Fourth bioscience conference nearing

Ryan McGaughey Worthington Daily Globe
Published Saturday, March 08, 2008

WORTHINGTON — Numerous bioscience professionals from across the country will gather in Worthington later this month.

The fourth annual bioscience conference, coordinated by the Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp. (WREDC), will take place March 27-28 at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. At a time of soaring gas and oil prices and an increasing emphasis on “green energy,” this year’s conference will focus upon renewable energy.

“We’re incorporating more renewable energy than we ever have,” WREDC Manager Glenn Thuringer said. “It aligns itself with the WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) grant that was awarded to 36 (Minnesota) counties.”

Thirty-six contiguous Minnesota counties stand to benefit from a $5 million training grant announced in June 2007 by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao. The grant, which will be administered over three years, was awarded to Minnesota’s Ag Innovation Triangle, which encompasses counties in the southwest, west central and south central parts of the state.

The WIRED grant, won by 12 other U.S. regions, is designed to coordinate the efforts of workforce development and economic development agencies to ensure an ample supply of skilled workers. Southwest Minnesota counties that are part of the Ag Innovation Triangle include Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock.

Dick Hemmingsen, director of renewable energy, University of Minnesota, believes alternative energy sources are integral to a strong state economy,

“I first got hooked up with the bioscience conference when I attended one of the first ones they did three or four years ago,” Hemmingsen said. “I knew of Glenn and the efforts in Worthington at that point.

“The discussion about renewable energy being one of the themes struck me as important because I think it is one of the defining issues of our time,” he added. “The field of renewables is immense and rather than try to cover the entire renewable energy waterfront, I think over the course of a few discussions we decided to narrow this down to how are we going to grow biomass materials, how we are to convert them and how we utilize them. If we’re going to convert biomass to what are sometimes referred to as second- and third-generation biofuels, we want to make sure there’s a way to utilize these products.”

Hemmingsen is slated to serve as moderator for the conference’s first session, “Renewables: Growing It, Converting It, Utilizing It.” Five other panelists have been tapped to participate in the session.

Hemmingsen said he and Minnesota West agriculture instructor Rolf Mahlberg — “who, parenthetically, I knew from teaching vo-ag in Pipestone several years ago” — worked to brainstorm names of session speakers.

“Rolf and Glenn continued to kick these names around and continued to add to this array of panelists that are going to be on that program,” Hemmingsen said.

Following Thursday afternoon’s opening session, a session titled “Commercialization and Business Incubator/Accelerators” will follow. One of the panelists in that portion of the conference will be Mark Crowell, associate vice chancellor for economic development and technology transfer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“I just heard him speak at a conference not long ago,” Thuringer said of Crowell. “I think he’s absolutely outstanding. … We’re glad to have him coming here.”

Additional sessions during the two-day conference include “New Technology,” “Education — Industry Workforce Development” and “Bioscience: Research at Work.”

The public is invited to attend the conference. Registrations are requested by going to www.wgtn.net or www.dglobe.com, or by calling the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce at 372-2219 or WREDC at 372-5515.

Additionally, a gathering for conference participants will again take place this year at the Historic Dayton House. The social is planned for the evening of March 27.

“That’s really liked, especially by out-of-town people,” Thuringer said of the social. “It’s amazing how many of the Twin Cities people come down and say how great it is to get connected here after trying to get together for weeks in the Cities.”

Thuringer added that he is enthusiastic about having another successful gathering of bioscience professionals converge in Worthington.

“I’m really impressed with the support, not just locally but across the state,” he said. “Having the university’s input and local input with Minnesota West is a ton of help in organizing an event like this.”

Pawlenty keynote speaker at conference

Ryan McGaughey Worthington Daily Globe
Published Wednesday, March 19, 2008

WORTHINGTON — Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker at next week’s Bioscience Conference, and he will also host his weekly Friday morning radio show live from the conference stage.

Glenn Thuringer, manager of Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp., said Tuesday that Pawlenty will address Bioscience Conference attendees at 8:30 a.m. March 28, the second day of the two-day event at Minnesota West Community and Technical College. Immediately following his remarks, he’ll do his hour-long radio program.

