EDWARDSVILLE – The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (NCERC at SIUE) is pleased to welcome Steve Ward, PE as its new project management engineer. In his new role, Ward will oversee research projects in NCERC’s pilot- and demonstration-scale research laboratories while working directly with clients from across the world who come to the center to perform scale-up of commercial-bound biotechnologies. In addition to his role on the research team, Steve will serve as a mentor for NCERC’s operations staff and those who participate in the workforce training programs at the center.
“I’m thrilled to be rejoining the NCERC team in this new role as the project management engineer and eager to work with its dynamic staff and clients again,” said Ward. “As an engineer, NCERC is an incredible place to work and I look forward to working with its leadership and operations teams again to see through exciting research in the bioindustrial manufacturing sector.”
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Ward brings over 15 years of experience in engineering and project management to the NCERC leadership team, including a previous role at the center which he served from 2004 to 2016 in multiple roles. Ward earned his degree in chemical engineering from University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and has his professional engineer’s license in Illinois and Missouri.
“We’re extremely excited to welcome Steve back to NCERC in the new role of Project Management Engineer,” said John Caupert, Executive Director of NCERC. “Steve brings an incredible amount of institutional knowledge about the Center, including several years of experience in corn-to-ethanol operations and research, which will serve us well as we continue to be the leading provider of biofuels research in the United States and beyond. With his leadership, we’ll be able to support more projects per year, creating new opportunities for collaboration and revenue generation.”
About NCERC
The NCERC at SIUE is a nationally recognized research center dedicated to the development and commercialization of biotechnologies. Their unique research laboratories house bench- to demonstration-scale bioreactors and pretreatment and downstream processing equipment, making it the perfect partner to companies in the biotechnology industry. Through their contractual research services, NCERC has played an instrumental role in commercializing more than eighty products that are now used in the commercial marketplace. In addition to its research and development services, NCERC leverages its experienced staff and unique facility to provide a variety of workforce training and education initiatives to train the next generation of bioeconomy professionals. For more information, contact Jackie Hayes at jhayes@ethanolresearch.com, or visit www.EthanolResearch.com.
