Focus at BETO: Biochemical conversion, renewable carbon fiber
Prior Experience: Postdoctoral Fellowship at Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, California; Ph.D. in Plant Sciences from Indiana University
Duration of Fellowship: September 2012–September 2014
Career Interests: Enabling high-quality research, determining priority research pathways, and developing new bioenergy markets
Favorite Thing About Living and Working in Washington, D.C.: "It is such a big and diverse city. There's so much history, art, and culture to explore that I feel like I can always do something new."
Katy's Story:
Katy Christiansen was not new to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); prior to her AAAS fellowship with the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), she had served a postdoctoral fellowship at the DOE-funded Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). During the four years she spent at JBEI as a research scientist, she discovered that she was missing the bigger picture that interested her the most.
As narrowly focused researcher, she always had broader questions: Who decided that DOE should fund their research? Why was bioenergy a federal research priority?
As a fellow on the BETO team, Katy has assisted with the Office's strategic Multi-Year Program Plan, the Conversion Technologies for Advanced Biofuels roadmap, and workshop planning. She has attended conferences, talked to scientists about their breakthroughs in bioenergy, and observed firsthand how federal funding initiatives get off the ground and implemented.
At one point, Katy's fellowship sent her to Detroit, Michigan, to help facilitate a workshop on research directions for renewable carbon fiber. Carbon fiber can be used in place of steel in car production to reduce vehicle weight and increase fuel efficiency. While in Detroit, Katy and technology managers from BETO collaborated with other professionals in bioenergy industry and research. She also visited a carbon fiber research and development facility outside of Detroit to see how carbon fiber panels, hoods, and other car parts are produced for Corvettes and high-end American cars.
At BETO, Katy has gained experience in energy policy and strategy, areas in which she hopes to focus her career. She said she has also developed valuable connections with other AAAS fellows through regular discussion groups and socializing events.
<p>"My fellowship experience better matches my lifelong scientific interests than bench work did. I really enjoy thinking about using science and technology to solve big problems, like diversifying our transportation fuel sources. I feel like I learned what I set out to learn plus so much more."</p><p>—Katy Christiansen</p>