreneurship Award

A man in a white lab coat looks on as a man wearing blue latex gloves holds a flask coated with an amber-colored residue

Troy Runge (right), associate dean of research for UW–Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and Steve Karlen, research scientist with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, observe a vial of phenolics in Runge's lab at the Wisconsin Energy Institute in 2023.

Established in 2025, the GLBRC Industry & Entrepreneurship Award recognizes members who have demonstrated entrepreneurial excellence or fostered collaboration with industry partners to support the center’s mission to create biofuels and bioproducts that are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.

2025 recipients: Steve Karlen, Canan Sener, and Jason Coplien

A woman and two men seated at a table look at a laptop computer screen

From left, Canan Sener, Steven Karlen, and Jason Coplien.

Through a startup company called Phenolvation, the trio of scientists are working to commercialize technology developed through GLBRC research that can produce sustainably sourced replacements for common petroleum products. These chemicals include acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and para-aminophenol, a precursor molecule used to make ink, dyes, adhesives, and other polymers with a global market value of more than $1.5 billion.