The Foston Lab is part of:
Multi-scale and Electrochemical Engineering cluster within the EECE department at Washington University — Interested in studying the catalysis, reaction engineering, reaction networks, and process engineering that control the thermochemical and/or catalytic depolymerization and conversion biomass, in particular, lignin, into fuels and chemicals.
Synthetic Biology and Bioproduct Engineering cluster within the EECE department at Washington University — Interfacing with research on new microbial systems that convert sugars derived from lignocellulosic biomass by characterizing biomass and developing upstream processes to extract monomeric sugars from biomass.
Institute of Material Science & Engineering at Washington University — Interested in studying the synthesis, processing, and property-structure relationships that define a class of materials derived from lignocellulosic biomass.
Synthetic biology Manufacturing of Advanced materials Research Center (SMARC) at Washington University — Interested in creating a circular bioplastic economy that has a lower carbon footprint and exhibits advantageous material properties. Plastic waste represents a grand challenge for society, and time is running out to develop the tools to overcome it. Plastic waste pollutes most of the soil and water on our planet to some degree, with Earth’s oceans on track to contain more plastic than fish by 2050, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
Center for Engineering Mechanobiology — Interested in studying the biomechanics and engineering the mechanobiology of the plant cell wall. Define how molecules, cells, and tissues integrate mechanics within plant and animal biology to establish the scientific basis of mechanobiology and create new materials, biomedical therapies, and improved agricultural technologies.
CenSURF at UCSB: Center for Sustainable Use of Renewable Feedstocks — Interested in facilitating transformative research through the target-driven utilization of lignin residuals as feedstocks for the production of value-added chemicals, and doing so with minimal environmental impact while preserving rescources for future generations.
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) — Interested in a broad range of nanoscience research, including nanomaterials synthesis, nanofabrication, imaging/microscopy/ characterization, and theory/modeling/simulation.
Neutron Sciences Directorate, ORNL — Interested in the understanding of materials by two of the world’s most powerful sources of neutrons for research, the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at ORNL.
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Interested in studying lignocellulosic materials at the molecular level to provide critical information about the drivers of large-scale environmental functions.
Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory — Interested in characterizing and understanding the unique properties of biomass or lignocellulosic materials at the nanoscale.