This will be Pawlenty’s first visit to Worthington’s annual Bioscience Conference, which will take place for the fourth time.

“I think it gives the conference credibility and gives the presenters we already have lined up an even bigger platform from which to speak,” Thuringer said. “I think this gives us recognition in this corner of the state for our bioscience efforts, and shows that our efforts aren’t going unnoticed.”

Additionally, a nationally syndicated program will also be broadcast live from the Bioscience Conference that same day. “AgriTalk,” which airs locally on KWOA-AM, will host its program — starting at approximately 10 a.m. after the governor’s radio show — from the lobby of the Minnesota West administration building. People who wish to watch the live radio broadcast may do so free of charge.

“The entire show is going to be dedicated to Worthington,” Thuringer said. “We’ve lined up a bunch of people to speak … like the mayor (Alan Oberloh) and local business leaders.”

Thuringer credited rural Worthington’s Matt Widboom, a former farm broadcaster, for making the initial contact with “AgriTalk.”

Also scheduled for Friday at the Bioscience Conference is a session, “Bioscience: Research at Work,” from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. Panelists include Ben Perryman, vice president of research at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., Eric Wieben, director of the Mayo Clinic Genomics Research Center, and Gareth Davies, scientific director for Avera Institute for Human Behavioral Genetics.

“We’re wrapping up the conference with three powerhouse speakers from Sanford, Mayo and Avera,” Thuringer said. “We’re excited about that.”

The conference begins at 12:30 p.m. March 27, and three different panel sessions are scheduled for that day. The first session, “Renewables: Growing It, Converting It, Utilizing It,” will be from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m.

“One of the panelists, Vance Owens, will be talking about switchgrass … and another, Mark Rasmussen, will be talking about using algae to make ethanol and biodiesel,” Thuringer said. “(Rasmussen’s) is going to be one of the most interesting talks of the conference.”

Owens is in the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University, while Rasmussen is a senior research scientist with SarTec Corp. in Anoka.

A complete schedule of events for the Bioscience Conference is available at wgtn.net, where Thuringer asks people planning to attend the conference to register.

Editorial: Conference lineup looks strong

Daily Globe, Worthington Daily Globe
Published Thursday, March 20, 2008

Things are looking up for the fourth annual Bioscience Conference, which begins a week from today at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, Worthington campus.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker for the event, which kicks off in the early afternoon of March 27 and continues through the morning of the 28th. Pawlenty, of course, has visited Worthington on multiple occasions during his tenure as governor, but his first-time visit to the Bioscience Conference shows us that he recognizes Worthington’s efforts in the field.

Perhaps as noteworthy as Pawlenty’s visit will be the planned visit by folks from the nationally syndicated radio program “AgriTalk.” The show, which airs daily, will broadcast live on the morning of the 28th from the Bioscience Conference, with Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh and other local leaders to be interviewed. It’s a great opportunity to have Worthington portrayed in a positive light to thousands of listeners from all around.

With a focus this year on renewable energy, this year’s Bioscience Conference promises to be both intriguing and accessible to a wide audience. We congratulate the Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp. for their work in coordinating what should be another successful event.

Business incubator panel new to conference

Julie Buntjer Worthington Daily Globe
Published Tuesday, March 25, 2008

WORTHINGTON — The fourth annual Bioscience Conference is just days away in Worthington, and speakers for the two-day event are putting the final touches on their presentations.

The Thursday-Friday conference promises some of the most intriguing people and informative subjects in the bioscience arena — and the premise that Worthington and the tri-state region can position itself for future growth and development in the industry.

The conference will take place in the Fine Arts building on the Minnesota West Community and Technical College campus in Worthington. The event kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Thursday with a welcome by Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh, followed by featured panels on renewables and commercialization and business incubator/accelerators.

Tamara Goetz, appointed science advisor for the State of Utah, is one of three panelists to speak during the commercialization and business incubator/accelerator panel.

Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp. manager Glenn Thuringer, who coordinates the annual conference, said this is the first time a panel has been offered on the particular topic.

