People interested in finding biological alternatives to fossil fuels will be able to hone their skills in an ISU graduate program that is the first of its kind in the nation.

The Board of Regents approved the new bio-renewable resources program earlier this month.

Brent Shanks, associate professor of chemical engineering and a member of the committee coordinating the new program, said the new bio-renewable resources program will encompass a number of fields, including chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, agriculture and biosystems engineering, food science and human nutrition, biochemistry and forestry.

Shanks said seven students are already enrolled in the program to complement their primary majors. He said very few people, if any at all, will earn a primary degree in bio-renewable resources.

The program will cover four critical areas within the subject of bio-renewable resources: plant science and the production, processing and utilization of bio-renewable resources.

Shanks said all four areas have “technical hurdles associated with them, but it’s clear that all those areas are related.”

“If we’re going to use bio-renewable resources, we must have a broad view with respect to it,” he said.

Shanks said each student would most likely have a focus project within his or her fundamental discipline.

“The intent of the program is to educate students … across all of those areas,” he said.

Shanks said bio-renewable resources would have an environmental advantage over fossil fuels because they are theoretically able to recycle carbon. He said the development of bio-renewable resources could also decrease dependency on the import of fossil fuels, leaving room for change in foreign policy.

The development of bio-renewable resources would also add value to crops and possibly reduce the amount of economic subsidization required by the government in rural areas, he said.

The program currently receives funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Faculty involved in planning the new course requirements want to use already-existing, well-fitted classes in order to save money, Shanks said.

Shanks said the program would offer a master’s degree, doctorate and a doctoral minor. He said he expects most students to opt for a co-doctorate or for a doctoral minor.