Spring Break
URI professor turns on biofuel 'switch'
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 6/13/09 Section: Campus
At the moment, Kausch is working with Vekon Energies, a German company interested in introducing their technologies to North America.
"I'm trying right now to encourage them to be involved with the University of Rhode Island with the aspiration of trying to make URI independent of foreign oil," Kausch said.
He also teaches a credited internship program for undergraduates involved in his lab's research. His interns are required to have received a B or above in genetics and have the opportunity to get placed in high areas, whether graduate schools or for jobs.
"We're getting really good at this [research] and I expect that we will become stronger and stronger," Kausch said. "I think we've got a tremendous resource of people here and the support that we're getting from the DOE and some companies that are now interested in our research [suggest] that the future is bright."
After Kausch completed his undergraduate work at the State University of New York, he went on to receive a master's and a doctorate from Iowa State in cell and molecular biology.
Kausch uncovered what he considers to be one of his most prominent discoveries during his post-doctoral studies at the Rockefeller University, when he cloned DNA for the first time.
"We looked at how certain proteins enter the chloroplasts themselves and it turns out there's a protein fragment that guides it to a chloroplast rather than any other part in the cell," Kausch said. "That became important for a lot of different reasons."
In 1990, he was a member of the group responsible for the development of the first genetically modified corn plant. According to Kausch, more than 95 percent of corn in the United States is genetically engineered.
His other research pertains to the biofortification of Vitamin A, iron and other nutritional needs in African varieties of corn. The South American-based company CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, funds the maize project.
Kausch is the author of more than 47 published articles and patents ranging from drought-tolerant maize to magnetic beads capable of trapping proteins, cells, DNA and RNA.
"I also developed a new variety of garlic that grows like a green onion," Kausch said. "It's a little outside of what I normally do, but I couldn't resist. I made a company to develop that, Ophios, it's a small, little company."
Kausch has visited countries including China, Germany, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Bulgaria. He also teaches Issues on Biotechnology at URI, a class that covers the basic aspects of life.
"It covers all of the applications in biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, pharmaceutical biotechnology and new drug development and disease detection, medical biotechnology in stem cells and gene therapy, forensics, and bioweapons," Kausch said. "We pretty much cover everything."
"I'm trying right now to encourage them to be involved with the University of Rhode Island with the aspiration of trying to make URI independent of foreign oil," Kausch said.
He also teaches a credited internship program for undergraduates involved in his lab's research. His interns are required to have received a B or above in genetics and have the opportunity to get placed in high areas, whether graduate schools or for jobs.
"We're getting really good at this [research] and I expect that we will become stronger and stronger," Kausch said. "I think we've got a tremendous resource of people here and the support that we're getting from the DOE and some companies that are now interested in our research [suggest] that the future is bright."
After Kausch completed his undergraduate work at the State University of New York, he went on to receive a master's and a doctorate from Iowa State in cell and molecular biology.
Kausch uncovered what he considers to be one of his most prominent discoveries during his post-doctoral studies at the Rockefeller University, when he cloned DNA for the first time.
"We looked at how certain proteins enter the chloroplasts themselves and it turns out there's a protein fragment that guides it to a chloroplast rather than any other part in the cell," Kausch said. "That became important for a lot of different reasons."
In 1990, he was a member of the group responsible for the development of the first genetically modified corn plant. According to Kausch, more than 95 percent of corn in the United States is genetically engineered.
His other research pertains to the biofortification of Vitamin A, iron and other nutritional needs in African varieties of corn. The South American-based company CIAT, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, funds the maize project.
Kausch is the author of more than 47 published articles and patents ranging from drought-tolerant maize to magnetic beads capable of trapping proteins, cells, DNA and RNA.
"I also developed a new variety of garlic that grows like a green onion," Kausch said. "It's a little outside of what I normally do, but I couldn't resist. I made a company to develop that, Ophios, it's a small, little company."
Kausch has visited countries including China, Germany, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Bulgaria. He also teaches Issues on Biotechnology at URI, a class that covers the basic aspects of life.
"It covers all of the applications in biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, pharmaceutical biotechnology and new drug development and disease detection, medical biotechnology in stem cells and gene therapy, forensics, and bioweapons," Kausch said. "We pretty much cover everything."
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