Conference: International Conference on Biochemical and Molecular Engineering, Seattle, WA, June 26-29, 2011

This NSF award by the Biotechnology, Biochemical and Biomass Engineering program supports the participation of US investigators and graduate students in the 17th International Conference on Biochemical and Molecular Engineering (BME XVII) to be held in Seattle, WA from June 26-29, 2011. The conference is organized under the aegis of Engineering Conferences International (the successor program to United Engineering Foundation Conferences program). The chairpersons are Costas Maranas (Penn State), Francois Baneyx (University of Washington), and and Beth Junker (Merck).

Intellectual Merit

The Biochemical Engineering Conference is one of first among several conference series related to biotechnology sponsored by the Engineering Foundation (now ECI). Biochemical Engineering, which started in 1978, continues to be the preeminent venue for discussing research at the cutting edge of this diverse and rapidly expanding field. The 2011 meeting adopts the new title of ?Biochemical and Molecular Engineering? to emphasize the increasingly important role that molecular-level thinking and techniques play in the research of the biochemical engineering community. The conference will bring together established researchers, young investigators, private sector scientists and engineers as well as graduate students to assess the present and chart the future of the ever-changing field of biochemical and molecular engineering. In a series of plenary presentations, oral sessions, and poster sessions, BME XVII will explore a number of emerging and established subjects with a small conference atmosphere that enables high-level discussion and participation. The focus of the conference will be on research at the cutting-edge of biotechnology including biomolecular design, the nano-bio interface, biofuels, and bioremediation, vaccine engineering, nanotechnology, metabolic engineering, biomolecular networks, and stem cell differentiation in combination with core areas of biochemical engineering (protein engineering, process development, and scale up).

Broader Impact

Biochemical and Molecular Engineering XVII will provide comprehensive coverage of present challenges and future directions in biochemical and molecular engineering. Sessions span a broad range of topics across the biotechnology field including molecular design and display, the cell-materials interface, biofuels and bioenergy, vaccines, nanotechnology, metabolic engineering, biochemical networks, and stem cell bioengineering in combination with core areas of biochemical engineering (protein stability and engineering, vaccine design, process development, and scale up). Organizers anticipate that the conference will have a profound impact on the future direction of biotechnology. The resulting cross-fertilization of ideas facilitated by the close proximity of participants from many countries will enrich and strengthen the discipline as a whole.

NSF support will help ensure the success of the meeting by partially defraying conference costs for select US academic scientists and engineers with an emphasis on underrepresented groups and graduate students. In the absence of NSF support, many US academic scientists and graduate students would not be able to attend and benefit from interactions with the international community of biotechnology researchers. Many of these researchers and graduate students are currently funded by the National Science Foundation. Participation in the meeting will enhance and help advertise their NSF supported work.