Pyran, a company established by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the laboratory of George Huber, the Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, made it past the semifinal round of judging in the 2018 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest. The top-20 finalists advancing to the next phase of judging were winnowed down from more than 200 qualified entries. Helmed by graduate students Kevin Barnett (CBE) and Merve Ozen (ISyE) as well as postdoctoral scholar Kefeng Huang (CBE), Pyran developed a low-cost and renewable reaction technology to produce a chemical currently used to make everyday paints and plastics from wood and crop wastes.