Lessening the country's dependency on oil was a major talking point in the president's State of the Union Address last week -- and some Penn State professors are already working to solve this problem.

"Yes, we can lessen our dependency on oil, but we may not be able to eliminate it completely," agricultural and biological engineering professor Dennis Buffington said.

Buffington said that although switching to other forms of energy is the right thing to do, it is not all that easy.

"Fossil fuels are still relatively cheap," he said. "But I think the price of fossil fuels will rise and biodiesel will be more advantageous."

Biodiesel is one fuel used to power cars, but oil is still much cheaper, Bruce Logan, civil engineering professor, said. Biodiesel can be made from a myriad of agricultural products from corn to animal fats.

But for Logan, herein lies the problem.

"Right now we do not have the capacity to produce enough corn," he said. "We only have a limited amount of acreage, and we still need to feed us and our animals."

However, Logan said he also sees many problems in relying on oil.

"We fill up our cars at $2.35, but we're not paying for the full price," he said. "We're not paying for damage to the environment or for the military to keep the shipping routes open in the Middle East."

Tom Richard, professor of agriculture and biological engineering, who develops innovative strategies for a more sustainable agriculture and the emerging bio-based economy, said making the change requires two things.

"First, we need to think creatively about our goal," he said. "Second, we need to think about how we are going to produce ethanol."

Richard said that there are breakthroughs in the field all the time and that the price will continue to fall.

"[Biomass] is competitive with today's oil," he said. "It's less than $2.00 a gallon and will probably be about $1.20 in five years."

Richard said that the real costs lie in the production process.

"It would take a billion dollars to build a refinery," he said.

Richard added that the first refinery would not be as efficient as the fourth or fifth and a strong commitment is needed from Washington, D.C.

"There needs to be political pressure to make that choice," he said.

Richard said that the highest hurdle is changing the status quo.

"The way it is now has a lot of inertia and doing this requires change," he said. Still, biodiesel is not the only way around the energy problem, Logan said. Hydrogen fuel cells are being researched and are showing promising results.

"Right now there are prototypes but they are expensive," he said.

As for the fear of driving around in a hydrogen bomb, Logan said this is now a stereotype. "How many movies have you seen with a car that blows up?" he said. "Gasoline is just as dangerous."

And just as biodiesel, the real cost does not lie in fuel production.

"The question is really how long will it take for all the hydrogen filling stations to be built," he said.

But Buffington said that these two alternatives are not in competition. The future is in a combination.

"There is no one solution but there are, as I like to call them, site-specific solutions," he said. "New York will still generate electricity from Niagara Falls and the Midwest could rely on wind."