The Research Objectives of this Award are to: (1) use a combination of mathematical models and cellular engineering strategies to engineer the protein secretion machinery in bacterial cells for enhanced secretion of a recombinant protein product; and (2) establish a culture of integrated teams of graduate and undergraduate research assistants to execute experiments. Members of these teams are to develop dialogues with researchers from other disciplines and different locations as appropriate. The Teaching Objectives of the Award are to: (1) establish and provide an infrastructure wherein undergraduate engineering students are exposed to and trained in a range of engineering skills including research techniques, communication of results, and practical problem solving with a particular emphasis on cultivating and preparing students for research careers; and (2) provide an infrastructure wherein graduate-level engineering students are trained in multidisciplinary approaches to interdisciplinary problems with an emphasis placed on studying practical problems encountered in industry while reinforcing the research skills necessary to complete a dissertation.
