Research and Development

The Northeast Sun Grant competitive grant research portfolio contains experiments in the areas of feedstock development, bio-conversion processes, systems analysis, economics, environment and policy.

Feedstock Development and Agronomic Projects

• Jocelyn Rose, Cornell University, A Biofuel Screening Program for Grass Feedstocks: Diversity, Physiological Traits and Compositional Characteristics for Optimal Yield.
• Larry Smart, Cornell University, Genetic Improvement for Yield and Establishment of Short Rotation Woody Biomass Crops on Marginal Lands.
• Larry Smart, Cornell University, Optimizing Nutrient Uptake in Shrub Willow and Switchgrass to Provide Multiple Ecosystem Services.
• Gary Bergstrom, Cornell University, A Biofuel Screening Program for Grass Feedstocks: Diversity, Physiological Traits and Compositional Characteristics for Optimal Yield.
• Roger Koide, Pennsylvania State University, Contrasting Soil Carbon Sequestration by Soybean and Canola.
• Armen R. Kemanian, Pennsylvania State University, Production and life-cycle assessment of switchgrass across the heterogeneous landscape of the Northeast.
• David Dowler, Pennsylvania State University Extension, Meadville, PA, Camelina: A new Oilseed Crop for Permanent No-till Systems in the Northeast.
• Thomas Molnar, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Developing the Potential of Hazelnuts as a Feedstock for Biodiesel and other Oleochemicals in the Northeast.
• Stacy Bonos, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Switchgrass with Improved Biomass Productivity on Marginal Land for the Northeastern US.
• Stacy Bonos, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Improving Switchgrass Establishment through Breeding.
• Stacy Bonos, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Enhancing the plant-soil-microbe ecosystem to advance sustainable switchgrass production.
• Rafiq Islam, The Ohio State University, Carbon-neutral perennial grass biofuels production from biosolids amended degraded forest and marginal lands in Ohio.
• Stephen Herbert, University of Massachusetts, Optimal Harvest Time of Switchgrass: Yield, Nutrient Cycling and Air Emissions.
• Stephen Herbert, University of Massachusetts, Assessing switchgrass establishment problems.

Bioproducts Development and Educational Projects

• David Hodge, Michigan State University, Catalytic Oxidation of biorefinery-and forest products industry-derived lignins for the production of functionally active aromatic monomers.
• Robert Birkenholz, The Ohio State University, "The Biobased Promise", a consumer purchasing decisions study.
• Rafiq Islam, The Ohio State University, Training Professionals on Sustainable Advanced Energy Feedstock Production for Enhanced Ecosystems Services from the Ground Up.
• Kaushlendra Singh, West Virginia University, Novel Bio-Chars Production from Northeastern Forestry Feedstocks and Their Land Application to Enhance Environmental Sustainability of Agricultural Production Systems.
• Changqing Wu, University of Delaware, Utilizing lignocellulose-to-ethanol residue for multifunctional natural products.
• Benjamin Dawson-Andoh, West Virginia University, Engineered High-Value Carbonaceous Products from Bio-refinery By-Products.

Feedstock Logistics and Handling Projects

• Jude Liu, Pennsylvania State University, Development of Square Bale Handling Systems.
• Hojae Yi, Pennsyvania State University, Predictive Relationships for Assessing Quality of Densified Biomass using Fundamental Mechanical Properties of Granular Bio-Feedstock.

