ChBE's fifth seminar of the Spring Quarter will be presented by Ramon Gonzalez, detailed information is given below:
Date & Time: Thursday, April 28th 9:00 am – 10:00 am
Location: Ford ITW Room (refreshments will be available at 8:45am)
Speaker: Ramon Gonzalez, Rice University
Title: Engineering Biology for the Synthesis of Small Organic Molecules
Abstract
Biological systems are capable of performing many useful functions with applications in fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical production. However, their full potential remains unrealized due to limitations in our ability to engineer and control them. Our research seeks to fill in these gaps by designing and implementing novel (metabolic) engineering strategies to optimize the performance of biological systems. In this talk, I will highlight our recent progress in these areas with emphasis on the utilization of non-sugar feedstocks for fuel & chemical production and the engineering of orthogonal metabolic pathways for the efficient synthesis of functionalized small molecules.
Bio
Dr. Ramon Gonzalez is a Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Bioengineering at Rice University. He leads the laboratory for Metabolic Engineering and Biomanufacturing with the goal of engineering biological platforms for the synthesis of organic molecules with applications in fuel, chemical, and pharmaceutical production. Dr. Gonzalez is also the Founding Director of Rice’s Industrial Biomanufacturing (iBIO) Initiative.
Dr. Gonzalez received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chile, a M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (Chile), and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Central University of Las Villas (Cuba).