Feature Stories
Beetle-Dwelling Yeast Holds Promise for Biofuel Production
April 2013
Tom Jeffries has published a paper describing a type of yeast that can ferment plant sugars to ethanol much more efficiently than other species.
GLBRC Alumni Spotlight: Interview with Julie Sinistore
April 2013
Interview with Julie Sinistore, former GLBRC Sustainability researcher, who is now a Senior Life Cycle Analyst at Virent, Inc.
Biofuels of th
e Future: Department of Energy #LabChat with Brian Pfleger
September 2012
On September 26, we hosted a Department of Energy #LabChat Q&A on Twitter, featuring GLBRC project leader Brian Pfleger (R) whose research focuses on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. Education and Outreach Director John Greenler (L) moderated.
Student Computer Game Simulates Biofuel Production
September 2012
Researchers at te Wisconsin Institute for Discovery are developing a student computer game that could help scientists better understand the social, economic, and environmental factors that impact biofuel production.
Researcher Q&A: Meet Yaoping Zhang
September 2012
Yaoping Zhang of GLBRC's Conversion Research Area talks about his work, his family, and what he thinks aspiring scientists should know.
New Processing Approach Accelerates Ethanol Production
June 2012
GLBRC researchers at Michigan State University have found a way to turn corn stover, a common cellulosic feedstock, into ethanol much more quickly without sacrificing quantity or quality.
GLBRC Celebrates First Issued Patent
June 2012
The GLBRC is marking the arrival of summer with a milestone: the first patent issued on GLBRC technology. The patent protects a new heat-tolerant enzyme capable of breaking down the sturdy plant cell walls of cellulosic biomass into biofuel.
Science Report: Plants
February 2012
As they explore how to degrade plant biomass into simpler sugars or coax crops into growing more biomass per acre, researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) are identifying the characteristics essential for better biofuels feedstocks.
Science Report: Deconstruction
February 2012
Just as people need to chew food to better access and digest the nutrients inside, mechanical and chemical pretreatment of plants disrupts the cell walls and allows access to the sugars within.
Science Report: Conversion
February 2012
Once biomass has been pretreated and the sugars released, GLBRC scientists work with bugs like yeast and E. coli to optimize the way they churn through sugars and ferment them to produce fuels.
Science Report: Sustainability
February 2012
How can GLBRC researchers be sure that successful fuel production at the lab bench can be scaled up to meet the needs of a state, a region or a country?
Science Report: Education and Outreach
February 2012
When Jillian Foerster started her freshman year at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, she knew that majoring in cell and molecular biology would open up several avenues for research exploration. What she didn’t know is that she would end up in Wisconsin studying biofuels.
