Current research in the Michel lab follows three paths:
- Composting, focused on the recycling of food scraps, yard trimmings and manure, understanding and mitigating the impacts of contaminants such as herbicides, plastics and pathogens and understanding the effects of composts on the microbial ecology of soils and plant growing media
- Pretreatments to improve bioethanol production from corn and cellulosic feed stocks and biogas production during anaerobic digestion
- Bioprocessing for the extraction and purification of natural rubber and inulin from the roots of Taraxacum kok Sagyhz (TK), the Russian dandelion
