Center for Biofilm Engineering News Update:  May, 2001 Volume 4, Issue 5   __________________________________________   Summer 2001 TAC Meeting   The CBE Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting has been scheduled for July 24-26, 2001 at the Montana State University-Bozeman campus, in Bozeman, Montana. If you are interested in attending, please contact Paul Sturman, phone: (406) 994-2102 or email: paul_stu@erc.montana.edu.   Workshops will take place on Monday, July 23rd and research presentations will follow on Tuesday through Thursday, July 24th - 26th. See the TAC Workshop Survey below.   __________________________________________   Workshops   TAC Workshop Survey   The CBE is again planning to host a biofilm methods workshop at our Summer TAC meeting workshop date will be July 23, 2001. In an effort to tailor this workshop to the needs of our members, we are soliciting input from Industrial Associates regarding topics which are of particular interest. If you are planning to attend the TAC meeting, and you would like to request a particular topic be presented at the pre-meeting workshop, please email Paul Sturman with your request (paul_stu@erc.montana.edu).   US Army/Navy Dental Workshop   The CBE hosted researchers from the US Army and Navy dental research units April 23-24, 2001, in a two-day workshop focusing on biofilm research methods in dentistry. Though a relatively nascent field compared to biofilm research in industry, the understanding and control of dental biofilms (encompassing both oral biofilms and dental unit waterline biofilms) is increasingly recognized as a key factor in human health.   Microsensor Workshop   An upcoming summer workshop on the manufacture and application of microsensors will be held August 20-24, 2001, at the CBE. See the conference details and registration form at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/MicrosensorWorkshop/default.htm     __________________________________________   Research Highlights   Proctor and Gamble Award   Dr. Gill Geesey was awarded the Proctor and Gamble Award in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This is perhaps the most prestigious award that a researcher in environmental microbiology can receive. A synopsis of Gill's work was published in the April ASM News. See http://www.asmusa.org/acasrc/winners/p&g/proctor2001.htm Gill will deliver the P&G Award Lecture at the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Orlando (FL), which will be titled "Surfaces: Catalysts of diverse bacterial cell behavior." _______   Natural History   For those of you who are familiar with CBE graphic artist, Peg Dirckx's artistic renditions of biofilm, you will want to check out her latest illustration published in the Natural History, May 2001, issue. The article, "Tiny Conspiracies: cell-to-cell communication allows bacteria to coordinate their activity," was authored by Bonnie L. Bassler. Peg's full-page biofilm illustration creatively introduces the article's complex topic of biofilm communication.     __________________________________________   Student Awards - Congratulations!   Marine Biological Laboratory Scholarship   Robin Gerlach is a recent recipient of a Marine Biological Laboratory scholarship to attend a seven week Microbial Diversity course at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts this summer. The MBL is one of the leading training facilities for aspiring young scientists.   _______   Barry Goldwater Scholarship   Laura K. Jennings was one of the 2001 winners of a Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the top undergraduate scholarships in the nation for students studying engineering, math or science.   The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year of undergraduate schooling. MSU numbers among the top institutions in the country for the number of students who have received the scholarship, according to Goldwater Foundation officials. This year's MSU Goldwater recipients were among 302 winners selected from 1,164 applicants. Congress established the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship program in 1986 to support outstanding students in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.   Jennings, 21, who will soon return from a semester-long internship at 3M in St. Paul, Minn., has set a goal of earning a Ph.D. in environmental engineering and a career researching bioremediation and also possibly teaching. Last summer she received an internship to University of California, Berkeley. She has been involved in a Center for Biofilm Engineering research project investigating ways to clean up solvent from groundwater.   A native of Mantua, Ohio, Jennings moved with her family to Utah for her last two years of high school, ran track and worked for a veterinarian in addition to maintaining exemplary grades. Her family moved to Helena and Jennings received a Presidential Scholarship to MSU, where she also enrolled in the University Honors Program.   __________________________________________   MSU Employee Recognition   John Neuman, lab manager for the Center for Biofilm Engineering, was one of five recipients to receive the Montana State University's 2001 Employee Recognition Award. Award winners were announced at a ceremony Thursday, April 19, 2001. The five winners were selected from 52 nominees, and received $500, a 14-karat gold pin and a plaque. All nominees received a letter of recognition, a certificate and one of numerous prizes selected from a drawing. Melissa Cahoon, CBE's Education Coordinator, was among the 52 nominees recognized. This was the 12th anniversary for the program that honors outstanding performance and contributors by classified and professional employees. Nominations for these awards were solicited from faculty, staff and students. The selection committee consisted of the five winners from 2000.     _________________________________________   CBE People in Action   Dr. Phil Stewart, as invited speaker presented "Antibiotic Resistance of Bacteria in Biofilms" University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, April 4-5, 2001.   Dr. Anne Camper presented "Biofilms in Water Distribution Systems" at the 4-LABS Biofilm Meeting, Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 16-29, 2001. She also chaired a round table discussion on Biodegradation and Biodeterioration in Industry - Fostering Interaction between Researchers and Industry.   Dr. William Costerton, as an invited speaker presented "Microbial Biofilms in Desalination: New Methods for Their Control," at the Fourth Water Conservation Workshop for Desalination: Present and future perspectives, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, April 23, 2001.   Dr. William Costerton, as an invited speaker presented "Glycocalyx and Foreign Body-Related Infections," 3rd Conference on Gram Positive Cocci Infections in Humans, sponsored by Imedex USA, Inc., New York, NY April 27, 2001.   Dr. William Costerton, as an invited speaker presented "Signaling Molecules to Control Biofilms," Foundation for Microbiology lecture for the Intermountain Branch of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), Pocatello, ID, April 28, 2001.   Dr. Ryan Jordan, presented "Bioavailability of TNT and Its Amine Metabolites to Biofilm Bacteria," US ARO Research Meeting, High Hampton, NC, April 29-May 2, 2001.   __________________________________________   Theses   See theses abstracts at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Theses/default.htm     __________________________________________   Web Watch   The BiofilmsOnline.com site has been upgraded to a searchable database. The website format remains the same with a new feature of drop down boxes to display archived information. Kudos go to Dale Niemeyer, senior computer science student, for the transparent transition to the database version that provides a powerful search tool of world-wide biofilm information. Dale was also instrumental in developing an electronic database of all projects conducted at the CBE's Biofilm Systems Training Laboratory.   See the April issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.   Check our Recent Web Updates page created to make it easy for you to locate new information on the CBE web. See http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm     __________________________________________   Upcoming CBE Events & Other Upcoming Workshops and Meetings   http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/index.htm     __________________________________________   Newsletter Listserve   The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you need to subscribe or unsubscribe from the listserve, follow the directions at the following CBE website.   http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/subscribe.htm   An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm.   __________________________________________   Diane Williams  editor of the CBE News Update