Office: ES&T 2316, MOSE 2285
Email: wberkey3@gatech.edu
What is your favorite book? Blind Sight
What is your favorite food? Fettuccine alfredo
Educational Background
B.S. Science Davidson College
Advisors
Christopher W. Jones, Stefan A. France
Project
Upcycling of Carbohydrates to Yield Furan-containing Building Blocks as Platforms Chemicals and Precursors to Value-Added Fuels, Materials, and Products
Project Description
Cellulose one of the most abundant naturally occurring carbohydrates has been notoriously difficult to upgrade. Thus, the forest products industry has remained more focused on its conversion to low-cost platform chemicals like levulinic acid, substituted furfurals, sugar alcohols, lactic acid, phenols, and succinic acid. I will be working to open new pathways to cellulose and other carbohydrate valorization through the development and use of a variety of catalysts and new reaction methodologies.