Purdue's Morrill Awards were given Tuesday (May 5) at the Faculty Awards Convocation to three professors whose careers have demonstrated excellence in their teaching, research and engagement missions, as well as in demonstrating synergies among them.

This is the fourth year of the Morrill Award, initiated to honor the Morrill Act of 1862, which allowed for the establishment of land-grant colleges and universities. The award comes with a $30,000 prize, which may be used as discretionary funds or salary supplements.

Michael R. Ladisch, Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

A pioneer in the biofuels industry, Ladisch has made key advances that enabled efficient and environmentally friendly production of ethanol from corn. He has continued with research that will allow the next generation of biofuels to come from biofeedstocks, materials generally viewed as waste and thus not in competition with food production. In food safety, he and his team have reduced the time required to detect food pathogens from several days to four hours. The esteem held for his work is seen in the large volume of research citations and the numerous high-level awards he has received.

Ladisch has furthered the practical application of his discoveries as chief technology officer of Mascoma, a biofuels startup, and he has extended his reach with two significant textbooks. He has combined his areas of knowledge in a graduate-level class titled Life of a Faculty Entrepreneur, and he has mentored more than 275 students, including 77 undergraduate researchers. He also is director of the Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering, housed in ABE, and he has a joint appointment in the Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering.