Dr. Sharma-Shivappa started as an assistant professor at North Carolina State University (NC State) in 2003 and became an associate professor in 2010. In 2016, she became an adjunct associate professor.

While working at NC State, Dr. Ratna Sharma-Shivappa and her colleagues developed a technique for producing biofuels from woody plants more efficiently, significantly reducing waste compared with conventional biofuel production techniques. Dr. Sharma-Shivappa said, “Our eventual goal is to use this technique for any type of feedstock, to produce any biofuel or biochemical that can use these sugars” (Shipman, 2010).

While other forms of biomass can be used to make fuels, such as switchgrass or corn stalks, their energy potential is locked away inside their woody protective material called lignin. Breaking this polymer is an essential first step toward making biofuels.Traditionally, researchers use harsh chemicals to break down this woody protective polymer, lignin, into carbohydrate-rich substance and a liquid waste stream. The material is then exposed to enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into sugars further to ferment into ethanol or butanol. However, a significant portion of the plant’s carbohydrates are siphoned off with the liquid waste stream in this method.

But in 2010, Dr. Sharma-Shivappa and her colleagues from NC State developed a way to isolate the carbohydrates from the lignin. The technique involves exposing the plant matter to gaseous ozone with very little moisture. The process allows them to produce a carbohydrate-rich solid without solid or liquid waste. Dr. Sharma-Shivappa explained, “This is more efficient because it degrades the lignin very effectively, and there is little or no loss of the plant’s carbohydrates. The solid can then go directly to the enzymes to produce the sugars necessary for biofuel production” (Shipman, 2010).

While the process is more expensive than harsh chemicals, it is more efficient because more carbohydrates are used for ethanol and other biofuel production.

The research team received a grant from the Centre for Bioenergy Research and Development to fine-tune the process for use with switchgrass and miscanthus grass. Dr. Sharma-Shivappa envisions the technique can be used with any feedstocks to make biofuels and biochemicals that use these particular sugars. The USDA and the state of North Carolina have also funded her research.

In 2017, Dr. Sharma-Shivappa started her career in industry working for The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson as a Senior Technical Writer. At the end of 2020, she became a Large Molecule Material Scientist and a Senior Scientist in 2022.