Achievement

John Field, a trainee in our first cohort, has developed the first version of a software package for performing life-cycle assessments (LCAs) of biofuel production from cellulosic feedstocks. This LCA software provides a more fine-grained approach to determine the greenhouse gas emissions from feedstock production through biofuel production. In particular, the approach taken by John represents biorefinery operations as a set of modules, which allows for more flexibility in including different biofuel production routes. John is a mechanical engineering PhD student who is mentored by professors from the departments of Soil and Crop Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.