Suzanne Keller

Suzanne Keller is the project manager for the Iowa Bioprocess Training Center. This center is a state-of-the-art educational facility operated by Indian Hills Community College and designed specifically to serve the bioprocessing industries of Iowa. Special features of the center include a large, dividable, multipurpose classroom/meeting room, separate training laboratories for bioprocess technology and process control; and a fermentation pilot plant.

Raj Raman

Raj Raman, associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, is a new addition to the Iowa State University faculty. Raman’s research interests are diverse. In addition to ethanol and waste management projects, Raman is also finishing up research on acoustic detection of flying insects. Raman is also interested in expanding opportunities for students interested in learning about biorenewable technologies. He has been working with a multidisciplinary group of educators at Iowa State to create a biorenewable resources Virtual Education Center (VEC). The VEC would allow students from three land-grant universities – Iowa State University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Idaho – to participate in virtual biobased courses that capitalize on the disciplinary expertise of instructors at each of the institutions.

Pam Keck

Pam Keck is the Assistant Director of Workforce Development and Scientific Projects at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center, NCERC. The Center is a not-for-profit commercial testing facility that validates and optimizes new technologies for the renewable fuels industry with clients from academia and industry. The Center is the only independent pilot-plant facility with the full capability to process grain feedstocks to ethanol and coproducts using the dry grind process. Pam has worked to develop pilot plant testing of lignocellulosics with multiple pretreatment methodologies. In addition, based upon her science education experience, Pam has worked to expand and enhance the current internship training program at the Center to include a wide range of trainees and curriculum design by faculty from twelve institutions across the Midwest. The training programs focus on the hands-on experiences in the pilot plant and supporting labs working side-by-side with professional staff.

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