Join us on October 12 at 3:30 p.m. for this Sustainable Energy Seminar presentation by Efraín Rodriguez-Ocasio, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at UW-Madison.

Abstract

A significant challenge in the functional replacement of petrochemicals is the systematic identification of alternative chemical structures that can be produced from renewable sources and meet the functional requirements of the replacement target. In the case of surfactants, there already exists an alternative class of molecules called biosurfactants that share emulsification, solubilization, and surface tension activities with the added benefit of being biodegradable and easily produced by microorganisms. Our work leverages machine learning to bridge the gap in reported surfactant and biosurfactant properties and design sustainable alternatives to the six largest surfactants in the market as a promising new class of bioproducts.

Registration

This event is offered online only through Zoom Webinar. Registration is required through Zoom. Click here to register for this and all other webinars as part of the Sustainable Energy Seminar series in Fall 2026.