The National Science Foundation has given an early career development award to Tina Jeoh, a UC Davis assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering. This is a prestigious award valed at $407,573 over five years. It will support Jeoh's studies of how microbial enzymes break down plant cell walls to release sugars for conversion to biofuels and other products.
Cellulosic biofuels are renewable and sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, and Congress has mandated the inclusion of 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels into the US transportation portfolio by 2022. However, the industry faces significant challenges in scaling up to this production level and beyond in a reliable fashion. Jeoh's research may help in this regard by identifying the mechanisms of how enzymes break down and release sugars, and then to consistently reproduce this natural process on an industrial scale.
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