“The most rewarding part of my profession is seeing my students succeed,” said UW-Platteville Assistant Professor of sustainability and renewable energy systems Dr. Pamela Tas. Tas is the SRES program coordinator and teaches classes related to the utilization of plant-based hydrocarbons as a more sustainable means to societies’ energy use. She is currently working on two research projects with her students.
Outside of campus Tas is an avid gardener with the goal of growing a third of her family’s food at home. Along with gardening, Tas is a painter and a musician. She does oil and water paintings, and plays four instruments: violin, guitar, the Turkish instrument, saz, and the cello.
Your research interests lie in bio renewable resources with a focus on biofuel for green aviation fuel and biodiesel. What projects are you currently working on?
The projects I have going on right now are with commercializing a new crop called pennycress. Historically speaking, pennycress is a common weed we find all across the Midwest. I have collaborators at Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, Western Illinois University, Illinois State University and we [UW-Platteville] are the Wisconsin branch.
We have developed some varieties that have potential for commercialization. This year I have two experiments happening in the field; one is at Lancaster Agricultural Research Station and the other is at the West Madison Agricultural Research Station. At Lancaster, we have taken 10 elite varieties of pennycress and we are growing them in strip plots to see what variety grows best. This study will be repeated across the Midwestern states. Pennycress will be grown in Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin. We are growing it at the same time to see how well it does in these different regions.
The second experiment this year is looking at planting time. This is a new crop. We have to figure out when we should grow it, which variety grows best in Wisconsin and when we should plant it. I have those varieties planted at West Madison. We have three planting dates, the first week of September, mid-September and the first week of October.
Our goal is to commercialize this crop in five years for aviation fuel.
(To learn more about Tas’s research visit, www.uwplatt.edu/news/idea-turning-common-weeds-aviation-fuel-takes-flight.)
You have several students helping with your research focusing on the potential of pennycress turning into aviation fuel. Why is it important for you to have these hands-on learning opportunities?
I have two students working with me on the pennycress studies. One student is working on the Lancaster study and the other student is working on the West Madison study. On top of that I teach a biodiesel class in the fall and my lab assistant is also working with me on processing the oil, and my students who are taking the class are processing the oil. I have two undergraduate researchers, my lab assistant and the students in my class.
I think it’s really terrific exposure into not only the scientific method, but in learning how research actually gets applied to industry. Sometimes we don’t see the connection, we read a study and then there’s no follow up. This kind of research gives my students something extremely tangible. They grow the plant, figure out the variety, press it for oil and then we use the oil. We cover every line of production. It gives them a more intimate exposure into biofuel production with the challenges we have and the benefits behind it. When you are making the fuel there are a lot of things that have to come into play. This research helps students focus in and work on research skills, but also on the practical application.
The third benefit, it really helps to mobilize them because with all the talks of climate change and the forecast that is in front of us, they feel out of power. This kind of work helps to empower them. It helps them see they can be part of the solution and this is how we become part of the solution.
What do you hope students take away from your classes?
I hope they take away the understanding of the complexity of the system. There is no silver bullet when it comes to climate change, renewable energies and sustainability. We are working with a network, a really complex system where we have people to deal with, economics and the environment. All three of these things need to be juggled. My goal out of every class is that my students understand the pros and cons of every renewable energy outlet. Some outlets are great for some applications, but not great for others. We need to understand where these limitations lie.
The study of SRES addresses the concerns of world resources including energy, renewable energy, sustainability and their social economic impacts. What can community members do to help reduce their carbon emission?
First and foremost, reduce, reuse and recycle. We need to stop buying so much. The second largest CO2 worldwide on a personal basis would be the textile industry. If we keep going down the list of what contributes to CO2 with the atmosphere, what is the most detrimental for us, it’s buying things—this idea we have to change our wardrobe every season and we have to buy everything new. We live in this culture where we readily consume and then easily discard, but our trash is not nearly as efficient.
We have recycling and we do that, but even that falls really short. There are tons of trash that go into the landfill. Some landfills in the U.S. are new and they have methane capture, but it’s only a subset of them.
We need to reduce what we consume, reuse or ask to borrow. We need to be better recyclers. I would also say buy local. If you buy apples from a farm 20 miles away versus apples that have been grown and are from California, they have a huge carbon footprint compared to the farm 20 miles away.
What inspired you to pursue teaching?
The huge impact it allows me to have. Academia and teaching can let you have an impact because students are so passionate. If you can work with students who are so passionate about something then they spur off ideas. I love teaching and fostering that passion. I find it very fulfilling and very important. It inspires me to continue to teach and motivates me to always teach better. I have these students right there looking at me wanting to know what’s next, and what can we do especially in the field of sustainability and renewable energy systems. As a world we have become anxious, we know we can’t keep going like this, but we also know we don’t have easy solutions at our hands. We have a whole infrastructure. There is a lot of momentum behind this field.
To nominate someone for the Pioneer Spotlight, contact pr@uwplatt.edu.