Illinois students receive BP funding for biomass research

BrighterEnergy.org
August 12, 2011

Five undergraduate students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received a $5,000 grant from British Petroleum to research the engineering properties of biomass.

The students wrote the grant to develop a virtual database that will tell end users the properties of different types of energy crops, such as sorghum, Miscanthus, switchgrass, willow and energy cane, and their value for energy production.

Su Jung Lee, Rachel Gross and Colleen Moloney, all agricultural and biological engineering students, began the project while working in the lab of Luis Rodriguez, a professor in the U of I’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

Ian Moses, a junior in mechanical engineering with an avid interest in alternative fuels, joined the group, as did Kevin Today, a computer science major.

“I knew I wanted to learn more about alternative fuels,” said Moses, “so I decided to contact a professor working in that area to see if I could work with him. One of the professors I contacted was Dr. Rodriguez, and he eventually offered me a job.

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