This award will provide support for a colloquium on microbial biofuel production to be convened San Francisco, California from March 10 to 12, 2006. This colloquium will address the potential contributions of microbial activities to sustainable sources of energy that may reduce the demand for diminishing fossil fuels and become a component of the diversity of alternative sources of energy needed in the future. The American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) will convene a colloquium of 35-40 scientific specialists knowledgeable about microbial biofuel production to develop the intellectual material for a report that will assess (1) what we know, (2) what we need to know, and (3) what tools we need to get there. What is needed are not small incremental increases in biofuel production, but a dramatic breakthrough that will generate cheaper fuels with greater reliability that can begin to compete with fossil fuels. Such breakthroughs will only come from the concentrated efforts of bright and dedicated investigators at the forefront of converging technologies. The colloquium will bring representatives from different fields to address the questions about microbial production of energy.
Broader Impact: Fossil fuels, in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas, have provided the power for developing and maintaining the technologically advanced modern world. However, these resources are finite, and their use significantly impacts our environment. Shortages of oil and gas are predicted to occur within our lifetimes or those of our children. To prepare for a transition to new sources of energy, all alternatives for conservation, supplementation, and replacement must be explored. In recent years hydrogen economy is being discussed as a viable option. Burning of hydrogen generates only oxygen and, therefore, produces no greenhouse gases. However, many of the current processes for hydrogen generation require electricity, often produced through fossil fuel consumption or steam reforming of natural gas. The basic research needed to explore the molecular aspects of microbial metabolism will also contribute to development of biomimetic or bio-inspired synthetic catalysts and systems. Natural photosynthesis has already served as a useful model for photochemical charge separation. The hydrogenase NiFe co-factor and the dinitrogenase reductase active site iron-molybdenum co-factor have also served as prototypes for the design of metal catalysts. While research is promising, much work remains to be done to achieve economic application capabilities. This colloquium will discuss research and development needs for using microbes for generation energy sources.
This colloquium is funded jointly by the Biomolecular Systems Cluster, the Microbial Genome Sequencing Program and the Chemistry Division.
