NSF Award
0840761
Patrick C Cirino<br/>Polytechnic University of New York/Engineering Conferences International, Inc. <br/>CBET-0840761<br/><br/><br/>Intellectual Merit<br/><br/>The Metabolic Engineering Conference is one of the first among several conference series related to biotechnology sponsored by the Engineering Foundation (now ECI) and started 20 years ago with the original title "recombinant DNA technology". It has been the first conference with explicit focus of the application of recombinant DNA technology to the engineering of microorganisms for industrial microorganisms and processes. The format is designed to maximize interactions and to stimulate discussion among attendees. Because of the reputation of past conferences, scientists and engineers from industry and academia from many countries oversubscribe the conference. The last ten years (past 4 conferences), the conferences have been attended on the average by more than 170 attendees from 15 countries, with 40% of attendees from industry and the rest from academia and non-profit research organizations.<br/><br/>The Metabolic Engineering conference serves as the premier meeting for the metabolic engineering community. The focus of this conference will be on the application of metabolic engineering on Sustainability and Health. The research areas are biofuels and biobased materials, nutrition and agriculture, cell and tissue engineering, and metabolic and infectious diseases.<br/><br/>Broader Impacts <br/><br/>Metabolic Engineering (ME) has grown dramatically over the last 20 years and has a leading role in the applications of biological systems to human health, production of chemicals, food and biologicals, and solving environmental problems. Metabolic Engineers have always embraced new challenges and modern biology with high energy and enthusiasm. The scope of this international conference is to bring together influential established researchers, young investigators, industrial researchers and practitioners, and graduate students from both sides of the aisle (engineering and biology) to assess the contributions and future opportunities of metabolic engineering in the global areas of health and sustainability. In addition to plenary presentations, oral sessions, and poster sessions, ME VII will also employ workshops/tutorials that will aim to identify the needs of industry and how metabolic engineering research can better address these needs. Attendance by graduate students and industrial researchers is highly encouraged.
