• Innovative Conversion Strategies: Developing cutting-edge approaches to transform biomass into valuable bioproducts, overcoming biomass recalcitrance.
  • Advanced In-situ Characterization: Utilizing high-temperature and pressure NMR spectroscopy to reveal the dynamics of biomass conversion processes.
  • Recalcitrance Overcoming: Focused research on breaking down biomass’s resistance to conversion, unlocking its potential as a sustainable resource.

Major Instrumentation Grant: Acquiring High-Temperature & Pressure NMR: With a significant grant from NSF-CBET, our lab is set to acquire a state-of-the-art high-temperature and pressure NMR spectroscope. This advanced instrumentation opens new avenues for in-depth analysis of biomass conversion processes, propelling us towards a sustainable energy future.

[Ref.: Foston, M., Samuel, R., He, J., Ragauskas, A.J. (2016). A Review of Whole Cell Wall NMR by the Direct-dissolution of Biomass. Green Chemistry. 18(3), pp. 608-621.

Borodinov, N., Bilkey, N., Foston, M., Levlev, A. V., Belianinov, A., Jesse, S., Vasudevan, R. K., Kalinin, S. V., Ovchinnikova, O. S. (2019) Spectral map reconstruction using pan-sharpening algorithm: enhancing chemical imaging with AFM-IR. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 25(S2), pp. 1024-1025.

Borodinov, N., Bilkey, N., Foston, M., Levlev, A. V., Belianinov, A., Jesse, S., Vasudevan, R. K., Kalinin, S. V., Ovchinnikova, O. S. (2019) Application of pan-sharpening algorithm for correlative multimodal imaging using AFM-IR. npj Computational Materials, 5(1), pp. 1-9.]