Postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student researchers at the February 2008 C2B2 semiannual meeting. (Photo courtesy of C2B2)

While talk of alternative energy and renewable resources abound, the Colorado Center for Biorefining and Biofuels (C2B2) is inciting action.

C2B2 is a research and education center devoted to the conversion of biomass to fuels and other products. Headquartered in the Discovery Learning Center, C2B2 is a national and international leader in the development and proliferation of biofuels. The center is an unparalleled collaboration among researchers at the University of Colorado, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. As a member of the Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, C2B2 is an epicenter for biomass research.

With nearly 30 industrial sponsors, C2B2 provides a wealth of cross-institutional and cross-industrial collaboration. The center has the most industrial sponsors of any research center in the nation. Large multinational corporations such as Archer Daniels Midland Company, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, and Shell Global Solutions, as well as smaller firms like Blue Sun Biodiesel, PureVision Technologyand Range Fuels sponsor the center.

As the center's sponsoring membership spans all aspects of the business spectrum, so too does the center's research scope. Academic and commercial research perspectives unite each fall and spring at the C2B2 semiannual meetings. Semiannual meetings engage industry representatives with center researchers, faculty and students in order to share research questions and expertise.

Center membership fees from industrial sponsors are used to fund seed grant research projects. Ten seed grants have been funded for 2008 and aim to further the exploration of fundamental biofuels and biorefining research. The spring C2B2 semiannual meeting showcased the research of more than 40 center-affiliated postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate student researchers. "It was a great place to meet with all C2B2 collaborators and see the variety of different projects," said Tirzah Mills a graduate student in chemical engineering. "C2B2 really is covering all of the important issues to provide research into everything from crop engineering to reactor design."

This summer, C2B2 will host talented undergraduate students from around the world during the inaugural C2B2 Research Experience for Undergraduates (C2B2-REU). This 10-week program provides students with laboratory experience, personal research mentors, educational seminars and social programming as well as exclusive introductions to C2B2's cooperative biofuels research programs.

The inception of the C2B2 postdoctoral fellow program this spring will further C2B2's research capabilities. Applications are currently being accepted for prospective research fellows. Like C2B2-REU students, selected postdoctoral fellows will be part of the center's ongoing efforts to expand the gamut of biofuels and biorefining research for renewable fuel applications.

With membership and collaboration interests from Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia as well as Central and South America, C2B2 is well on its way to cultivating fields of biofuels in Colorado.