Jonathan Woodward, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, TN
Converting Sugar to Hydrogen
Dr. Jonathan Woodward was the recipient of the 1997 $100,000 Christopher Columbus Foundation Award for the development of an enzymatic method for the production of hydrogen from abundant renewable sugar. Glucose–a sugar molecule–can be found in cellulose, starch and lactose, compounds found in old newspapers, cheese whey, grass clippings and other types of waste. Two enzymes, glucose dehydrogenase and hydrogenase, catalyze the oxidation of glucose and the generation of molecular hydrogen. Hydrogen can be used as a fuel without the generation of greenhouse gases, and when it burns, water and carbon dioxide are the only by-product.
Dr. Woodward has credited the receipt of the Christopher Columbus Foundation Award for significantly contributing to the generation of new data that has been used to secure further government funding. More importantly, it has increased the knowledge on how to produce hydrogen with more efficiency compared with other biological methods used.
The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is honored to have had the assistance of the following distinguished individuals serving on the Christopher Columbus Foundation Award Evaluation Committee:
Automotive and Transportation:
Lester A. Hoel, Ph.D., Hamilton Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Maryann N. Keller, President, Society of Automotive Analysts, New York, NY
Joe Lorio, Senior Editor, Automobile Magazine, Ann Arbor, MI
Aviation and Aerospace:
Captain Jon A. McBride, (USN, Retired), Cambridge Associates, Ltd., Charleston, WV
Captain Scott O’Grady, USAF Reserve, F-16 Pilot, Salt Lake City, UT
Richard L. Young, Builder and Pilot of Wright Brothers Aircraft Replica, Richmond, VA
Computer Hardware and Electronics:
Steve Tempini, Manager of Technology, General Electric, Fairfield, CT
Charles P. Thacker, Corporate Consulting Engineer, Digital Equipment Corporation, Palo Alto, CA
Steven J. Wallach, Chief Technical Officer, Hewlett-Packard-Convex Division, Richardson, TX
Computer Software:
Sharon B. Amdall, Strategic Planning Manager in Corporate Information Services, Caterpillar, Inc., Peoria, IL
Dwight M. Harris, Ph.D., Professor of Physics/Technology, Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV
John L. Hennessy, Ph.D., Dean, School of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Emerging Technology:
Michael Gottesman, M.D., Deputy Director, Intermural Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Lester A. Hoel, Ph.D., Hamilton Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., Editor-in-Chief, New England Journal of Medicine, Boston, MA
Environment:
Robert J. Huggett, Ph.D., Assistant Administrator for Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Eugene Rosa, Ph.D., Chair, Department of Sociology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
William Rutherford, Forest Park Foundation, Peoria, IL
Sight:
Kris K. Burhardt, V.P. of Technology Development, Imation Corp., Oakdale, MN
Willis E. Hartshorn, Director, International Center of Photography, New York, NY
Pam Levine, Marketing Manager, Tasco, Miami, FL
Sound:
Eva Franchi, President, Sergio Franchi Music Scholarship, Stonington, CT
Kenneth D. Jacob, Director of Professional Products, Bose Corp., Framingham, MA
John A. Kleppe, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV
