The seminar will be delivered by Prof. Kenneth F. Reardon and Prof. David S. Dandy
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University (CSU), USA. It is being organized by the Food, Agriculture and Bio Systems (FABS) Cluster, School of Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), AIT.
Date: 25 February 2014 from 1330-1500 hours
Venue: Milton E. Bender. Jr. Auditorium
Abstract:
The production of biofuels and other essential chemicals, such as proteins, dietary lipids etc. from photosynthetic microorganisms – primarily microalgae and cyanobacteria – have enormous potential because of higher areal productivity of these organisms compared to plants, relative ease of genetic manipulation, and lack of requirement for arable land. Photosynthetic microorganisms can also be used for wastewater treatment and protein production. However, there are considerable challenges for photobiorefineries, including water and nutrient use, cost-efficient cultivation and harvesting, and development of microorganisms that are robust and productive under industrial conditions and scales. The seminar will provide a broad perspective on these issues and will provide results from current research aimed at supporting the development of economical and environmentally sustainable photobiorefineries.
About the Speakers:
Prof. Kenneth F. Reardon
Dr. Reardon is Professor and Associate Department Head of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State University, and holds joint appointments in five other programs. In 2010, he was named to the Jud and Pat Harper Chair in Chemical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Reardon received his BS degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his PhD from the California Institute of Technology, and has been a member of the CSU faculty since 1989. His research involves the analysis and engineering of bacteria and algae for the production of biofuels and other chemicals. His expertise falls within the broad areas of proteomics, metabolic engineering, bioreactors, biosensors, and applied microbiology. He received the Faculty Excellence Award from the College of Engineering at CSU in 2009, and serves on the editorial boards of four scientific journals.
More details are available at this link: http://www.engr.colostate.edu/faculty-staff/profiles.php?id=25
David Dandy
Dr. Dandy is Dean, Chemical and Biological Engineering at CSU. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Davis. He then joined the Chemical Engineering program at Caltech where he earned his MS and PhD degrees. After graduation, Dr. Dandy spent four years as a Senior Staff Member in the Advanced Materials Department at Sandia National Laboratories, focusing on thermal and plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of thin films. Dr. Dandy has broad expertise in transport phenomena and chemical kinetics, and as demonstrated in his 80 publications, he has applied this knowledge to investigations of fluid unit operations—pumping, mixing, and chemical reaction—in microfluidic networks and static assays. His research group has extensive experience in the design, optimization, and implementation of microfluidic networks associated with optical waveguide and fluorescence biosensors. In addition to their work on biosensors, Dr. Dandy’s group studies enzymatic detection of halogenated organic compounds, and microfluidic capillary electrophoretic detection of prion proteins. The group also works on application of dense medium plasma technology to contaminant degradation and inactivation of viral and bacterial agents.
More details are available at this link: http://www.engr.colostate.edu/faculty-staff/profiles.php?id=24
