TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A researcher whose patents have been commercialized for producing cellulose-based ethanol as an automotive fuel will present the 10th annual Darden Lecture April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Biology Building, room 127, on The University of Alabama campus.
Dr. Lonnie Ingram, distinguished professor in the department of microbiology and cell biology at the University of Florida and director of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels, will present “Renewable Biofuels and Chemicals as Alternatives to Petroleum.”
The Darden Lecture Series honors Dr. William Darden, former chair of UA’s department of biological sciences. Ingram’s talk is co-sponsored by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Science Grant.
Ingram, a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the Society of Industrial Microbiology, has 30 years of research experience in the conversion of lignocellulose to ethanol.
His research has resulted in more than 200 scientific publications and more than 20 pending and issued U.S. patents. One of these was selected to become Landmark Patent 5,000,000 by the Department of Commerce and describes the first successful genetic engineering of a microorganism that can efficiently convert all hexose and pentose sugar constituents of biomass into ethanol. All have been licensed to industry with the creation of two spin-off companies.
More information on Ingram’s research is available at http://www.ufl.edu/spotlight/ingram.html.
The department of biological sciences is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.
Contact
Chris Bryant, Assistant Director of Media Relations, 205/348-8323, cbryant@ur.ua.edu