Lectures
May 27, 2010
The Basics of Recycling
Jennifer Seitz & Jeffery Klugh - Waste Alternatives, Alachua County Public Works
Jeff and Jenny from the Alachua County Transfer Station came to the bioenergy lab to speak about recycling and the different elements involved with the Alachua County transfer station. In 1999 the transfer station was built to sort recyclables and transfer the remaining waste to a landfill in another county since Aluachua County has no active landfill. The transfer station receives around 500-700 tons of household and commercial waste in Alachua County daily. A private recycling company, SP Recycling handles the recycling at the transfer station that includes aluminum cans, plastics, paper, tires and paint. After their presentation, we dicussed reasons why we should recycle such as the fact that landfills are land extensive, environmentally degrading, and how recycling generates an economically viable outlet for raw material recovery.
June 29, 2010
Legacy of Pasteur
Yelena Granovskaya - BESS '08 Alumna
Today was a presentation by Yelena Granovskaya about her experiences being a part of the Pasteur Institute Study Abroad Program. It is a scientific study abroad program based in Paris, France. The Pasteur Institute is historically a facility for research, teaching, and public health.
Louis Pasteur was the founding father of microbiology and strongly advocated the application of sciences. There are 32 Institutes in 5 countries abroad. Pasteur’s early work with beer and wine lead to his most profound achievements: disproving the theory of spontaneous generation, stereochemistry, and improvements to public health. By completing his most famous swan-neck experiments, he was able to prove the germ theory which links germs to disease.
After founding the Pasteur Institute, he went on to work with developing the first attenuated vaccines that saved many lives. This study abroad program gave students a greater appreciation for Louis Pasteur’s legacy, facilitates learning of many new interesting things about microbiology, and opened doors to new cultures and new friends.
July 1, 2010
Carbon markets & policy: An overview of carbon markets & climate policy
Tony Mullersman - Project Associate, Carbon Solutions
Tony Mullersman of Carbon Solutions educated the Bioenergy School on the intricacies of Carbon Credits and Carbon Exchange Markets. Carbon Solutions is an environmental consulting firm specializing in carbon footprint and mitigation analysis, energy efficiency and carbon offsetting, and carbon neutrality certification. He discussed how carbon trading works, how upcoming legislation affects it, and projects that he organizes, which translate a carbon credit into an actual carbon offset.
July 19, 2010
Carolina Medina - Graduate Student, Soil and Water Science, BESS '07 Alumna
July 20, 2010
Algae and sustainability: Algae for bioremediation and bioresources
Scott Edmundson - Interdisplinary Ecology, BEST Lab Graduate Student
July 29, 2010
Biodiesel: A sustainable fuel
The chemistry of biodiesel
The biodiesel production process
Scott Edmundson - Interdisplinary Ecology, BEST Lab Graduate Student
July 22, 2010 & July 27, 2010
Anaerobic digestion: Microbiological perspective
Anaerobic digestion: Technical overview and benefits
Ryan Graunke - Interdisplinary Ecology, BEST Lab Graduate Student