With gasoline prices skyrocketing to nearly $3 a gallon, researchers on campus are working to find alternatives to fossil fuels.

Steven Fales, professor and chairman of agronomy, was recently chosen to be the assistant director of the Office of Biorenewable Programs, which focuses on a field that Fales believes is a necessary change for the U.S. economy.

“The field of biorenewables is vital to our future of our nation – not only for energy but for virtually every part of our economy,” he said.

Biorenewables are derived from agriculture for everyday uses, including motor fuels, electricity and paper.

Fales, alongside office director Robert Brown, will take on the task of being the go-to guys for answers on all things involving biorenewables.

Fales said one of the key projects his office focuses on is the ISU Bioeconomy Initiative, which was organized to develop technologies for creating alternate fuels.

Ultimately, researchers hope to start a new industrial revolution based on renewable fuels, instead of fossil fuels, Fales said.

“The industrial revolution came about and people and animal power – that was gradually replaced by machine power,” he said. “[The industrial revolution] really got going because of fossil fuel. We have a new opportunity right now to create a new revolution that is based on the sustainable production of alternatives to petroleum.”

One goal is to create a “biorefinery,” which would be similar to a petroleum refinery, Fales said. Instead of using fossil fuels, it would use all biorenewable materials, which could lead to a drastic change similar to the industrial revolution.

“The ultimate dream is a biorefinery,” Fales said.

Fales said although energy alternatives are being found, conservation is still the only key to solving the energy problem.

“There is no way that I have seen any technology within the next 10 to 20 years that is going to enable us to be as energy-intensive as we are,” Fales said. “It’s clear that we have to be more efficient. I think shifting to biorenewables will dampen the cost of fuel, but in the long run, we are going to have to use less.”

Brown said the initiative is split into four pieces called barrier areas: plant science, agronomic production, biomass processing and utilizing the products produced.

“[It takes] the activities of the College of Agriculture and [ties] them more closely to the activities taking place in the other colleges at Iowa State University as they are related to the Bioeconomy Initiative,” he said.

With the help of others, Brown selected Fales for the position, a decision he is glad to have made.

“I am very pleased to have Steve Fales joining us,” Brown said. “He was selected for the position because of his unique experiences in the College of Agriculture and his ability to help us work in the plant science and the production side of the bioeconomy.”

With the support of ISU administration, the ethanol industry and the state of Iowa, Fales said he is also excited about the partnership and his new role.

“We really have a critical mass of faculty across disciplines,” Fales said, “The people involved in the program are just passionate about the work. That is one of the things that attracts me; it’s fun to be working with people who really have a mission and we know this is the right thing to do.”