This NSF award by the Biotechnology, Biochemical and Biomass Engineering program supports the participation of US investigators and graduate students in the 8th International Conference on Metabolic Engineering (ME VIII) to be held in Jeju Island, Korea, June 13-17, 2010. Metabolic Engineering (VIII) 2010: Metabolic engineering for green growth. A matrix system approach is organized under the aegis of Engineering Conferences International (the successor program to United Engineering Foundation Conferences program). The chairperson is Dr. Sang Yup Lee (KAIST, Korea) and the co-chairs are Prof. Elmar Heinzle (Saarland University, Germany) and Dr. Mervyn de Souza (Cargill).
Intellectual Merit:
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. These conference series have been instrumental in addressing issues contemporary to technological advancements, engineering research and to education.
The Metabolic Engineering conference serves as the premier meeting for the metabolic engineering community. The 8th Metabolic Engineering conference will continue to be a leading conference for sharing the state-of-the-art developments and achievements made in the field of metabolic engineering over the last two years. The main theme of Metabolic Engineering VIII is Metabolic Engineering for Green Growth. The conference will have sessions that integrate the recent achievements made in the fields of systems biology, synthetic biology, biochemical engineering, tools and methods, and emerging techniques, healthcare, biofuel, biorefinery, environmental biotechnology, microbial system, mammalian system, plant system, and other disciplines and applications.
Broader Impacts:
The conference organizers expect that the conference will provide comprehensive coverage of the state of the art and future directions in metabolic engineering. Indeed, Metabolic Engineering meetings are the premier forums for scientists and engineers who are at the cutting edge of all research directions within Metabolic Engineering. The resulting cross-fertilization of ideas enriches and strengthens the discipline as a whole. 300 participants are expected from 15 different countries.
Metabolic Engineering is the longest running conference of its kind, which has been held every two years since its inception in 1996. Following the great success of the previous conferences, the 8th Metabolic Engineering conference continued to be a leading conference for sharing the state-of-the-art developments and achievements made in the field of metabolic engineering over the last two years. The meeting took place from June 13-17, 2010 in Jeju Island, Korea. The main theme of Metabolic Engineering VIII was "Metabolic Engineering for Green Growth". The conference had sessions that integrated the recent achievements made in the fields of systems biology, synthetic biology, biochemical engineering, tools and methods, and emerging techniques, healthcare, biofuel, biorefinery, environmental biotechnology, microbial system, mammalian system, plant system, and other disciplines and applications. The conference provided comprehensive coverage of the state of the art and future directions in metabolic engineering. The Metabolic Engineering meetings are the premier forums for scientists and engineers who are at the cutting edge of all research directions within Metabolic Engineering. The resulting cross-fertilization of ideas enriched and strengthened the discipline as a whole. The conference chair was Sang Yup Lee (KAIST, Korea), and his co-chairs were Elmar Heinzle (Saarland University, Germany) and Mervyn de Souza (Cargill, USA). The format of the conference provided morning and late afternoon or evening sessions in which major presentations are made. Poster sessions were scheduled for discussion as well. Available time was included for ad hoc meetings, informal discussions, and recreation. This format is designed to enhance rapport among participants and promote dialogue on the development of the meeting. The award from NSF supported the attendance of students and academics who otherwise would not have been able to attend. Accomplishments/Outcomes The 2010 Metabolic Engineering conference truly reflected the healthy state of this growing discipline which strives to integrate technologies traditionally rooted in different sciences such as mathematics, chemistry, physics, molecular biology, microbiology, and fermentation. Most presentations showed a high degree of interdisciplinary work such as modeling or global analysis now coupled to genetic modification and retesting. Such work has been increasing, becoming the norm, and driving increased incorporation of new tools addressing the ability to analyze and predict complex biological behavior. Attendance at the meeting exceeded the goal of attracting a large number of graduate students and younger researchers as well as established leaders in the field from both academia and industry. The meeting had an attendance of 274, with 25% of attendees being students (68 total). There were 134 attendees from academia, 67 from industry, 4 from government and 7 from various other institutes/affiliations. Funds from NSF were instrumental in increasing the number of student attendees. The conference was truly international, drawing attendees from 22 different countries. Overall this was a spectacular meeting with cutting edge presentations, great interactions, at a fantastic venue which continued the tradition of the Metabolic Engineering meeting as the premier meeting in this discipline.
