EDUCATION
Energy Department Initiative Targets Biobased Products Industry

The growing interest in developing fuels, chemical feedstocks, and other products from renewable biomass means that there is an increased demand for trained scientists in the biobased products industry. To address this demand, the Department of Energy has created an education initiative that encourages universities and companies to work together to develop curricula that emphasize the needed multidisciplinary training. The initiative is supported by the Bush Administration's National Energy Policy.

A symposium at the ACS national meeting in Orlando, organized by the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Division's newly formed Industrial Bio-Based Technology Subdivision, provided an opportunity for the eight universities participating in the DOE initiative to report on their progress. The session included talks by faculty representing departments as varied as chemistry, chemical engineering, biological systems engineering, and agricultural economics. The universities have received grants averaging $100,000 per year for three years to cover the administrative costs of designing and implementing the curricula and for some graduate student stipends.

Most of the universities are focusing on strengthening their existing graduate programs, which may include offering an area of specialization in biobased products or, eventually, new degree programs. Some of the steps being taken include having students take courses in different departments, offering interdisciplinary team-taught courses, providing a greater emphasis on multidisciplinary research, and establishing better links to industry through internships, mentors, and seminar speakers. Some of the universities are planning to develop continuing education courses as well.

The participating universities are the University of Nebraska, Lincoln; the University of Missouri, Columbia; Oklahoma State University; Iowa State University; Kansas State University; Michigan State University; Colorado School of Mines; and the University of Georgia.

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