A new face at the National Ethanol Conference this year is Wade Hunt, student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was the winner of this year’s NEC scholarship award, sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF), which offers college students the opportunity to attend the conference each year.

“I’m definitely using this conference to learn more about the opportunities in the industry,” said Hunt, who will be graduating this May with a degree in chemical engineering. “Alternative energy and renewable fuels have always been big interests of mine.” His senior project is to develop a packed bed reactor for the production of biodiesel.

Hunt is pictured here with Mike Jerke, chairman of the RFF and general manager of Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Minnesota. “What we look for is somebody who has a passion, an interest for some facet of the industry,” said Jerke, who says that includes a variety of areas such as research, management and communications. “It’s just a reflection of the broad array of career possibilities in our industry.”

The Renewable Fuels Foundation was created in 1981 as the education and research arm of the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). This is the fourth consecutive year the scholarship has been available to students in higher education with a focus on renewable fuels and intending to pursue a career in the industry.

Listen to my interviews with Wade and Mike below: