Guest blog by Dr. Robert Humphreys If the US Department of Energy, US Department of Agriculture and the biofuels industry have their way, biofuels will dramatically alter American farming. Farmers will produce new crops entirely dedicated to supplying biomass feedstock for biofuels and bio-based chemicals in addition to traditional crops grown for human and livestock ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Much has been written about the potential to replace some or most of petroleum with biomass as a source of fuels and chemicals and the massive, reliable supply of biomass that will be needed to achieve this objective. Before we delve into this 2nd generation biomass feedstock challenge, it might be worthwhile to devote one post to some of the ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Just about anyone who has even a passing awareness of current events will have heard of the national priority to replace petroleum with renewable sources of energy as part of the vision to achieve “energy independence.” Biomass-derived fuels play a prominent role in the national plan. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) 2005 ... [Click to Continue...]

I just recently came across yet another article on how Six Sigma “killed” innovation at 3M (1).  A prominent business magazine ran a cover story on the same topic.  But guess what?  Sensational headlines grab readers attention, but what really “killed” innovation (even that’s debatable, 3M seems to be doing pretty well these days) was the inappropriate application of Six Sigma ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Readers who perform DIY repairs and projects around their homes will readily recognize a two-part epoxy adhesive dispenser. Epoxies are thermoset polymers that cure (crosslink) when a di- or multi-functional epoxy monomer reacts with a hardener. Many types of hardeners are used, depending on the desired properties of the cured epoxy, the ... [Click to Continue...]