Purdue University associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering Nathan Mosier has been appointed the Indiana Soybean Alliance Soybean Utilization Endowed Chair, continuing a partnership to develop new uses for soybeans. The appointment was announced jointly Monday (Feb. 16) by Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Purdue Agriculture, and Dave Lowe, president of the Indiana Soybean Alliance.
Working with the soybean alliance, Mosier will help to lead research into new uses for soybeans such as in biofuels and in non-food products including consumer electronics. “Dr. Moser is a highly accomplished faculty member with a strong research program focused on developing energy and industrial products from renewable feedstocks,” Akridge said. “We are very excited about where he will take our research efforts on new uses for soybean.”
Lowe noted that Indiana soybean farmers funded the endowed chair more than a decade ago to help find new ways to make soybean farmers more profitable. “Bottom line, the work Dr. Mosier will do on behalf of Indiana soybean farmers is all about increasing the demand for soybeans through innovative research and development of soy-based products that can find their way into the marketplace,” Lowe said. “Our board looks forward to working closely with Dr. Mosier in his new role.”
Mosier has 15 years of experience in research related to biofuels and bioprocessing technology. His recent research program has focused on cellulose, but he also has worked with oil and protein from agricultural products to make industrial chemicals and materials.
Mosier earned a bachelor’s degree in biosystems engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and master’s and doctoral degrees in agricultural and biological engineering from Purdue. He also was a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship doctoral fellow in the Innovation Realization Laboratory at Purdue’s Krannert School of Management.