Bioenergy and Biofuel Projects

• James Gossett, Cornell University, Influence of Alternative Pretreatment Strategies on Cellulosic Ethanol Production using Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation at High Solids Concentrations.
• Stephen Kresovich, Cornell University, Exploiting Diversity in Cellulosic Sorghums for Northern Latitudes.
• Marshall Hayes, Cornell University, Experimental Evolution and Metabolic Engineering of Fusarium graminearum PH-1 and Colletotrichum navitas Cn09 for the Enhanced Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass.
• Gary Bergstrom, Cornell University, Genome-enabled selection and high throughput screening of microbial accessory enzymes for enhanced conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.
• Lawrence Smart, Cornell University, Influence of varietal differences in shrub willow crop biomass composition and biochemical conversion yield.
• Lars Angenent, Cornell University, Producing Butanol from Syngas with hollow fiber reactors.
• Dan Luo, Cornell University, High-throughput Engineering of Cellulase Consortia Using a Gel that Can Produce Proteins without Any Living Cells.
• Stephane Corgie, Cornell University, Tapping Into Lignin Potential For High-End Co-Products Using Bionanocatalysts with Enhanced Depolymerizing Activities
• Evert Holwerda, Dartmouth College, Cotreatment-Enhanced Thermophilic Conversion of Corn Stover to Ethanol in a Novel Reactor Configuration.
• Wei Liao, Michigan State University, Developing a Biological Process to Treat Feedstock for Cellulosic Ethanol Biorefining.
• Christopher Saffron, Michigan State University, Assessing the bioenergy production capability of native grasses using wet chemical techniques and bench-scale biochemical and thermochemical conversion approaches.
• David Hodge, Michigan State University, Fractionation of Alkaline Pulping Liquors for Fuel and Chemical Production.
• Chunshan Song, Pennsylvania State University, Smart Sorbent for Selective Removal of Hydrogen Sulfide from Anaerobic Digester Gas.
• Zhongtang Yu, The Ohio State University, Development of a Temperature-phased Anaerobic Digestion Process for Enhanced Conversion of Solids in Livestock Manure and Food Wastes to Methane.
• Thaddeus Ezeji, The Ohio State University, Development of a Biocatalyst for Biobutanol Production and Recovery Gas Stripping.
• Thaddeus Ezeji, The Ohio State University, Metabolic Engineering to Enhance Butanol Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass through use of an Endogenous Ribozyme and Artificial non-coding RNAs in Clostridium Beijerinckii
• Peter van Walsum, University of Maine, Conversion of North Eastern macro-algae to liquid biofuels and bioproducts.
• William Desisto, University of Maine, Development of a novel pyrolysis process for the distributed production of deoxygenated, stable bio-oil.
• Nancy Kravit, University of Maine, Improving Woody Biomass Separation by Enzymatic Means.
• Thomas Schwartz, University of Maine, Biobased Lubricants and Fuels: Integration of Chemical Catalysis with Mixed Culture Fermentation.
• Stephanie Lansing, University of Maryland, Creating renewable energy through sustainable nutrient management practices - digestion of manure and clover crops to reduce fossil fuel use in the Northeast.
• James Holden, University of Massachusetts, Enhanced Microbial Cellulose Degradation and H2 Production above 80oC.
• James Holden, University of Massachusetts,Enhanced feedstock-to-H2 conversion using hyperthermophiles.
• Paul Dauenhauer, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, of a Catalytic-Cone Reactor for Direct Conversion of Woody Biomass to Transportation Fuels.

Economics and Systems Projects

• Antonio Bento, Cornell University, Economic Costs and Environmental Consequences of US Biofuels Policies.
• Tom Richard, Pennsylvania State University, Biomass Feedstock Production in the Northeast: Economic and Environmental Implications.
• Marc McDill, Pennsylvania State University, Determining Costs, Product Recovery Factors, and Environmental Impacts for Biomass Harvest Treatments in Northeastern Forests.
• Gal Hochman, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, The Deployment of Bio-energy Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technologies: The Case Study of the North East and Mid-Atlantic regions.
• Mario Teisl, University of Maine, Marketing New England Biofuels to Ensure Energy Security.

Chemistry and Engine Research

• Andre Boehman, Pennsylvania State University, Determination of the Underlying Cause of the Biodiesel NOxEffect in Common Rail Diesel Engines.
• Ramani Narayan, Michigan State University, Advanced Biofuels using Ozone-Mediated Technology.

Extension Education and Demonstration Projects

• Norman Scott, Cornell University, Small Farm Integrated Energy System.
• Mary Wrege, Cornell Cooperative Extension Oneida County, Fuel-Smart II: A Biofuel Education Outreach Tool.
• Thomas Brutnell, Cornell University- Boyce Thompson Institute, Community germination studies for bioenergy feedstocks in NY - an outreach module for student-driven research in high school science classrooms.
• Daniel Ciolkosz, Pennsylvania State University, On-farm biomass densification education.
• Michael Jacobson, Pennsylvania State University, Across the supply chain: Education and outreach in forest bioenergy.
• Daniel Ciolkosz, Pennsylvania State University, Online Demonstration and Measurement of Renewable Energy Technologies.
• William Sciarappa, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Development of on-line educational programming and agricultural bioenergy.
• David Specca, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Hydrogen, Natural Gas, Electricity, and Heat from Landfill Gas: Integration of Emerging Technologies for a Quad-Generation Demonstration.
• Scott Sheer, The Ohio State University, Development and Dissemination of a Bioenergy Educational Curriculum for Children.
• Susan Hawkins, University of Vermont, Bioenergy Multimedia Resource Development on eXtension.org.