Texas A&M University Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering associate professor Dr. Arum Han will lead the research team comprising Dr. Tim Devarenne from the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Dr. David Stern from the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Dr. Jefferson Tester from Cornell University and Dr. Tzachi Samocha from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The team’s proposed strategy involves the transfer of hydrocarbon synthesis pathway of the slow-growing alga Botryococcus braunii into faster-growing algae with commercial potential.
Hydrocarbons extracted from Botryococcus braunii are of particular value because they can be readily converted into petroleum-equivalent fuels.
The team secured the award for their proposal titled ‘Microalgae Lab-on-Chip Photobioreactor Platform for Genetic Screening and Metabolic Analysis Leading to Scalable Biofuel Production,’ under the foundation’s merging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) office.
Commenting on the award Dr. Han highlighted the proposed research’s impact on the research and development across the broad area of bio-fuel and bio-molecule production besides training the next generation of microbial bio-energy engineers and scientists.
