Laura Babcock
Director
lbabcock@umn.edu | 612–624–4678
Laura M. Babcock joined MnTAP as the director in 2011, bringing leadership and new technical expertise to the program. She is responsible for developing sustainable programs to meet business’ needs, pursuing funding opportunities for program activities, collaborating with multiple in-state and national partner organizations, managing staff, and providing technical assistance to businesses in Minnesota.
Laura’s areas of technical expertise include improving production quality of polylactic acid (PLA), lowering process costs of manufacturing operations, and contributing to the discovery of various polymer technologies. She has co-authored numerous patents and publications in these areas. Addditionally, Laura has experience within the bio-plastics industry, working for NatureWorks, LLC, a global producer of biodegradable plastic.
Laura joins MnTAP from the NorthStar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise, a program of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. In that role, she explored opportunities to improve corporate sustainability performance through enhanced asset exchange and material cycling. Prior to joining the University, Babcock worked extensively in the chemical industry in a variety of roles including a focus on green chemistry and sustainable technology.
In the Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering Department within the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Laura teaches an undergraduate course in biobased product and market development.
Education / Training
- Bachelor of Science in Chemistry – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Doctorate of Philosophy in Inorganic Chemistry – University of Illinois
- Executive Management Development
- Marketing Fundamentals for Non-Marketing Professionals – University of Delaware
- Scale-Up Considerations for Chemical Processes – Lehigh University
Professional Activities
- American Chemical Society