A business incubator is a building that provides new companies with a place to get started — a “launching pad” of sorts to help them get off the ground and grow so that they can eventually expand into a larger area.

Thuringer explained that a building used as a business incubator typically offers a company a reduced rental rate to help with finances until they become more established.

“(The accelerator) provides more experience to help get it going,” he added.

During the Thursday afternoon panel, Goetz will talk about her work with InnovaBio, a student-driven, non-profit contract research company that provides training to high school and college students. The program ultimately leads students to internships within a life science company in Utah.

The project includes training in two specific areas — lab technology and bio-manufacturing training technology — and is funded with a U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation for Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant.

“We have 15,000 square feet to do a pilot incubator,” Goetz said, adding that the building features several small private labs, a larger lab and a training facility.

“(In the facility), high school and biotech students are doing research under supervision with researchers,” she said.

Goetz will share with conference attendees the concept behind the model and how it could be a tool for development locally.

With a spec building standing empty in Worthington’s designated bioscience park, Thuringer hopes to lure companies needing an incubator-type facility to get started.

“We would like to have a training and testing center of our own,” he said, adding that the hope is the spec building could host three different incubators. “We’ve been talking about which model do we go with — the incubator or acceleration.”

There is also the commercialization avenue, which would host start-up businesses that take research and turn it into products for commercial sale. The feasibility of commercialization in a largely rural area without a predominant university nearby will also be addressed.

“I think there’s a mindset out there that to be successful with commercialization and incubation, you need to be near a major university,” Thuringer said.

Without the support of sponsors, Thuringer said it would be impossible to bring speakers such as Goetz to Worthington. There are more than 25 corporate sponsors helping to finance this year’s conference.

“We’re just glad the sponsors see this as a value,” he said.

Sponsorships have come from not just the Worthington area, but from throughout the region — something Thuringer said is important to note.

“We know we cannot succeed by just being a single entity,” Thuringer said. “It’s better to market the region. We hope northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota see that as well.”

Students able to explore careers at conference

Ryan McGaughey Worthington Daily Globe
Published Thursday, March 27, 2008

WORTHINGTON — The fourth annual Bioscience Conference begins today, and organizers are hoping the proceedings make favorable impressions on those considering a career in the industry.

Glenn Thuringer, manager of Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp. — which is coordinating the two-day event — said the conference is a great way for college students to learn about the industry and potentially meet leaders in the field.

“There’s going to be upwards of 70 college students attending, mostly from Minnesota West, but from a couple of different campuses,” Thuringer said.

The conference, which will take place in the Minnesota West Community and Technical College Fine Arts Theater, begins at 12:30 p.m. today with a welcome from Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh. Ron Wood, president of Minnesota West, will give a brief explanation of the WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) grant awarded last year to 36 Minnesota counties.

A panel discussion titled “Renewables: Growing It, Converting It, Utilizing It” will take place from 12:45 to 3 p.m. Ryan Mahlberg, a biotechnology instructor at Minnesota West’s Worthington campus, hopes his students will find the session informative.

“I’ve steered them toward a couple (of discussions),” Mahlberg said Wednesday afternoon. “I’d like them to go to the renewable one — this is kind of an irregular timing for them to go to class, so I’ve given them some options. There’s a session I’ve encouraged them to go to from 11:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. Friday (“Bioscience: Research at Work”), as well as Gov. (Tim) Pawlenty on Friday morning.

Pawlenty, the conference’s keynote speaker, will address attendees at 8:30 a.m. Friday, and then follow immediately by hosting his weekly hour-long radio show live from Minnesota West. After Pawlenty’s program, the nationally syndicated radio program, “AgriTalk,” will air live from the Bioscience Conference, with several Worthington individuals slated to be interviewed.

Mahlberg said he has approximately 12 students who plan to attend the conference. His father, Rolf Mahlberg — an ag instructor at the college — as well as Minnesota West chemistry instructor Steven Schultz will also have students there, he added.

“I’m hoping they are open to some of the areas of the conference we don’t necessarily talk about on a day-to-day basis that they can get excited about,” Mahlberg said.

Malhberg also looks forward to attending the event on a personal level.

