Useful Materials

Three MSI PIs in the College of Biological Sciences are leading a new project to develop a bioreactor that can capture CO2 emissions and convert them to formate, a safely storable and transportable liquid that can be used to create other materials. MSI PI Claudia Schmidt-Dannert (professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) will lead the effort, and MSI PIs Mikael Elias (associate professor, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) and Jeffrey Gralnick (professor, Plant and Microbial Biology) are co-PIs. The project seeks to create a bioreactor that can trap CO2 emissions before they get into the atmosphere and convert them to formate. The companies can then sell the formate to be used to create polymers, chemicals, and fuels. A story about this project appears on the OVPR’s Inquiry blog: Converting Carbon Emissions Into Useful Chemicals.

Professor Schmidt-Dannert uses MSI for projects relating to biocatalysis. Professor Elias uses MSI for studies on chemical signal disruption on microbes. Professor Gralnick uses MSI in support of studies of the genetics and genomics of environmental bacteria.