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A new graduate certificate program at Kansas State University is being established
with the help of a $113,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of
Industrial Technologies.
A graduate certificate in bio-based industrial products will be available during the
spring 2002 semester. If the program is successful during its first year, the Department
of Energy will provide a three-year, $355,000
grant for the program, said John Schlup, professor of chemical engineering at K-State.
"The push is to shift to fuels from petroleum into bio-based products-forestry,
crops, microorganisms, etc.," he said.
The program would allow graduate students from the Colleges of Agriculture, Human Ecology,
Engineering and Arts and Sciences to work together. It would also bring master's or
doctoral students from K-State together with master's students from
Pittsburgh State
University, which is a partner in the grant. Students would be required to take about 15
hours of existing university courses in order to be exposed to all areas of the topic,
Schlup said.
"Since the program is relatively short, it's also very accessible to businessmen who
may want to come down and receive intensive training in the area, but don't necessarily
want a graduate degree," he said.
The grant also establishes three fellowships for enrolled graduate students and a seminar
series, and provides money for distance-learning classes.
"We want to develop professionals who can utilize agricultural materials for new
purposes," Schlup said.
Prepared by Jennifer Ryan.
For further information, contact John Schlup at 785-532-4319.
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