Dr. Stéphanie Baumberger Receives the “Stars of Europe” Special Jury Prize
December 03 2021This Thursday, December 2, Stéphanie Baumberger, a Professor at AgroParisTech, was awarded the “Prix spécial du jury des Étoiles de L’Europe” (the “Stars of Europe” special jury prize) for her coordination of the BBI Zelcor project (Zero Waste Ligno-Cellulose Biorefineries).
The ceremony, organized annually by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, rewards coordinators of European research and innovation projects that are managed by a French entity.
The aim of the Zelcor project (2016-2021) was to enable industrial waste from agricultural resources to be transformed into high-value bioproducts. To achieve this aim, the group chose a cascade approach that combined chemical and biological processes.
Their main results included the characterization of 16 new enzymes, one of which was produced on a large scale by one of Zelcor’s industrial partners, the development of biosourced antioxidants that might be used to replace synthetic additives, and the design of a prototype termite bioreactor that might help to diversify chitin sources. A scientific platform was also created to identify the bioproducts of commercial interest that resulted from this cascade approach.
Furthermore, the Zelcor project resulted in 2 Ph.D. theses, the publication of 21 articles in international scientific journals, and the publication of an online knowledge book that describes the methods and results of the project in a structured way. Two summer schools, attended by nearly one hundred doctoral students and young researchers, were also organized by the members of the Zelcor research consortium.
Zelcor also laid the groundwork for the Bioceb (European Master’s in Biological and Chemical Engineering for a Sustainable Bioeconomy) Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree, also coordinated by Stéphanie Baumberger, for which registration is currently open until January 17, 2022.