(328c) 15c Plenary Lecture: The Top 10 Reasons Che's Should Be Interested In (Living) Plants

We are facing a grand challenge. How do we provide the 6 F's sectors in our economy -food for humans, feed for animals, fiber, fuel, pharmaceuticals, and feedstock for chemicals industry - in a sustainable manner? Plants are central to a sustainable future, yet we need powerful tools and systems approaches to make the best use of their exquisite and complicated chemistries. This talk will focus on the opportunities for chemical engineers in metabolic engineering with plants through several examples - 13C based metabolic flux mapping of central carbon metabolism in crop systems (Pioneer Hi-Bred International) ; microbes engineered with plant genes in order to produce reduced carbon molecules (NSF ERC Center for Biorenewable Chemicals); alkaloid production in the medicinal plant Catharanthus roseus (NSF), explosives metabolism in terrestrial and aquatic plants (SERDP) and hydrocarbon synthesis pathways in algae and selected plant tissues (NSF EFRI).