Two minutes

An energy engineer

Brent Shanks was an Iowa State undergraduate during the energy crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s. That's when he started studying alternatives to petroleum through the Honors Program. And he hasn't stopped. Shanks is currently working to develop chemical catalysts that could boost ethanol production by improving the yield of fermentable sugars from corn and that can be used to produce other biorenewable chemicals.

Working in the oil industry: Shanks worked 11 years for the Shell Chemical Co., so he's seen the head start the petrochemical industry has over biorenewable alternatives. Shell and other companies have spent 80 years developing catalysts and technologies for working with fossil fuel molecules. Researchers working with bio-based molecules still have a lot of research and development to do.

Working on campus: Shanks is a professor of chemical and biological engineering. He's also affiliated with the Office of Biorenewables Programs, serving on the office's Science and Engineering Committee.

Catching up to the oil companies: Shanks has been a leader in an effort to attract funding from the National Science Foundation that would establish a Center for Biorenewable Chemicals at Iowa State. The proposed center would focus on developing new technologies for converting renewable resources into industrial chemicals. The center's research would focus on catalyst technologies.