The William M. Staerkel Planetarium at Parkland College is pleased to welcome Dr. Vijay Singh to the dome for its next "World of Science" lecture.  His presentation, entitled "Corn to Ethanol Production:  New Technologies," will be given on Friday, March 7 at 7:00pm.  Admission is $1 at the door; members of the "Friends of the Planetarium" group will be admitted free of charge.

Stories about ethanol have been in the news lately. But what is ethanol and how is it manufactured?  Dr. SIngh will discuss the ethanol production process; the ethanol production industry; some of the controversial issues related to ethanol production; and the new technologies being implemented to make it.

Dr. Singh, an associate professor in the Department of Agriculture and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois, received his Ph. D. from the University of Agricultural Engineering in 1998.

Following Dr. Singh's talk, the planetarium will present the last showing of the two-story tall film "Arctic Light."  For a fullschedule of planetarium programming, see www.parkland.edu/planetarium or call 217.351.2446.