MBL Associate Scientist Loretta Roberson is as collaborator on this project, funded by Schmidt Sciences with support from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. The team is establishing a virtual institute-sponsored research center called Sargassum BioRefinery (SaBRe) with Jose Avalos of Princeton University as the lead investigator, and Roberson and Shishir Chundawat at Rutgers University as co-leaders of the center.
A trio of scientists from Rutgers University-New Brunswick is studying the potential of turning a species of seaweed into a source of energy and food.
The researchers from the Rutgers Climate and Energy Institute ̵ working with other institutions ̵ are looking to transform naturally abundant, renewable materials into products such as biofuels, animal feed and biochemicals. The Rutgers team is one of five centers in the United States selected for a broad research effort.
Schmidt Sciences, a philanthropic organization fostering the advancement of science and technology, awarded the university a portion of a $47.3 million grant to fund the effort. The Rutgers group is part of a new initiative, the Virtual Institute on Feedstocks of the Future, supported by Schmidt Sciences and, additionally, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, a private foundation in Washington, D.C., supporting science benefiting farmers, consumers and the environment. Read rest of the article here.
Source: Scientists investigate ways to transform seaweed into energy and food | WRNJ New Jersey