Prof Stark and her interdisciplinary team are investigating opportunities to convert local biomass (sugarcane) to chemicals and materials, and implementing the biorefinery concept in industry. She holds a Dipl. Ing. (FH) in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and a PhD in Chemistry from The Queen’s University in Belfast. 

Having over 15 years of experience in applied areas of chemistry and chemical engineering, her group’s research takes a holistic approach, covering fundamental investigations of biomass composition and properties, resource and market analysis, chemical and catalytic conversion and separation, as well as process development.