NCERC launches “Future Leaders of Future Fuels” initiative

The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) has launched a new initiative focused on developing its own employees’ knowledge of the biofuels industry.

The new initiative, dubbed ‘Future Leaders,’ is a group consisting of Scientific Analysts Rachel Carpio and Kaitlin Lasseigne, Operations Manager Jared Burns, Assistant Research Engineer Kyle Sonderman, Policy and Business Development Specialist Aimee Dillenberger, Research Fellow Brad Smith and Communications and Outreach Specialist Claire Weinzierl.

“The future of biofuels in America and around the world is very strong. A key strength in the future of biofuels are the people working in the area of process improvement, as well as product discovery. NCERC has launched a “Future Leaders of Future Fuels” program, a program created to enhance the capabilities and strengths of such people working in biofuels,” said NCERC Executive Director John Caupert.

The Future Leaders have been tasked with three projects to complete in the coming months including a corn ethanol trial, redesigning the NCERC display case in the lobby, and developing an Ethanol 101 presentation for future training purposes. The three projects are expected to be completely led and performed by the group, with only occasional guidance by supervisors when needed.

“The Future Leaders of Future Fuels program consists of NCERC employees whose backgrounds range from biology to biological sciences, from chemistry to communications, from process operations to public policy, and from maintenance to mechanical engineering. While Aimee, Brad, Claire, Jared, Kaitlin, Kyle and Rachel are in the early years of their careers, they are the leaders of the future for biofuels and beyond. I’m extremely proud of the camaraderie, effort and teamwork I’ve seen from the Future Leaders of Future Fuels. First hand, I’ve witnessed this group learn together while working together. The future of fuels knows no limits due to the attitude and innovation of these Future Leaders,” said Caupert.

The Future Leaders recently conducted their corn ethanol trial using the 150-liter fermenter in the Fermentation Suite. The objective of the project was to ferment 100 liters of #2 corn mash in order to train the Future Leaders team members.

"Being a part of Future Leaders has me excited for the future of ethanol and other biorenewables. I am excited to learn even more about the ethanol industry and how we can work together toward a more sustainable future," said Dillenberger.

The fermentation project ran over the course of seven days, providing the Future Leaders with hands-on experience operating a bioprocessing facility. The team was encouraged to observe and learn how to set up for a fermentation project, run a fermentation in the Fermentation Suite, and collect samples for fermentation trials. Lab quality control and analytical testing for liquefaction and fermentation were also incorporated into the training.

“The biofuels industry is constantly evolving and presenting us new challenges, so as the industry continues to grow, it is important for NCERC to perfect our fermentation and distillation methods through trials such as this one in order to provide the best possible data for our clients,” said Burns.

The fermentation was performed using Ethanol Red yeast strain in order to convert the fermentable sugars into ethanol. The fermentation beer was distilled and the remaining material was dried.

“Being a part of Future Leaders has lead me to take on a new sense of confidence in myself as a scientist, and has also allowed a new side of me to grow by having the freedom to be a leader,” said Carpio. “It has taught me the importance of teamwork and the importance of inclusiveness on a team. We all have our different backgrounds and strengths, but this has allowed us to design a goal, in this case producing corn ethanol, and successfully complete that goal together. I am looking forward to being a part of many more Future Leader trials.”

About the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC)

The NCERC is a nationally recognized research center dedicated to the development and commercialization of biofuels, specialty chemicals and other renewable compounds. The Center’s fully functional dry grind pilot plant and laboratories are equipped with advanced biofuels capabilities including corn fractionation, pretreatment, and a fermentation suite with 5, 30, 150 and 1500L scale-up. Facilities are staffed by industry veterans with more than 100 years of collective experience in fermentation and biofuels production. This knowledgeable team has the flexibility and expertise to design and carry out projects in any region of the advanced biofuels or specialty chemicals space.

For further information about NCERC, please visit the website here