U of S Graduate Student Claims Top Prize for Bio-fuel Research

                                      
                                  Kathlene Jacobson and her award-winning poster

Kathlene Jacobson, a Chemical Engineering graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan, took the top prize at the APMA-AUTO21 Annual Conference in Windsor, Ontario. The conference took place from June 7-10, 2010. Kathlene’s poster presentation, Second Generation Bio-fuels from Waste Biomass, was judged the best out of more than 70 student groups taking part in the Highly Qualified Personnel Poster Competition. She received an honorarium of $4,500 for her win.

Kathlene’s research looks into converting Bio-Waste, such as maple sawdust, into transportation fuel through pyrolysis, solvent extraction, and subsequent hydroprocessing. “I hope that people will learn that we can utilize wastes (not grains) for bio-fuels which will help ease our dependency on fossil fuels, lessen the burdens on landfills, and decentralize energy sources,” she says. “Bio-fuels are already influencing Saskatchewan greatly. As a province, we are Canada's leaders, producing a quarter of the country's bio-fuels. If we continue research in this area, Saskatchewan will prosper from this initiative.”

Kathlene’s research is supervised by Dr. Ajay Dalai, a Canadian Research Chair and professor of Chemical Engineering. Other researchers involved were Majak Mapiour and Ramin Azagohar. The winning project also contributes the Second Generation Biofuel for Sustainable Transportation project, which is led by Professor Murray Thompson of University of Toronto.

The conference is organized every year by executives of AUTO21, one of the leaders in automotive research and development in Canada. The network helps build partnerships between public and private sectors within the country in collaborative research and the development of human and social capital.
More than 27 Canadian Universities took part in the competition. Supported by AUTO21 funding as they complete graduate and post-graduate degrees, each student’s research contributes to one of AUTO21’s automotive research projects.

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