{"id":10923,"date":"2020-05-06T13:25:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-06T17:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=10923"},"modified":"2022-04-26T09:52:58","modified_gmt":"2022-04-26T13:52:58","slug":"graduation-to-vocation-dylan-brown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/2020\/05\/graduation-to-vocation-dylan-brown\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduation to Vocation: Dylan Brown is Developing Sustainable Technologies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dylan Brown is graduating with a graduate degree in Forest Biomaterials<\/a>. He is a College of Natural Resources scholarship recipient. After Dylan graduates, he will be joining a Ph.D. program in the Chicago area, where he will work on developing sustainable technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has the College of Natural Resources impacted you and prepared you for your future? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The College of Natural Resources has given me a deep understanding of using biomass (specifically wood and plant-based materials) for the development of sustainable technologies. As someone who plans on working on next-generation biofuels and chemical synthesis using biological organisms, the College has provided a platform for me to understand both the biological processes and the fundamental material and chemical properties of biomass used in these fields. I feel like I will be able to enter this field with a deeper knowledge than peers who did not go through my program in the Department of Forest Biomaterials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of research or other hands-on\/in-the-field learning did you participate in? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For my research project, I worked on optimizing the growth media conditions of a bacteria that can grow on a harsh industrial stream produced at pulp and paper mills. The bacteria is able to use the biomass components of this stream to produce higher-value products. The goal is that this type of technology will be used to innovate and enhance the pulp and paper industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favorite memory or class from your time at the College of Natural Resources? Why?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My favorite memory from my time in the College of Natural Resources was my program’s industry retreat. We were able to organize a three-day retreat where graduate students in the Department of Forest Biomaterials toured New Bern’s International Paper Mill and the Hofmann Forest while enjoying some team-building exercises in eastern North Carolina. This brought our student body closer together and gave great insight into the paper industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is unique about you or your work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My path in the academic realm has definitely been an interesting one. I am a first-generation college student, and on top of that, I dropped out of high school, so navigating my way up to graduate school took some extra work. To other students in a similar position, regardless of your background, you can succeed in the academic circuit despite hardships that you have and will face. I’m very glad I stuck with it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What motivated you to pursue your work? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I truly love biological processes. I think there is great value in understanding the life processes of the cell and harnessing them for technological advancement. I believe as we move towards more environmentally-friendly methods of energy generation and chemical production, it will become one of the leading technologies, and this motivates me to work in that field. My department offered me a project where I could work towards that goal. On top of that, art has been a big part of my life. I find that the creative processes for developing a project are similar to that of creating a piece of art. That extra connection really helps keep the motivation up.
<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

Dylan Brown is graduating with a graduate degree in Forest Biomaterials<\/a>. He is a College of Natural Resources scholarship recipient. After Dylan graduates, he will be joining a Ph.D. program in the Chicago area, where he will work on developing sustainable technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has the College of Natural Resources impacted you and prepared you for your future? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The College of Natural Resources has given me a deep understanding of using biomass (specifically wood and plant-based materials) for the development of sustainable technologies. As someone who plans on working on next-generation biofuels and chemical synthesis using biological organisms, the College has provided a platform for me to understand both the biological processes and the fundamental material and chemical properties of biomass used in these fields. I feel like I will be able to enter this field with a deeper knowledge than peers who did not go through my program in the Department of Forest Biomaterials. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind of research or other hands-on\/in-the-field learning did you participate in? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For my research project, I worked on optimizing the growth media conditions of a bacteria that can grow on a harsh industrial stream produced at pulp and paper mills. The bacteria is able to use the biomass components of this stream to produce higher-value products. The goal is that this type of technology will be used to innovate and enhance the pulp and paper industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s your favorite memory or class from your time at the College of Natural Resources? Why?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My favorite memory from my time in the College of Natural Resources was my program's industry retreat. We were able to organize a three-day retreat where graduate students in the Department of Forest Biomaterials toured New Bern's International Paper Mill and the Hofmann Forest while enjoying some team-building exercises in eastern North Carolina. This brought our student body closer together and gave great insight into the paper industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is unique about you or your work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My path in the academic realm has definitely been an interesting one. I am a first-generation college student, and on top of that, I dropped out of high school, so navigating my way up to graduate school took some extra work. To other students in a similar position, regardless of your background, you can succeed in the academic circuit despite hardships that you have and will face. I'm very glad I stuck with it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What motivated you to pursue your work? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I truly love biological processes. I think there is great value in understanding the life processes of the cell and harnessing them for technological advancement. I believe as we move towards more environmentally-friendly methods of energy generation and chemical production, it will become one of the leading technologies, and this motivates me to work in that field. My department offered me a project where I could work towards that goal. On top of that, art has been a big part of my life. I find that the creative processes for developing a project are similar to that of creating a piece of art. That extra connection really helps keep the motivation up.
<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College of Natural Resources graduate Dylan Brown’s passion is developing sustainable technologies. Read more about his journey. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":183,"featured_media":10934,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"displayCategoryID\":0,\"caption\":\"Photo courtesy of Dylan Brown\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,102,189],"tags":[39,89,83,84,25],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-10923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hidden-news","category-hidden-newswire","category-student-success","tag-forest-biomaterials","tag-graduate-programs","tag-hands-on-learning","tag-student-profile","tag-sustainability"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/183"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10923"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21839,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10923\/revisions\/21839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10923"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=10923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}