Scott Williams, Ph.D., managing director of Omaha Biofuels Cooperative, will present “From Used Cooking Oil to Our Fuel Tanks and Beyond,” at the next Omaha Science Cafe to be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Slowdown, 729 N. 14th St.
Dr. Williams co-founded Omaha Biofuels Cooperative with his twin brother, Eric, six years ago with the mission to produce, use, and promote biofuels to reduce consumption of fossil fuels. As part of this mission, members of the cooperative collect and process waste vegetable oil into biofuels that are then used to fuel cars, trucks, vans, trains and generators.
Currently the cooperative provides biofuels to the Henry Doorly Zoo, which is used to power the zoo’s steam locomotive trains.
“We see Science Cafe as a great way to engage people in a conversation about cleaner, renewable fuels and energy available in Omaha today,” Dr. Williams said.
A graduate of Westside High School, Dr. Williams attended Iowa State University where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees. He was a graduate researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and also worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the German research institute Helmholtz Center Berlin, using neutron tomography and radiography to study operating hydrogen fuel cells, along with other engineering applications.
Moving back to the United States, Dr. Williams worked for two-and-a-half years at Johns Hopkins University on a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, studying advanced biofuels made from algae biomass.
He returned to Omaha in April 2014 to help lead the Omaha Biofuels Cooperative. In addition, he also works part-time as an academic advisor at NorthStar Foundation’s after school program.
Science Cafes involve a face-to-face conversation with a scientist about current science topics. They are open to everyone (21 and older), and take place in casual settings like pubs and coffeehouses. Each meeting is organized around an interesting topic of conversation. A scientist gives a brief presentation followed by a question and answer period.
Pizza will be provided by The Nebraska Coalition for Lifesaving Cures for the first 50 people. For more information about Science Cafes, go to www.unmc.edu/sciencecafe. Podcasts of previous Science Cafes also are available on the website or available for download on iTunes here.