Dr. Nancy Ho, Founder, Green Tech America

Tell us about your company and it’s role in the Advanced Bioeconomy.

My company plays an important role in providing our super efficient yeast, named as the Ho-Purdue Yeast, described above for companies worldwide to produce cellulosic ethanol by using their local cellulosic feedstocks. One company in the US already markets the cellulosic ethanol produced by our yeast in the US.

Tell us about your role and what you are focused on in the next 12 months.

As said above, our Ho-Purdue yeast can also efficiently ferment corn mash prepared by corn ethanol producers to ethanol. Besides, our yeast has been tested by one corn ethanol producer allowing them to efficiently convert corn mash added 15% cellulosic sugars to produce high concentrations of ethanol (16% ethanol). Our focus for next year is to have more corn ethanol producers to use our yeast to co-produce corn as well as cellulosic ethanol in their plants. That will be the fastest way to help our country to produce more cellulosic ethanol. That will also help corn ethanol producers to produce more ethanol without need to use more corn and help farmers to earn more by marketing their corn stovers in addition to corn.

What do you feel are the most important milestones the industry must achieve in the next 5 years?  

One important milestone in the US can achieve is to have all the corn ethanol producers to increase 15-20% ethanol production by using cellulosic sugars as the feedstocks. That will be able to help our country to increase the production of 2 billion gallons of fuel by using its cellulosic feedstocks.

If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the Advanced Bioeconomy, what would you change? 

That will be to have more investors to invest in biotechnology based small business. More guaranteed government loan directly provide to bio-based companies by the government, not to be controlled by the banks.

Of all the reasons that influenced you to join the Advanced Bioeconomy industry, what single reason stands out for you as still being compelling and important to you?  

.That will be the development of technologies for the production of fuels and chemicals by using cellulosic none food feedstocks.

Where are you from? 

I was born on mainland China, but grew up in Taiwan. However, I have lived the longest years in the United States.

What was your undergraduate major in college, and where did you attend? Why did you choose that school and that pathway?

My major for undergraduate was chemical engineering. I attended National Taiwan University. That was and still is the most prestigious university every high school graduate in Taiwan wanted or wants to attend!