Iowa State University has received an additional $8.48 million from the National Science Foundation to support ISU’s NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals. The funding brings NSF’s total funding to the maximum of $35.26 million and extends federal funding support for the center through August 2018. Basil Nikolau, the center’s deputy director and Iowa State’s Frances M. Craig Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, said the center was built on a vision of biologists and biochemists working with engineers to solve common problems. The joint efforts have opened up new catalysts and technologies for the production of biorenewable chemicals. In addition to its research accomplishments, the center has spun off six startup companies over the past three years and more are expected. The center’s BioBased Foundry combines a class in technology-led entrepreneurship with mentoring by faculty members and industry leaders. To read an ISU article about the center, click here.