URBANA, Ill. – Four years in, the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL) continues to grow rapidly by providing world-class pilot plant services to the food and bioprocessing industries. Since IBRL’s October 2018 grand opening ceremony, 60 clients have completed over 400 projects, including several who have now successfully launched products to market. An additional $6.5 million in state funds for equipment and expansion of IBRL staff has enabled these client projects and successes.

This week’s 5 Questions Friday features Travis Johnson, TSM alum and current academic advisor and instructor for ETMAS and TSM in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

What motivates you in your work?

URBANA, Ill. – Fermentation is a crucial manufacturing step for many industries, including food, feed, cosmetics, and fuel. The fermentation process converts agricultural feedstocks to valuable materials with the use of microorganisms such as yeast and bacteria. It provides ingredients for products ranging from meat and dairy substitutes to cosmetics made without animal proteins.

This week’s 5 Questions Friday features Kaitlyne Diaz, graduate student in Technical Systems Management

Where did you grow up? Do you have an agriculture background? If so, please describe

I was born in Chicago, and grew up in Streamwood, Illinois, for about 10 years until my family and I moved back to Chicago where I went through middle and high school. I currently still live in Chicago when I’m not in Champaign.

URBANA, Ill. – The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) and The Grainger College of Engineering honored three faculty with endowed positions during an investiture ceremony at the University of Illinois on March 31.

URBANA, Ill. ­– Dried snack foods such as apple chips are a convenient alternative to fresh fruit, providing longer shelf life and easier storage. Consumers increasingly demand product variety, so companies coat such snack foods with fruit and vegetable powders to enhance taste and sensory appeal.

URBANA, Ill. – The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced today an investment of $25 million to launch the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS). The center, a partnership among the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cornell University, the Boyce Thompson Institute, and the University of Arizona, aims to develop tools to listen and talk to plants and their associated organisms.

URBANA, Ill. – Jamison Watson, doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) at the University of Illinois, received a Schmidt Science Fellowship. He is one of 28 awardees in the 2021 cohort of fellows, representing 13 nationalities and multiple research fields. 

URBANA, Ill. – When engineers develop drinking water systems, they often expect their technology and expertise to work in any context. But project success depends as much on the people and place as on technical design, says Ann-Perry Witmer, lecturer in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) and research scientist at the Applied Research Institute at University of Illinois.

URBANA, Ill. – Five University of Illinois faculty members received major awards at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) 2020 annual international meeting. The virtual event took place July 13 to 15. Illinois recipients include Paul Davidson, Vijay Singh, Richard Cooke, and Prasanta Kalita, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and The Grainger College of Engineering, and Laura Christianson, Department of Crop Sciences, College of ACES.