Renewable Energy

University of Colorado engineer Abby Watrous is on a mission in rural China, converting coal-burning homes and cook stoves into cleaner-burning models, using, among other things, the extremely abundant supply of pig poop. With funding from the National Science Foundation, this civil and environmental engineer is helping to develop renewable energy technologies in developing communities. Watrous and her colleagues are looking at ways to help more people use biomass--organic material such as straw, rice husks, and garden compost, all renewable resources.