Cargill Endows Iowa State program to Accelerate Biorenewables

Cargill has pledged $1.5 million to Iowa State University to establish the Cargill Endowed Chair in Energy Economics. The endowment will help Iowa State recruit a nationally recognized energy economist to accelerate work in biorenewables and bring crucial leadership to the biobased industry center in its early development. 

This support is in addition to a previous grant made to Iowa State to establish a biobased industry center. The chair will act as the director of the center once it is established.          

“Iowa State University and Cargill have developed a very strong partnership over the years, and we are especially grateful for Cargill’s great support for our efforts in biorenewables,” said Iowa State University President Gregory L. Geoffroy.  “The Cargill Chair in Energy Economics will be held by a world leader in the economics of biofuels, who will bring together researchers from many different disciplines, institutions and industries to address the economic challenges of biorenewable resource development.” 

Cargill’s support, leveraged with other resources, has already helped Iowa State earn four research awards on a variety of biobased industry issues. The awards, ranging from $40,000 to $50,000, cover research topics such as the cost of reducing carbon emissions; assessing greenhouse gas impacts of biofuels with land use changes; and an economic analysis of corn stover production, harvesting, storage and transport.

“As a company that operates at the intersection of agriculture and energy, the economics of energy is important to Cargill,” said Cargill Vice Chairman Dave Raisbeck. “An endowment will help ensure top-flight leadership in the study of bioindustrial economics at Iowa State for generations to come.”