People - Students - Cohort 2 - Lisa Lai

Lisa Lai

Education: BS, Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, 2006
BS, Economics, University of Illinois, 2006

Work Experience: 1 year with the Institute for Genomic Biology doing climate change research; 2 years with the USDA Agricultural Research Service doing research on plant genetics

Major: Forest Resources

Advisor: Renata Bura

Current Graduate Research: Cellulose to ethanol conversion, and evaluating the bioconversion dynamics of a variety of lignocellulosic feedstocks and their potential to be used as biofuels.

Title of proposed PhD research: Overcoming the Recalcitrance of Poplar Feedstock Conversion

Research into renewable energy feedstocks is essential to eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels, as well as mitigating the problems of corn ethanol that have already been well-documented. The bioconversion efficiency of specific feedstocks is contingent upon the ease with which they are handled through pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation. Hybrid poplar is a premier candidate for conversion to ethanol due to its high agronomic yield, which has been achieved through genetic selection. The first component of my research assesses the range of variation in biomass chemistry, fiber morphology, and cellulosic ultra-structure of hybrid poplar. Secondly, a biomass-to-ethanol conversion assay will be utilized to determine the effects of these variations in feedstock characteristics on conversion efficiency. Finally, an economic analysis of the industrial feasibility of using improved quality feedstock will be developed. The results of this study will help guide the manner in which genetic variation of feedstock characteristics can be selected to overcome the recalcitrance of manufacturing biofuels.