Tim Donohue, a UW-Madison bacteriology professor and director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, is working with other researchers around the world for an organized approach to harnessing the power of microbes to tackle many of the world’s most pressing problems.

According to Marianne Fairbanks, UW–Madison assistant professor of textile and apparel design, many athletes' uniforms are "smart" textiles - meaning the uniform is actually a piece of technology that can aid the athlete in competition.

In Wisconsin, for researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), the central role of solvents in converting non-food biomass to biofuels and bioproducts means they’re ripe for optimization. Better use of solvents could improve the economics of biorefineries, push a range of new and more sustainable biofuels and bioproducts to market, and provide new sources of revenue for farmers.

For researchers at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the central role of solvents in converting non-food biomass to biofuels and bioproducts means they’re ripe for optimization. Better use of solvents could improve the economics of biorefineries, push a range of new and more sustainable biofuels and bioproducts to market, and provide new sources of revenue for farmers.

A group of at least 30 students from UW–Madison has started Solar Para Niños, a project to implement solar energy in Puerto Rico. The students plan to design and install a distributed solar system at Hogar Albergue para Niños Jesus de Nazaret, a nonprofit shelter for physically abused children located outside the city of Mayaguez.

Lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks are available on a scale that other solid or liquid renewable resources cannot match. Yet, while biofuels seem an appealing choice over conventional fuels, the low price of crude oil and the challenges with economically producing biofuels on a commercial scale impede the production of biofuels.

George Huber, a chemical engineering professor at the UW–Madison, said chemical looping could eventually be a key component in a regional transition to cleaner energy, particularly when tied to a commodity business like the fuels industry.

Plans by Foxconn Technology Group for a massive manufacturing complex in Racine County would represent a major new source of air pollution in an area already struggling with summer smog problems.