RICHLAND -- Three new faculty members and researchers have joined the Center for Bioproducts and Bioenergy at Washington State University Tri-Cities.
Hanwu Lei, Bin Yang and Xiao Zhang were selected from among about 140 applicants worldwide, said Birgitte Ahring, director of the center.
Each was selected because of a particular specialty, Ahring said.
"We want a broad spectrum of specialties," she said.
Lei has experience in turning corn and other cereal-based biomass into bioproducts and Yang's expertise is in the production of ethanol and other products from cellulosic biomass.
Zhang, formerly a senior scientist in the biotechnology group at the Pulp and Paper Research Institute of Canada, has experience in the conversion of lignocellulose biomass into biofuel and bioproducts.
The three scholars will teach, do research, and also help the Bioproducts, Sciences and Engineering Laboratory to apply for grant money in cooperation with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and other industrial partners, she said.
BSEL is a joint project of WSU Tri-Cities and PNNL.
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