Research Opportunity Number: CBE-05

Project Title: Microbial Bioengineering for Energy and the Environment

Project Summary: Different projects on microbial, metabolic, and protein engineering for the sustainable production of fuels, chemicals, specialty chemicals, etc. We have projects utilizing microbes to metabolize sugars from the invasive seaweed Sargassum. The student(s) will learn modern techniques in molecular biology, genetic engineering, microbial cultivation, protein expression, fermentation, instrumental analysis, and more. These skills are key to the fields of biochemistry, bioengineering, and biotechnology.

Student Roles and Responsibilities: The student(s) will initially learn foundational techniques crucial to genetic, biochemical, and microbial engineering and then apply those to the specific project. More specifically, the students will perform PCR, DNA electrophoresis, plasmid miniprep, culturing yeast & E. coli. They may also learn additional analytical chemistry techniques such as LC-MS, HPLC, or UV-vis spectroscopy.

Additional Considerations: Start and end dates are flexible but the student should be available essentially full-time, 20-40 hours per week. Prior exposure to foundational chemistry content is helpful but not required.

Department/Institute: Chemical and Biological Engineering

Participation Dates: June 2 – August 1, 2025

Stipend Offered: $0

Number of Internships Available: 0-2

Application Deadline: March 15, 2025, midnight Eastern Daylight Time