Achievement

Several interdisciplinary research, collaboration, and leadership goals set at the beginning of the year by trainees revolved around specific aspects of bioenergy that are a focus of disciplines outside of the trainee's department. In a follow-up goal setting survey and the end-of-year interviews, these trainees cited significant or full progress in accomplishing these goals. Through the IGERT seminars series, one trainee has learned the agricultural, business and engineering side of bringing biofuels to market (her collaboration goal). Another trainee said he'd made significant progress toward his collaboration goal; he says, "I have learned about storage and transportation issues affecting biomass production. I have some understanding of chemical processes and storage and transportation issues related to biomass production and processing that I knew nothing about until attending class and talking with others working on these issues."