Quotes from leadership
June 26, 2007
UW-Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley:
"The establishment of this center by the Department of Energy is a very promising development for Wisconsin's and the nation's energy future. Through research at UW-Madison, we have much to offer in terms of breaking the fossil fuel habit and laying the foundation for sustainable and environmentally sound bioenergy technologies. We're already ahead of the game in many respects. The establishment of this center will help us and our partners concentrate our research focus and speed the advent of the good science Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region needs to become a nexus for a bioenergy economy."
Kevin Reilly, University of Wisconsin System President:
“This great public university is great because of our public. All Wisconsin residents benefit from educational opportunities and scientific research because all Wisconsin taxpayers support this institution. The children and grandchildren of all Wisconsin residents will benefit from this investment. I have no doubt that our faculty members will be responsible for some exciting breakthroughs in the years to come, but it’s the Wisconsin taxpayers who are responsible for putting us in a position to compete successfully for this federal grant.”
Molly Jahn, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences:
“We need to develop an energy future that’s good for our environment and good for our agriculture and forestry-based economies in both the short and long run. This award from the Department of Energy will advance our ability to contribute to our energy supply in new and very exciting ways that could be fundamental for our future.”
Samuel W. Bodman, U.S. Secretary of Energy:
“These centers will provide the transformational science needed for bioenergy breakthroughs to advance President Bush’s goal of making cellulosic ethanol cost-competitive with gasoline by 2012, and assist in reducing America’s gasoline consumption by 20 percent in ten years.”
Tim Donohue, professor of bacteriology and chief investigator, Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center:
“In my lifetime, I have seen society embark on grand scientific missions to go to the moon and to sequence the human genome. I am optimistic that today marks an initial step for society on a journey to reduce an over 100-year-long dependence on fossil fuels and to chart a path for a more sustainable energy future.”
Ken Keegstra, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor of plant biology and biochemistry and molecular biology:
“If we are going to start using plants in significant ways beyond food, there are a lot of issues that come into play that we need to figure out. Sustainability, competition for food, environmental issues — our universities already have a head start in studying these from many angles. There is a tremendous compatibility between UW-Madison and MSU and we have assembled with others a strong and exciting partnership.”
David Mead, president of Lucigen Corp. and GLBRC scientific partner:
“Partnering with the university will provide a huge increase in intellectual capital and a greater outlet for the utility of our technologies.”
William B. Johnson, owner of Flambeau River Paper:
“I think the university really represented the state of Wisconsin well with this grant. We want to see this state take a leadership role in biomass and biorefining, and getting a project of this scope is a big step in the right direction.”
Bruce Ferguson, president of Edenspace Systems Corp. and project partner:
“We think that the basic research that the DOE is funding is essential to the development of the cellulosic ethanol industry, simply because there is so much about plant science that is not well understood.As a result, this sort of public investment in basic research is both timely and essential to the success of a variety of bio-based industries, including biofuels.”