Kent Chapman, Regents Professor of biological sciences, was awarded a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science grant for ongoing research on the cellular storage of lipids in plants. The project aims to identify the cellular machinery that regulates how lipids are packed inside cells.

Chapman is researching ways to produce oil in plant tissues other than seeds and fruits, such as leaves. The end goal is to produce this type of oil for sustainable real-life application for fuels, chemicals and other products.