Norm Lewis
Norman Lewis, left, professor of molecular plant sciences, focuses on how to break down the biological barriers in plants to make ethanol production easier and more cost-effective. A major emphasis of Dr. Lewis’s research involves determining how plants form the structural lignins that make up their vascular system.
Lignins help provide the structural stability to plants and trees, and must be broken down in order for lignocelluloses to be turned into paper, fuel, and other bioproducts. Dr. Lewis and his group at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, of which he is director, designed experiments that reduced the lignin content in plants by about two-thirds while maintaining the plant’s structural properties needed for growth, development, and processing.