biofuel

Yadama

Englund

PULLMAN – Efficient utilization of timber and biomass residues for alternative fuels and other products will be the focus of the free webinar “Adding Value to Woody Biomass,”  10 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 4, at breeze.wsu.edu/research_that_works_for_you.  

The presentation is part of the WSU Extension’s webinar series, “Research that Works for You.”

Researcher and WSU Extension specialist Vikram Yadama and assistant research professor Karl Englund, both from the WSU Composite Materials and Engineering Center, will present the webinar.

“As the nation and the world … » More …

PULLMAN – Yong Wang, Voiland Distinguished Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, and associate director of the Institute for Interfacial Catalysis at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has been named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Fellows are recognized for their exceptional accomplishments in chemical science and the profession, as well as their service to the ACS.

Wang, an internationally known researcher in the area of energy and renewable energy, joined WSU in 2009. He has a joint appointment with the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest … » More …

PULLMAN — There are a lot of things standing in the way of Shulin Chen’s quest to make energy from algae, the simple, light-loving organisms we usually associate with pond scum, seaweed and deck slime.

But in a world of rising greenhouse gases and dwindling energy options, he’s forging ahead.

“We don’t have other choices,” said Chen, a professor of biological systems engineering. “We have to do it. We make progress one step at a time but I believe eventually we’re going to have a biofuel industry using algae. We have to. There’s little other option.”

His effort took a significant step towards … » More …

Painstaking days slicing through alfalfa stems with a razor blade not only confirmed grad student Ann Patten’s scientific point, but also landed her work on the cover of the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Botany.

This wasn’t a first. Her photographs have been featured on the covers of four national scientific journals since 2005.
 
“It’s a relatively rare form of recognition,” said her mentor, Norm Lewis, director of WSU’s Institute of Biological Chemistry. “The editors ask contributors to submit photos for consideration, and they liked Ann’s so much that they used it for the kiosk poster at the annual meeting … » More …

The rush to develop biofuels as an energy source could lead to devastating environmental and economic consequences, according to an article co-authored by Washington State University ecologist Richard Mack.In the paper titled “Adding biofuels to the invasive species fire,” Mack and colleagues from around the U.S. warn that the characteristics that make a plant species a good prospect as a biofuel resource also make it a prime candidate to escape domesticity and become invasive when grown outside its normal range. They urge that any non-native species being considered for biofuel production be evaluated for their invasive potential before being approved for large-scale planting.”We’re not categorically … » More …