(200h) Metabolic Engineering at the RPI Constellation and Elsewhere Reshaping the Chemical Industry

Metabolic engineering and Synthetic Biology are reshaping the chemical processing industry by replacing chemistry by biology as enabling science. RPI has played a leading role in this effort through the constellation of Metabolic Engineering in its research and educational programs. In this presentation, I will review progress in critical areas and major challenges for advancing this technology further. Its major advantage is the use of renewable feedstocks while remaining hurdles consist of uneven playing field in an economy that does not provide sufficient incentives to clean processes with promise for substantial reduction of green-house gas emissions.