University of Kansas has soybean connection
When Leo Budy enrolled in the chemical engineering program at the University of Kansas, a classmate told him that the KU Biodiesel Initiative sought new volunteers. The grassroots, student-run operation produces biodiesel from used cooking oil generated on campus. He eagerly checked into it and hasn’t looked back since.
"When I got the first tour of the lab, I knew I had stumbled across something that I could really get excited about," Leo says. "I volunteered in the lab over the course of the summer, and I got absolutely addicted. The more time I spent in the lab helping to clean, organize, and maintain the biodiesel production process, the more captivated I became."
The KU Biodiesel Initiative that Budy is a part of is supported by the Kansas Soybean Commission. The Commission has long recognized the importance of biodiesel as a market for utilizing their soybeans and have invested in biodiesel research and market development. Since 2007, they have been in partnership with the University of Kansas to develop students.
Budy is one of four new co-chairs selected to lead the national Next Generation Scientists for Biodiesel program. A program of the National Biodiesel Board and United Soybean Board for college-level science students, NGSB fosters professional relationships between budding and established scientists, shares accurate information and increases collaboration with academia and the biodiesel industry.
Made from an increasingly diverse mix of resources such as soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats, biodiesel and renewable diesel are better, cleaner fuels that are available now for use in existing diesel engines without modification. NBB is the U.S. trade association representing the entire biodiesel and renewable diesel value chain, including producers, feedstock suppliers, and fuel distributors. NBB is funded in part by the United Soybean Board and state soybean board checkoff programs.
