The scholarship students who will attend the 16th Annual National Ethanol Conference: Building Bridges to a More Sustainable Future, have been selected by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFS) and the Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF). The six students will receive free conference registration, allowing them the opportunity to meet and connect with renewable fuels industry professional leaders, policymakers and experts. The conference takes place in Phoenix, Arizona February 20-22, 2011.

The NEC scholarship recipients are: Ethan Kenney, a junior undergraduate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Derek Latil a recent graduate who is working part time for IllinoisVentures; Anuradha Mukherjee, who is pursuing her PhD in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Oklahoma State University; Kai Nortey, a graduate student of Integrated Marketing Communications and PR at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, Julia O’Rourke, a 2nd year MS/PhD student in mechanical engineering and MPaff student in public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin; and Andy Pringnitz, a junior undergraduate student at Iowa State University, where he is studying Agricultural Business, Economics, and International Agriculture.

“Attending the NEC is a stepping stone for these students in their path of pursuing a career in biofuels and renewable energy,” said Mike Jerke, RFF Chairman and General Manager of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company. “This is the perfect occasion to network with U.S. ethanol experts and explore the opportunities this industry has to offer.”

According to RFA, this year’s conference will focus on the future of an industry that can and will be the bridge from a national petroleum-fueled economy to one that is anchored in renewable fuels, sustainably produced from all biomass including grains and cellulose.