Who am I?
My name is Rachel Polet, I'm a biology major and I am going to be a senior at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. I have participated in the PHAGES research program as a freshman and have done mini research projects for class but this will be my first paid internship in biology!
What am I doing?
I am at Michigan State University, working for Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Company (GLBRC). I will be researching plant biology in the Wilkerson Lab (I am currently unaware of the details).
What is GLBRC?
GLBRC is "one of three bioenergy research centers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to conduct transformational biofuel research."It's main facilities are in the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The government has several reasons for funding alternative energy research: energy independence (political), cost of fuel (economic), and environmental impact.
GLBRC focuses on four main areas of research:
- Developing plants that are more easily converted into fuel (what I will be working on)
- Investigating new strategies for converting plants into usable chemicals
- Taking those plant chemicals and finding better ways to turn them into fuels
- Ensuring the sustainability of biofuels for mass production
This seems to be enough info for today but stay tuned for a more in-depth look at the science and politics behind biofuels.
Hey Rach, this will be interesting to follow. Can't wait to hear more. mom
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