SEAS graduates Davied Cordero, Michelle Farhat, Bret Fickes, PrinceJonathan Pruitt, and Selim Sardag completed their master's project in 2019, which offers potential solutions for more resilient energy and food systems by setting the foundation for a “closed loop” or “circular” economy. In this system, agricultural material traditionally viewed as waste can be utilized as feedstock for a gasifier, which produces synthetic gas (syngas) and biochar, the former being used as a means to produce electricity and supplement what is generated by solar panels, and the latter being used as a natural soil amendment to improve crop production.

Read about their project on Global Michigan. 

Read their executive summaries and final reports.

Learn more about SEAS environmental master's programs