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Triptych showing green leaves, a Petri dish, and two glass vials of yellow and amber liquid

Bioenergy Research Centers mark discovery milestone

With a focus on hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals made from non-food plants, the Bioenergy Research Centers are developing a portfolio of plant-based products, methods, and tools for use in an emerging U.S. bioeconomy.

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| Joy Landis

Entomology graduate student Allison Zahorec has received $138,000 for three years to learn more about how soil microarthropod communities found in various bioenergy crop systems influence microbial and plant functions that help soils retain carbon.

| Val Osowski
The Michigan State University (MSU) Innovation Center has named Federica Brandizzi, MSU Foundation Professor of Plant Biology, as the MSU Innovator of the Year for her groundbreaking work in plant biology. The Brandizzi lab is investigating the technology needed to help plant cells soften their cell walls to allow them to expand and grow bigger in the field.
| Adam Malecek

As our world faces massive shortages of N95 masks, there is growing concern for the safety of healthcare workers who rely on these specialized masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to treat COVID-19 patients.

| Jason Daley

Replacing fossil fuels with electricity or biofuels does not mean reliance on gas and oil will go away overnight. In addition to transportation fuels, petroleum is refined into hundreds of petrochemicals used in everything from plastics and pharmaceuticals to carpets and fertilizers, and currently there are no easy ways to produce most of these chemicals without using oil.

| Jill Sakai
Tim Donohue, UW Foundation Fetzer-Bascom Professor of Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and interim director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), testified in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 3, before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather.
| Jason Daley

Someday soon, oil refineries may trade in crude oil for agricultural waste like corn stalks or renewable plants like switchgrass in order to produce sustainable biofuels. But we’re not there quite yet; converting those products into usable chemicals on a large scale requires efficient catalytic reactions, which researchers are still hunting for.

| Staff
A new Michigan State University study shines a light on how big data and digital technologies can help farmers better adapt to threats — both present and future — from a changing climate.
| GLBRC Staff
GLBRC Director Tim Donohue will present testimony at 10 a.m. EST on Tuesday, March 3, before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Science, Oceans, Fisheries, and Weather in Washington, D.C., about the opportunities and challenges of the bioeconomy.
| Justin Whitmore

Transportation produces a sizable amount of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, largely by using petroleum to power internal combustion engines. Other alternatives – such as using cellulosic biomass like grasses to produce drop-in fuels or electricity – could avoid petroleum use altogether and move atmospheric carbon dioxide to soil and geologic storage.

| Daneia Russell, Layne Cameron

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, has awarded the distinction of Fellow to six MSU faculty members this year, including GLBRC researchers Eric Hegg and Cheryl Kerfeld. These individuals have been elevated to this rank because of their efforts toward advancing science applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. 

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