Category: Research

Love of plants and problem-solving drives bioenergy researcher Rebecca Ong

Growing up, Rebecca Ong was one of the youngest garden club enthusiasts in northern Michigan, a science-loving kid who accompanied her grandparents to club events like “growing great gardens” or “tulip time.” When she wasn’t tending the family garden, she was mucking about in nature, learning from parents who had both trained as foresters.

“My parents really instilled in me the importance of conservation,” says Ong, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Technological University and researcher at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC). “From an early age, I had this idea of sustainability and the importance of finding sustainable sources of energy.”

Read more and watch the video at Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center News, by Krista Eastman.

New Funding

Rebecca Ong (ChE/SFI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $32,050 research and development grant from the University of Wisconsin-Madison/Department of Energy. The project is titled “Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.”

This is the first year of a potential five-year project totaling $1,316,434.

By Sponsored Programs.

We don’t know yet what caused the explosion and fires at the Superior, WI oil refinery. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), an independent, non-regulatory federal agency, is investigating the incident and it could take weeks to months before the causes of this incident become public information.

What Andre Da Costa, Herbert H. Dow Chair in Chemical Process Safety at Michigan Technological University, says he can tell you is that incidents like this – with an uncontrolled release of energy and chemicals with the potential to cause injuries to the employees and the public, damage to the environment and to property – can be prevented by effective implementation of risk-based process safety principles.

Read more at DOE Science News Source.

Caryn Heldt (ChE) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $300,000 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. The project is titled “Driving Forces in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems for Vaccine Development.” This is a three-year project totaling $300,000.

Extract

Worldwide, there is a need for less expensive vaccines. To achieve better vaccine coverage, vaccine production processes need to be low-cost and allow for continuous operation, which is not possible with current vaccine production technology. A primary objective of this project will be to explore aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) to fulfill the need for new viral particle purification processes that could reduce the cost of vaccines and be run as a continuous operation. ATPS could also reduce the development time for a new vaccine, allowing for pandemic vaccines to come to market sooner. In addition to vaccines, a better understanding of ATPS could aid in future cell separations for advanced cell therapeutics.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Lei Pan (ChE/ASISC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $15,000 research and development grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The project is “Separation and Recovery of Battery Components.”

This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Several Michigan Tech faculty members will be on hand this week at a forum in Iron Mountain to discuss the future of the paper industry.

The Kraft Lignin Innovation Forum takes place Wednesday and Thursday (Oct. 11/12, 2017) at the Verso Quinnesec Mill, just outside of Iron Mountain.  The event is coordinated by the Michigan Forest Biomaterials Institute (MIFBI). Mark Rudnicki (SFRES), executive director of MIFBI, says the forum intends to bring researchers and companies from across Michigan, and beyond, to learn first hand the availability and opportunities surrounding residual black liquor from Michigan’s largest pulp producer.

Among the Tech faculty presenting are Rebecca Ong (ChE), David Shonnard (ChE), Michael Mullins (ChE), Xingeng Xie (SFRES) and Wen Zhou (ChE).

For more information and for a complete schedule of the conference, visit here.

Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Rebecca G. Ong is named in a proposal for the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. The center is one of four to receive part of the estimated $40 million in Department of Energy awards.

DOE SELECTS GREAT LAKES BIOENERGY RESEARCH CENTER FOR NEXT-PHASE FUNDING

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) for an additional five years of funding to develop sustainable alternatives to transportation fuels and products currently derived from petroleum. The past recipient of roughly $267 million in DOE funding, the GLBRC represents the largest federal grant ever awarded to UW–Madison.

Established by the Biological and Environmental Research program in DOE’s Office of Science in 2007, GLBRC is based at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Wisconsin Energy Institute and includes a major partnership with Michigan State University (MSU).

Read more at GLBRC News, by Krista Eastman.

Department of Energy Provides $40 Million for 4 DOE Bioenergy Research Centers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry today announced $40 million in Department of Energy awards for the establishment of four DOE Bioenergy Research Centers (BRCs), which will provide the scientific breakthroughs for a new generation of sustainable, cost-effective bioproducts and bioenergy.

The centers—each led by a DOE National Laboratory or a top university—are designed to lay the scientific groundwork for a new bio-based economy that promises to yield a range of important new products and fuels derived directly from nonfood biomass. Initial funding for the four centers will total $40 million for FY 2018, with plans for a total of five years of funding.

Read more at DOE News.

Julia King (ChE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) along with alumni, John Laureto (MSE) and Julie Tomasi (ChE) published Thermal properties of 3-D printed polylactic acid-metal composites in Progress in Additive Manufacturing.

DOI 10.1007/s40964-017-0019-x