Technology center proposed for UWGB

UW-Green Bay may have the opportunity to incorporate an innovative product-from-waste technology center that would connect students and local businesses through research. The UW System created a Research to Jobs Task Force last February which produced several ideas regarding the creation of possible technology centers. Within each university, the campus would have a different focus for their center. They range from research areas such as an interactive media and distance learning center, located at UW-Whitewater, to medicinal plants and fungi center at UW-La Crosse. In a letter addressed to Regents, UW System President Kevin Reilly said the task force recommendations can be tied to four areas. One area relates to attracting and developing talent fueled by innovation. "It is important to create an entrepreneurial culture where people throughout the state can contribute a better economic future for Wisconsin," Reilly said. Annette Pelegrin, a graduate student of environmental science and policy in resource management, believes the proposed center would be beneficial to students in a variety of ways. "The center would be a great way for students to learn how to work with companies, engineers, sales representatives and customers," Pelegrin said. John Katers, associate professor of natural and applied sciences, is in full support of the proposed product-from-waste center. The technology center is in its preliminary stages. "I am very excited to see where it will go," Katers said. Discussion at UWGB began 18 months ago with Interim Chancellor Dave Ward and others on campus. "There are a lot of these types of materials generated in Northeast Wisconsin, and given some of the faculty expertise on those issues, this was what was selected as the focus for UWGB," Katers said. "Each campus chose to address the strengths they already had." Katers also believes that the center would bring in more grants and opportunities for students. UWGB has worked with Feeco and ENCAP research projects for many years, and the teaming of the two companies and UWGB has led to jobs for some students. Pelegrin is currently working in the research and development area at ENCAP. She is also working with Feeco, ENCAP's parent company. The project she is working on is looking at farm digesters, a system used to produce energy from dairy manure. Her research specifically focuses on how to use the bi-product manure that is created from the digesters. According to Pelegrin, the farm digesters generate methane, but there is still liquid bi-product manure that goes into a lagoon. "What we are doing is trying to mine nutrients from the liquid manure," Pelegrin said. She used water treatment polymers to separate the solid out of the liquid manure, and the nutrients were partitioned into the solids. The end result is a pelletized solid that is easier for farmers to transport to fields located farther away while making transportation costs more efficient. Farmers can also sell the pellets to ENCAP, who may add other nutrients to the pellets and in turn sell the fertilizer as a lawn and garden product to different stores such as Home Depot and Fleet Farm. "It's still in the development stage, but it is currently being tested at an onsite trial at Green Valley Dairy," Pelegrin said. According to Pelegrin, the engineers at Feeco are now working on what it would take to commercialize this product. Pelegrin's current experience of working with Feeco and ENCAP is one example of possible experiences students could have when working with a local company on product research. The technology center would be one more factor in UWGB's goal of enhancing students' focus on green jobs. "We have a strong tradition on campus of helping students gain the right skills, and this would be one more opportunity to add to that," Katers said.