Biological Engineering - Media

Discover Biological Engineering 2012

Thu, 10 May 2012 00:00:00 MST

Throughout history, engineering has always driven the advancement of civilization. Now ENGINEERING is focusing on BIOLOGY and addressing issues of health, energy, the environment, and the economy. Biological Engineering is the application of engineering principles to biological systems to develop novel materials, processes, energy sources, and products that meet 21st Century global challenges.

Join us this summer for a Biological Engineering seminar series that will introduce you to the fastest growing field in engineering.

June 27 Why Biological Engineering?
• The history and tools of biological engineering
• ENGR 401, USU Campus

July 18 The Current BE Research
• See the exciting projects biological engineers are working on in the areas of health, energy, and the environment
• ENGR 326, USU Campus

July 25 The Future of Biological Engineering
• Where will biological engineering be in 50 years? Explore the amazing possibilities
• ENGR 326, USU Campus

The seminars start each day at 11:30 a.m. and run until about 4:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided, and there is no charge for the seminar series.

Students attending all three seminars will be invited to attend the Institute of Biological Engineering Western Regional Conference at Utah State University on Friday October 26, 2012 as guests of the Department of Biological Engineering.
Discover Biological Engineering 2012 is open to High School students who will start their Senior Year Fall 2012.

Please fill out and return your Discover Biological Engineering 2012 Registration Form now! If you have any questions about the program please e-mail anne.martin@usu.edu.
Application Deadline is June 26, 2012

Downloadable Flyer Here

1st Clean Room at USU in BE

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 MST

The College of Engineering has finished the construction of Class 1000 cleanroom for Dr. Yue Cui’s bio-nano research in BE department in May 2012. In recent years, as the developing of electronic, biological, pharmaceutical and other fast-growing high-tech industry, cleanroom has been widely used in various industries. A class 1000 cleanroom, is a clean environment with less than 1000 particles of size 0.5 µm or larger permitted per cubic foot of air and has a low level of environmental pollutants. Dr. Cui’s cleanroom is located in SANT 304 and composed of a main room and a gowning area.

Dr. Cui’s Bio-Nano Research Group are developing new paradigms in bionanotechnology, encompassing tailored solutions from across the biotechnology and nanotechnology spectrums. More specifically, they are 1) biomimetic nanoelectronics, and 2) bio-inspired micro/nanostructures and materials, for applications in healthcare, defense, environmental monitoring, and energy conversion/storage. The bio-inspired micro/nanostructures and devices will be manufactured in the Class 1000 Cleanroom.

BE Club Election Results

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 00:00:00 MST

Hey Everyone,

We would like to thank those who participated and contributed to the BE Club this year. We would like to announce next years officers.

President- Ryan Putman
Vice President- Andrea Halling
Secretary- Brian Smith
Treasurer- Charles Roberts
Industry Rep- Federico Rodriguez
Student-Faculty Rep- Mitch Bullough
Public Relations- Rachael Johnson
Webmaster- Spencer Wong

We look forward to next year's activities.

Spencer Wong

BE student takes 1st place for research at International Conference on Biological Engineering

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:00:00 MST

Joshua Ellis, a PhD student in the Biological Engineering Department, was awarded 1st place for his presentation in the Graduate Student Division of the Institute of Biological Engineering Conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana. The title of his poster was “Methanogenic Community Analysis and Biomethane Production from an Algae Fed Anaerobic Digester,” and his co-authors included Cody Tramp, PhD student, and Kirsten Sims, MS student, also with the BE Department. Faculty advisors for the research included Dr. Ronald Sims, BE Department Head, and Dr. Charles Miller, Assistant Professor of Synthetic Biology. The research addressed the microbial diversity and metabolic potential of a methanogenic consortium residing in a 1,000 gallon anaerobic digester that was determined using 454-pyrosequencing technology. The BE Department was represented by 12 students, including two undergraduate students and 10 graduate students, and six faculty members. The conference hosted over 225 attendees that included university faculty and students from over 40 institutions, biotechnology industry representatives, the Korean Society of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, U.S. EPA representatives, and Uniondale High School academic achievers from New York.

IBE 2012 Annual Conference

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 MST

Biological Engineering will be sending 17 people to this conference to compete, present, and attend the events.

Faculty

Dr. Ron Sims, Charles Miller, Yue Cui, Tim Taylor, Soonjo Kwon, and Jixun Zhan.

Graduate Students

Cody Tramp, Katerine Napan, Asif Rahman, Jia Zeng, Ashik Sathish, Joshua Ellis, Kandy Napan and Angela Dixon

Undergraduates

Katherine Glaittli and Charles Harding

Alumni

Heather Smith

E-Week Awards Ceremony

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:00:00 MST

The Engineering Week winners from Biological Engineering this year will be presented with their recognition certificates on Friday 2/24/12 at 1:30 PM in ENGR 304.

The Winners for 2012 are:

Ms. Candace Clark, Outstanding Senior

Ms. Sarah Allred, Outstanding Junior

Mr. Kyle Isaacson, Outstanding Pre-Professional

Mr. Christopher Garff, Service

Mr. Michael Grover, Alumni

Dr. Jixun Zhan, Researcher

Dr. Charles Miller, Teacher

Dr. Jixun Zhan, Undergraduate Faculty Adviser

2nd Annual BE Award

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 00:00:00 MST

Awarded to:

Mr. Nhean Dawance Chea

(2011 Graduate)

Monday 5:00 PM

ENGR 402 Commons Area

Guest Seminar - Dr. Bryan Howard from IMDS

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 MST

The Biological Engineering Club will be having Dr. Bryan Howard from IMDS (Innovative Medical Device Solutions) coming in Friday, November 18 at 3:30 pm.

He'll be talking in ENGR 304.

Light refreshments will be served.

Guest Seminar

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 00:00:00 MST

Metabolic Engineering of E. coli for Production of High-Value Alkylxanthines from Caffeine.

Tuesday Nov. 8th
ENGR 205
12:15PM

Ryan M. Summers, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Scholar
The Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing
The University of Iowa

Alkylxanthines are naturally occurring compounds that are used in pharmaceutical preparations as diuretics, asthma treatments, and cardiac, pulmonary, and neurological stimulants. The most common of these compounds, caffeine, is also found in many common food and beverage products such as coffee, tea, soft drinks, and chocolates. Because of their wide use, caffeine and related alkylxanthines enter the environment through human waste water and both solid and liquid wastes from coffee and tea processing facilities. Not surprisingly, bacteria capable of growing on caffeine have been isolated previously. However, the mechanism of bacterial caffeine degradation has not been elucidated until now.

We have isolated a caffeine-degrading bacterium, Pseudomonas putida CBB5, capable of growing on caffeine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. CBB5 degrades caffeine via sequential N-demethylation to theobromine or paraxanthine, then 7-methylxanthine, and then xanthine. CBB5 also N-demethylates theophylline, which has not been previously reported to be degraded by bacteria. CBB5 contains four novel N-demethylase genes responsible for caffeine degradation. These genes have been isolated, cloned, and heterologously expressed to determine their biochemical properties. Using these new genes, we are engineering E. coli to produce high-value alkylxanthines, such as paraxanthine, and 1-, 3-, and 7-methylxanthines from caffeine and theobromine.

BE Cell Arrives

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:00:00 MST

The Biological Engineering Club's Fundraiser the BE Cell.

The BE Cell was purchased with funds donated to the department by WesTech, Inc. The BE Club will be using it for fund raising. You can take a ride in the BE Cell!