Bio-based fuels and energy generation methods are largely
compatible with the installed transportation and energy
infrastructure, and they potentially address societal grand
challenges associated with energy security, rural development,
and a better environment. However, to succeed at the scale
needed, sustainable
design and resource management principles must infuse the
entire technology development process.
Bio-energy researchers also need new skills to address complex
questions from a life-cycle perspective:
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Might widespread adoption
of bio-energy help slow climate change, thereby decreasing
the risk of climate-induced energy crop failure?
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Can new chemical/
electrochemical process technologies and materials transform
the economics of bio-energy?
The UW Bioresource-Based Energy for Sustainable Societies
program is funded by the NSF’s Integrative Graduate Education
and Research Traineeship (IGERT)
Program. We are creating leaders among a new generation of
Ph.D. scientists and engineers with deep disciplinary knowledge
and unique expertise in the multidisciplinary, multicultural,
and societal aspects of sustainability through research and
curricula founded in the idea that new research opportunities
lie at the intersection of resource management practices,
molecular science and engineering, and
Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) strategies.
The BioEnergy Life Cycle
