The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has selected the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) for an additional five years of funding to develop sustainable alternatives to transportation fuels and products currently derived from petroleum. …
Energy
Study measures air pollution increase attributable to air conditioning
When summer temperatures rise and people turn to their air conditioners to stay cool, something else also increases: air pollution. A new study shows that the electricity production associated with air conditioning increases emissions of …
Green Fund supports greenhouse cooling
Coming soon to campus: a more efficient rooftop greenhouse. This project is one of the first to be supported by a new UW–Madison Green Fund administered by the Office of Sustainability. The Green Fund supports …
Fast-track master’s program targets growing energy analysis field
The one-year Resource and Energy Demand Analysis program aims to meet employer demand for graduates with skills in behavioral economics and statistics and a solid understanding of the energy industry.
Grant supports study of dairy/energy/water links
A new grant from the USDA will support UW research on the relationships among dairy farm operations, water use and quality, and energy use.
Clean energy for sustainable manufacturing
Researchers in the new REMADE institute will focus on improving sustainable manufacturing and on an education and workforce development program to fill identified gaps.
Harnessing foot power
Researchers at UW–Madison and the USFS Forest Products Lab are perfecting a way to turn tiny cellulose fibers in wood pulp into a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that can harvest electricity from the environment.
Greener plastic production
UW–Madison chemists have enabled a new way to make a common plastic ingredient that uses less energy, reduces waste carbon dioxide, and creates more useful byproducts.
Wisconsin Energy and Sustainability Challenge winners
Transforma, winners of the Global Stewards Sustainability Prize, devised a strategy to engage unemployed women in Costa Rica in transforming plastic waste into sellable products. Pathogenomica, winners of the Dvorak Energy Prize, are applying DNA …
“Super yeast” may improve biofuel economics
Scientists at UW–Madison and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) have found a way to nearly double the efficiency with which a common yeast converts plant sugars to biofuel. The newly engineered “super yeast” …