GRANT FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM IS CLOSED, however tution assistance might be avialable via UCSD Extension for 2013! For more information click here.

BIOFUELS SCIENCE TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATE

Offered Winter 2013
UCSD Extension
9600 N. Torrey Pines Rd.
La Jolla, CA 92037

BIOFUELS SUMMARY

Biomass resources for the production of biofuels run the gamut from corn kernels to corn stalks, from soybean and canola oils to animal fats, from prairie grasses to hardwoods, and even include algae. In the future, biomass-derived components such as carbohydrates, lignins, and triglycerides might also be converted to hydrocarbon fuels. Such fuels can be used in heavy-duty vehicles, jet engines, and other applications that need fuels with higher energy densities than those of ethanol or biodiesel. Biofuels research and development in the San Diego region constitutes an increasingly robust cluster of economic activity and employment opportunities.

Program Summary

This certificate is aimed at training professionals for technical roles in the growing biofuels industry, including analytical chemistry, microbiological/crop management, and biological/biofuels lab techniques. It will provide students hands-on technical knowledge and experience in biofuels production, analysis and processing, as well as project management and other business skills required to excel in a management-level biofuels position. The certificate will be composed of three tracks to address the range of skills and job fields available at this level. The biological/biofuels lab technician track is intended to train analytical chemistry technicians for the biofuels industry and focuses on the chemical analysis of biofuels molecules and on the downstream processing of fuel precursors into fuels. The microbiological/crop management track addresses all aspects of crop protection, from identifying the basic pathogenic microorganisms to identifying strategies and molecules that allow for crop protection in biomass production facilities. The analytical chemistry track focuses on understanding, support and development of laboratory techniques to develop hands-on technical knowledge in molecular biology, analytical chemistry and fundamental aspects of bioenergy crop physiology supporting biofuels research and commercialization.

Program Format: This is a hybrid program. Lectures are completed online. The

laboratory components are completed during summer at the UC San Diego

campus. See course details to see specific dates, times and locations for each

course.

Prerequisite Requirements

Prerequisites:

Students applying for this program need to have knowledge in the following areas to be considered for the program. Please be sure to include background in these areas on the application.

Molecular Biologist & Aquatic Microbiologist Track Prerequisites:
-Introductory Biology
-Introductory Chemistry
-College-Level Mathematics

Analytical Chemist Track Prerequisites:
-Introductory Biology
-Introductory Chemistry
-College-Level Mathematics
-Intro Organic Chemistry

Application Requirements

See UCSD website.