WIST Scholars awarded grants

Feb. 22, 2011 -- American hazelnut may not be just for squirrels anymore. The hardy shrub, native to Wisconsin, could prove to be a valuable oilseed crop and generate additional jobs and income for the state.
 
Research on American hazelnut is one of four proposals recently awarded funding by the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point under its WIST Scholars Program.
 
The program aims to extend the institute’s mission of improving the economy and environment of Wisconsin and the region by spurring collaborative research.
 
Plant oils have many uses from food to fuel and perennial plants such as hazelnut are particularly attractive because they require lower annual inputs than annual crops. Perennials also may provide environmental benefits such as wildlife habitat while still yielding an economically valuable crop. Initial research on American hazelnut has been promising. The WIST grant of $24,435 will help researchers continue to characterize the genetic structure of American hazelnut, fine-tune micro-propagation techniques, and conduct field trials.
 
WIST Scholar applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that link researchers in different colleges across the UWSP campus and with external partners, said Paul Fowler, executive director of WIST, and the hazelnut research is a good example. Mike Demchik, a UWSP College of Natural Resources forestry professor, is joined in the project by Jason Fischbach, UW Extension; Brent McCown, UW-Madison; and Anthony Kern, Northland College.
 
“We encourage people to think broadly and laterally about sustainable technology,” Fowler said. “These collaborations produce creative ideas and solutions, sometimes just by taking a new look at something that’s been around forever.”
 
WIST was founded in 2009 at UWSP and works through research, outreach education, analytical services to create sustainability solutions for businesses and organizations. Its flagship biofuels research program, with major funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, aims to develop a biorefinery process that can be implemented in existing pulp and paper mills, generating renewably-sourced fuel and industrial chemicals and providing new revenue streams for this important Wisconsin industry.
 
Other 2011 WIST Scholar Program grants awarded:
 
  • $34,724 to Gene Martin, Doug Miskowiak and Keith Rice, of the UWSP Geographic Information System (GIS) Center and the UWSP Department of Geology/Geography. The project will use a combination of GIS tools to model commuting routes, total miles traveled and other parameters of travel by UWSP staff and students. The research will estimate fuel consumption for transportation and identify the most productive changes to reduce fuel consumption.
  • $7,554 to John Leschke, UWSP College of Professional Studies School of Business, and Corky McReynolds, director of Treehaven, the College of Natural Resources education center near Rhinelander. The project will examine potential for Treehaven as a destination for nature-based tourism in order to generate additional revenue to support the facility. While the project is focused on Treehaven, it aims more broadly to create a business model for other north-country communities and businesses to add jobs and increase market opportunities.
  • $10,038 to Amit Arora and Don Guay, UWSP Paper Science and Engineering, for research into a process that would decrease the need for chlorine-containing bleaching chemicals in paper production, leading to a more environmentally-friendly process. Guay is also Director of Laboratory Services for WIST.
This is the second round of research grants awarded through the WIST Scholar Program. In 2010, seven grants for a total of $119,000 were awarded to UWSP faculty and staff. Funding for this program is provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.