Three Decades of Oil Research (1:31, 2007)

Bob Ellison USDA - Narrator

US Department of Agriculture's Dr. Thomas Foglia has devoted over three decades of his career
to developing biobased alternatives to petroleum products. With the nation's emphasis on
biobased fuels, the USDA Agricultural Research Service scientist is proud of his and his
colleagues efforts.

Thomas A. Foglia - USDA ARS 

It's great to see my work coming to fruition and I think the work we have done in the past and we
are currently doing now will not only help agricultural research but it also helps the country.

Bob Ellison USDA - Narrator

Foglia is being recognized with the ARS Scientist of the Year Award for his and his colleagues
work. They are taking animal fats, plant oils and used cooking oil and recycling them as
substitutes for petroleum-based products ranging from lubricants to diesel fuel.

Thomas A. Foglia - USDA ARS 

Because of their biodegradability and renewably they do become a very, very attractive to the
industry. Again, but we have to compete cost effectively with petroleum-based materials. 

Bob Ellison USDA - Narrator

Foglia is also quick to credit the Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania facility and ARS along with his
colleagues for his research success. 

Thomas A. Foglia - USDA ARS 

We have a very large core of scientists with whom I can interact and who's expertise expands
well beyond my own expertise. And they have been very, very supportive of the type of research
I want to do. They've opened up areas of research to me that I have not had the training in but
they have sort of taken me and guided me in those areas and I've sort of been able to help in those
areas. The scope of my research has been able to expand.

In Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, for the US Department of Agriculture, I'm Bob Ellison.