“It’s nice to make connections with professionals in this industry that I wouldn’t make otherwise, which may lead to future collaborations,” he said. “And just seeing that there’s support within this industry at an educational level, industrial level and professional level … that’s great for the students.”

Today’s other sessions are “Commercialization & Business Incubator/Accelerators (3:30 to 4:30 p.m.) and “New Technology” (4:30 to 5 p.m. and 5:45 to 6:15 p.m.) A presentation from Mahri Monson, a research assistant for the Center of Science, Technology and Public Institute with the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, will be from 6:15 to 6:30 p.m.

A social reception sponsored by the Daily Globe will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. today at the Historic Dayton House. Friday’s itinerary includes Pawlenty’s address, the “AgriTalk” program and two more sessions, including one titled, “Education — Industry Workforce Development.”

Researcher takes Bioscience Conference inside WHS

Ryan McGaughey Worthington Daily Globe
Published Friday, March 28, 2008

WORTHINGTON — While the fourth annual Bioscience Conference was transpiring at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, an outreach program of sorts was taking place at Worthington High School.

Mahri Monson, a research assistant with the Center for Science, Technology and Public Policy — part of the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs — spoke to high school students Thursday afternoon about how math and science education can play an important role in their futures. Monson’s appearance in the school was sponsored by Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp., which coordinated the conference.

“Glenn Thuringer (WREDC manager) approached me after I was presenting with the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota in front of a House committee (in St. Paul),” Monson explained. “He thought it would be interesting for me to come and talk some to students around this Bioscience Conference, and I said I would be honored to do so.”

Monson worked with Thuringer and Jodi Landgaard of Prairie Holdings Group to arrange her Thursday classroom discussions at WHS. Landgaard worked with WHS principal Scott Backer to arrange how Monson’s presentation would fit best; she also appeared with Monson to discuss job shadowing and internship possibilities within the Worthington community.

On Thursday afternoon, Monson spoke before ninth-graders in John Goedtel’s careers class, explaining at one point on how math and science can pertain to such contrasting careers as cosmetology and nuclear medicine.

“I guess I was trying to make whatever connections I could to math and science and engineering and technology,” Monson said. “I know one of the concerns we have on a national level is that our students aren’t making as much progress in those arenas as those in other countries. I’d like to see people pursue those areas … and keep all kinds of opportunities open to them.”

Monson added that Backer felt her appearance was also important to students — and the school — from another standpoint.

“It shows them that what they’re working on today is relevant, and it has meaning to their future,” she said.

On Thursday evening at the Bioscience Conference, Monson also gave a presentation on her work with BioBusiness Alliance, covering her work in areas such as renewable energy, biomaterials, animal health, medical devices and others.

“Glenn had wanted me to address the idea of convergence, or new opportunities created by developing synergies between historically distinct disciplines,” Monson said. “The tool that BioBusiness Alliance has used is System Dynamics Modeling. … I see this tool as a way to look at complex problems and finding points of greatest leverage for change in whatever system you’re working. It just kind of gives us a tool to think in more of a convergence-minded way, or to look at things from an integrative perspective.”

Researchers on the cutting edge

Julie Buntjer Worthington Daily Globe
Published Friday, March 28, 2008

WORTHINGTON — From growing algae and switchgrass to converting livestock manure and food processing waste into compost, researchers are doing what they can to improve America’s energy independence.

That was the message during a two-hour session on renewables Thursday afternoon at the fourth annual Bioscience Conference in Worthington. The program featured five speakers and covered the three main areas of alternative crops: growing it, converting it and utilizing it.

Minnesota is often considered a leader in renewable resources, and with the information panelists presented Wednesday, it appears the state will remain a strong contender for years to come.

The first state to pass an ethanol mandate requiring all gasoline contain a 10 percent ethanol blend — and the first state to pass a biodiesel mandate at 2 percent — Minnesota and its farmers realize they can’t produce enough corn and soybeans to meet the nation’s thirst for fuel. It needs to find other crops, other sources of biomass, to feed processing facilities that make biofuel.

