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3 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10016
September 14, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Danielle Gross
Phone: 717-418-9001
Email: [email protected]
Society for Biological Engineering Introduces
First Conference on Electrofuels Research
NEW YORK – In an effort to expand and accelerate the investigation of novel sources of
alternative energy, the Society for Biological Engineering is sponsoring a new conference series
on Electrofuels Research. The inaugural meeting will be held November 6th to 9th at the Biltmore
Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, and will be chaired by Greg Stephanopoulos of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The conference will bring together key participants in energy innovation--engineers, scientists,
venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, large corporations, and government officials--to share
ideas and research strategies for developing and deploying new liquid transportation fuels.
Instead of using petroleum or biomass, the processes to be discussed use microorganisms to
harness chemical and electrical energy from sources such as solar-derived electricity or hydrogen
or earth-abundant metal ions to convert carbon dioxide into liquid fuel with remarkably high
efficiency.
Electrofuels research shows promise for producing fuel in massive scale and at a low cost,
enabling the possibility of reducing the reliance on oil. Electrofuels research is focused on a
unique method for the production of liquid fuels that combines metabolic engineering and
synthetic biology to produce the next generation of biofuels.
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Dennis Beal, Vice President of Global Vehicles for FedEx and former Vice President of Physical
Assets at FedEx Freight will give a keynote address. Daniel Nocera, a founder of Sun Catalytix,
the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy and professor of chemistry at MIT, and director of MIT’s
Solar Revolutions Project and the ENI Solar Frontiers Center, will also be a keynote speaker.
ARPA-E Electrofuels Project presentations to feature:
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Scott Banta, Columbia University, Electrofuel production using ammonia or iron as
redox mediators in reverse microbial fuel cells
Christopher Brigham, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ralstonia eutropha and the
de novo biosynthesis of isobutanol
Swapnil Chhabra, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Microbial-electocatalytic
production of biofuels
Wayne Curtis, Pennsylvania State University, Development of rhodobacter as a versatile
microbial platform for fuels production
Curt Fischer, Ginkgo Bioworks, Design, construction, and testing of metabolic modules
for E. coli-based electrofuels
Luisa Gronenberg, University of California, Los Angeles, Reduction of CO2 to C4 and
C5 higher alcohols
Bob Kelly, North Carolina State University, Hydrogen-dependent conversion of CO2 to
liquid electrofuels by extremely thermophilic Archaea
Derek Lovely, University of Massachusetts, Microbial electrosynthesis: the shortest path
from the sun to fuel
Michael Lynch, OPX Biotechnologies, Diesel production via fatty acid synthesis utilizing
hydrogen and carbon dioxide feedstocks
Harold May, Medical University of South Carolina, Electrosynthesis by microbial
communities
Greg Stephanopoulos, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bioprocess and microbe
engineering for total carbon utilization in biofuel production
Robert Tabita, Ohio State University, Carbon dioxide to biofuels by facultativley
autotrophic hydrogen bacteria
Jeffery Way, Harvard Medical School, Engineering bacterial electron uptake and CO2
fixation for electrofuel synthesis
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About SBE:
Established in 2004 by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Society for
Biological Engineering is a technological community for engineers and applied scientists
integrating biology with engineering. Members of SBE come from a broad spectrum of industries
and disciplines and share in SBE’s mission of realizing the benefits of bioprocessing, biomedical
and biomolecular applications. For more information, please visit http://bio.aiche.org.
About ARPA-E:
ARPA-E’s mission is to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce
America’s dependence on foreign energy imports; reduce U.S. energy related emissions
(including greenhouse gasses); improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the U.S. economy
and ensure that the U.S. maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy
technologies. Additional information can be found at http://arpa-e.energy.gov/.
About AIChE:
AIChE, founded in 1908, is a professional association of 40,000 chemical engineers in 92
countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge
of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products for the benefit of society. For more
information, please go to www.aiche.org.