Vance Owens, a plant scientist at South Dakota State University, believes that switchgrass, in combination with other grasses such as Big Bluestem and Indiangrass, can supply a significant amount of biomass for the production of ethanol. He is working with 30 test plots located throughout the U.S. dedicated to perennial crop production.

“It’s an exciting time to be a forage crop researcher,” Owens said.

Among the advantages of growing perennials for biomass are reduced needs for fuels, pesticide and fertilizer; it can be grown on land unsuitable for row crops; it benefits carbon sequestration, promotes soil and water conservation and provides increased wildlife habitat. Issues yet to be resolved, Owens said, are harvesting and processing the grasses.

In field trials, Owens said switchgrass is “relatively easy” to establish, is long-lived and resistant to lodging. While biomass levels in switchgrass peak in July and August, harvesting at that time of the year has proved detrimental to the perennial aspect.

“If we harvest then, we’re going to kill it,” he said. “If we wait until fall or the next spring (to harvest), I think it could go on forever.”

A late-summer harvest doesn’t give the grass time to generate enough regrowth to be able to over-winter in the northern climate, he added.

“Harvest timing is critical; it has to be tweaked for each part of the country,” Owens said.

While research continues on the feasibility of growing perennial grasses like switchgrass, Big Bluestem and Indiangrass, Owens is impressed with the biomass levels produced from the crop.

“From a processing point, they’re going to be OK to be in a mixture,” he said.

If people were surprised when President George W. Bush’s 2006 State of the Union speech mentioned switchgrass as a source for biofuel, they would certainly turn heads at the thought algae could be used as a renewable resource.

Mark Rasmussen, senior research scientist with SarTec Corp. of Anoka, is working on a project to capture carbon dioxide through the cultivation of algae.

“We tend to think of algae in negative ways — it produces toxins dangerous to wildlife and aquatic life, but if we can harvest it, it can have (some benefit),” Rasmussen said. The concept is to use photosynthetic organisms to turn algae into a resource. Lest one think the idea is far-fetched, Rasmussen said there is already some commercial cultivation of algae being done around the world by nutraceutical companies.

“I don’t want to oversell it,” he said of the idea. “There’s a lot of overselling going on. The scale-up is a real challenge.”

Algae harvest at this time is being done on open ponds or tanks; however, more costly closed bioreactor systems appear to be a better option because they provide a controlled environment with less potential for evaporation or contamination.

A North Dakota study funded by the DOE in 2002 concluded that harvested algae is a competitive feedstock, while the oil could be used for biofuel.

Converting renewables

Marc von Keitz, program director for biotechnology services at the University of Minnesota, said there are three main reasons to continue the push toward renewable resources: We need more alternatives to imported oil, we need to find new ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and we need to support rural development.

“I heard last year was the best year for farmers in 35 years, and I think that’s largely due to biofuels,” von Keitz told the crowd of Bioscience Conference attendees.

Corn and soybean production keeps ethanol and biodiesel plants going in the region, but there isn’t enough supply to meet the growing demands not only for fuel, but also for food.

“If all starch, sugar, fat and natural oils were used to make liquid biofuels, it would meet just 30 percent of transportation fuel needs,” von Keitz said. By 2010, it is estimated ethanol would meet 4 percent of the global gasoline demand, while biodiesel would only fill 1.1 percent of the diesel fuel needs.

“We have to look at how much fuel we can produce from one acre of land,” he said, adding that cellulosic ethanol is the way to go. “There are many different processes under development to make a variety of fuels.”

Utilizing resources

Within an hour’s drive of Worthington, Bison Renewable Energy is constructing a Biogas Regional Anaerobic Digester, or BRAD, to take one of northwest Iowa’s greatest resources — manure — and turn it into pipeline-quality natural gas, 503A pathogen-free compost and carbon dioxide. An added benefit is it will produce greenhouse gas credits.

“They call it black gold, and it truly is,” said Don Nelson, project finance director for Bison Renewable Energy. The Cornerstone BRAD plant under construction north of Sioux Center, Iowa, will process manure from swine, feedlot, dairy and poultry operations as well as waste from ethanol plants, meat and milk processors and even bakeries.

“We can take all these things — be scavengers — and bring them into our facility,” Nelson said.

The benefits of the operation include reduced odor due to farmsite collections and the enclosed process of transforming the waste, will provide a manure management tool for large-scale livestock producers and will create 50 to 75 jobs for Sioux County.

“Sioux County is one of the five most livestock intensive counties in the nation,” Nelson said.

The start-up stage for Cornerstone BRAD will begin in August. The project is estimated to generate more than $2.5 million in tax revenue in the county.

The Bioscience Conference continues today with a keynote address by Gov. Tim Pawlenty at 8:30 a.m. in the Fine Arts building on the Minnesota West Community and Technical College campus in Worthington. Panels today include Education-Industry Workforce Development from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., and Bioscience: Research at Work, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.

Pawlenty praises Worthington at Bioscience Conference

Ryan McGaughey Worthington Daily Globe
Published Saturday, March 29, 2008

WORTHINGTON — Gov. Tim Pawlenty mingled with eighth-grade science students and served as keynote speaker Friday morning during a two-hour visit to the fourth annual Bioscience Conference at Minnesota West Community and Technical College.

Pawlenty gave keynote remarks of approximately 20 minutes before transitioning into his weekly radio program, “Good Morning Minnesota,” shortly after 9 a.m. After wrapping up his duties inside the Fine Arts Theater, the Republican governor moved into the college’s commons area to view science displays coordinated by Worthington Middle School students — and even take time for a little air hockey.

The second day of the two-day conference, coordinated by Worthington Regional Economic Development Corp., began with introductory remarks from WREDC Chairman Bruce Viessman and Minnesota West President Ron Wood, who with Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh announced the development of a partnership between the City of Worthington, Nobles County, Minnesota West and the University of Minnesota to promote bioscience industries.

“I think the partnerships we’re beginning to form here and these relationships ... instead of hearing about the black gold of Texas, you’ll be hearing about the prairie gold of southwest Minnesota,” Wood said. “This is the kind of stuff that makes us a place to look to in the future.”

“We really have something to be proud of here in Worthington,” Oberloh added.

Moments later, Pawlenty echoed Oberloh’s comments, explaining that leadership is important in developing economic initiatives.

“The City of Worthington is very fortunate to have leadership that understands a vision,” Pawlenty said, hailing the city for its “outstanding economic development team” and calling it “a community that understands the importance of partnership.”

Pawlenty referenced Peter Drucker — “one of the most profound strategic thinkers of our time” — in discussing the importance of not resting on any laurels.

“The things that got us here will not get us there,” Pawlenty said. “You must see the future — not be swamped by it.”

The governor noted that Minnesotans, as well as the nation and the world, are experiencing change “more rapidly, and more profound” than any other time.

“What are the forces of change? We cannot stop them, but we can certainly strategize to take advantage of them,” Pawlenty said.

While the U.S. has a population of 300 million, China’s is 1.3 billion, noted the governor. India will graduate 500,000 engineers this year, he added; the U.S. will graduate 50,000, and will graduate more psychology majors than engineers.

“We’re not going to be the biggest, we’re not going to be cheapest, so then we have to be the smartest,” Pawlenty said. “This is why the vision of bioscience in Worthington is so important to our region, our state and our nation.”

Pawlenty spoke of how the “exploding” realm of bioscience fits with Minnesota’s agricultural strength. The potential result can be an abundance of jobs that keep our young people here after completing their education.

“We need to offer jobs that people want to stay for,” Pawlenty said, acknowledging science club members seated in the front rows. “This industry having a demonstrable presence ... is a big part of it.

“Worthington has planted a flag and said, ‘We’re going to lead,’” he added. “We see this future, we want to be part of it and we congratulate you for it.”

During his radio show, Pawlenty welcomed WMF science club member Claire Bents, who won a rock-paper-scissors contest to earn the right to appear.

“I think that science is a really good experience because we are the future,” she said. “Some of us might be future scientists and do a lot of good in the world.”

Other radio guests were Dale Walhlstrom of the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota and WREDC manager Glenn Thuringer.