Center for Biofilm Engineering

News Update: 

August, 2005

Volume 8, Issue 8

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Research Highlights

The Center Directorship has been PHIL’D!

On July 28, 2005, COE Dean Dr. Robert Marley announced the appointment of Dr. Phil Stewart to the position of CBE Director. We are looking forward to Dr. Stewart’s enthusiastic leadership and vision—his excellent interim guidance this past year clearly proved that he is capable of playing the role (specified in our position announcement) of “Leaderali inspiraciens.” Many parties from across campus came together to help solidify this position, including the College of Letters & Science and the College of Engineering, who will partner to hire a new tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Microbiology, providing an additional faculty member to bring microbiology research expertise to the Center’s work.

Dr. Stewart’s goals for the directorship include plans to facilitate strategic planning, pursue center-type grants, build bridges to collaborators, continue to engage companies—and have fun doing it! He intends to augment the interdisciplinary research niche that the Center has already established and to increase the Center’s activity in the synthesis of biofilm-related information for other researchers and industry worldwide. Dr. Stewart will continue to invite researchers from around the USA and the world to visit the CBE to learn biofilm methods and analytical skills, to share their expertise with CBE researchers and to facilitate collaborative research. In addition, he will promote the development of new technologies generated by CBE resources, project work and expertise. Says Stewart, “I am honored to have the privilege of leading this excellent team. I look forward to a creative adventure!”

See our announcement at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/director's%20message/Archives/2005/announcement.htm
 

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Summer Technical Advisory Conference

The Center celebrated 25 years of industrial interaction during its Technical Advisory Conference (TAC), July 6 – 8, 2005. To summarize what's happening in biofilms around the world, the meeting featured prominent invited speakers such as Pradeep Singh and Bill Costerton, several former CBE researchers, and presenters from industry. Meeting sessions included Medical Biofilms, Biofilm Structure and Function, Biofilm Methods, Biofilm-Metals Interactions, and Alternative Control Strategies. Attendance included more than 40 industrial representatives as well as visiting academic and regulatory researchers. As always at these conferences, interaction between industry and academic researchers and students was the order of the day.

See pictures from the summer conference at:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2005/TACSu_2005.htm
 

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Welcome New Faculty Member

Brent Peyton has joined the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE) as an associate professor, and is already engaged in CBE industrial projects related to biotransformation of heavy metals. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering here at MSU in 1992 as one of the last students advised by Center founder Bill Characklis. After obtaining his degree, he moved on to work at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and while at PNNL was a CBE industrial associate for a few years. Five years later, he took a tenure track position at Washington State University (Pullman, WA) in the Department of Chemical Engineering and was an associate director of the NSF-IGERT Center for Multiphase Environmental Research (CMER). Brent worked at WSU for eight years before deciding to return to Bozeman with his wife Kathy and their two children. Brent has not only maintained a strong connection to MSU/CBE through research grants with Gill Geesey, Zbigniew Lewandowski, Al Cunningham, and Robin Gerlach, but has also encouraged excellent researchers to work and study at the CBE. Three of his students from WSU have also moved to MSU and will be continuing their graduate studies in the CHBE department.

See a MSU University News story about Brent at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2005/Peyton_MSUNews.htm

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Outstanding Researcher Award

Recent PhD graduate Patrick Norris was presented with the CBE’s 2005 Outstanding Researcher Award at the summer Technical Advisory Conference. Patrick has made contributions in research and leadership, especially as they pertain to advances made in achieving Center goals. He has exemplified the CBE’s interdisciplinary ideal in research, showing high standards in work and all in the spirit of cooperation, helpfulness and creativity.

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Recent CBE Publications

“Adaptive Responses to Antimicrobial Agents in Biofilms”
Szomolay, B, I. Klapper, J. Dockery, and P.S. Stewart
Environmental Microbiology August 2005; 7(8):1186-1191

“Microbial Fuel Cell Using Anaerobic Respiration as an Anodic Reaction and Biomineralized Manganese as a Cathodic Reactant”
Rhoads, A., H. Beyenal, and Z. Lewandowski
Environmental Science and Technology 39:4666-4671 (2005)

“Biofilms: Their Structure, Activity, and Effect on Membrane Filtration”
Lewandowski, Z. and H. Beyenal
Water Science and Technology 51:181-192 (2005)

“Modeling Mass Transport and Microbial Activity in Stratified Biofilms”
Beyenal, H. and Z. Lewandowski
Chemical Engineering Science  60:4337-4348 (2005)

“Role of Biofilms in Neurosurgical Device-Related Infections”
Braxton, E.E. Jr, G.D. Ehrlich, L. Hall-Stoodley, P. Stoodley, R. Veeh, C. Fux, F.Z. Hu, M. Quigley, J.C. Post
Neurosurgical Review Jul 2005; [Epub ahead of print]

“Wireless Sensors Powered by Microbial Fuel Cells”
Shantaram, A., H. Beyenal, R. Angathevar Veluchamy, and Z. Lewandowski
Environmental Science and Technology 39:5037-5042 (2005)

To read paper abstracts or to order paper copies see:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Database/PD_DisplayScript.asp

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Education

American Indian Research Opportunities

Cinnamon Spear was featured in a recent MSU news story for her participation in the Montana Apprenticeship Program (MAP) program. MAP is a 6-week summer program co-sponsored by the American Indian Research Opportunities (AIRO) program and the Designing Our Community (DOC) program in the College of Engineering for Native American high school students. Listed below are the poster titles of students who had a biofilm-related research project to present at the research symposium at Montana State University on July 22, 2005.

Read the full story about Cinnamon Spear and her research experience at:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2005/Spear_MSUNews.htm

“Life in a greenhouse wetland”
Student: Blake Wombold; Mentors: Otto Stein, Ricky Schultz

“Creating a fluorescent protein library for imaging biofilm communities”
Student: Cinnamon Spear; Mentors: Anne Camper, Ben Klayman, Stewart Clark

“The viscoelastic properties of biofilm”
Student: Kelly Crawford; Mentor: Brett Towler

“Evaluation of the influence of pH and electron shuttling compounds on TCE reduction by zero valent iron”
Student: Mary Jo Russell; Mentors: Robin Gerlech, Adrienne Phillips, John Gilmore

“Counting the dead and alive”
Student: Michael Doyle; Mentor: Christine Foreman

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Biofilm Education Resources

Upcoming CBE Workshops

“Microsensors: Manufacture and Applications,” sponsored by the CBE Structure-Function Research Group, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, August 8–12, 2005

“Biofilm Methods Workshop,” organized by the CBE
Montana State University, October 6–7, 2005. See workshop agenda (pdf) at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/Oct05_Wrkshop.pdf

“Bioelectrochemistry: Microbially Influenced Corrosion and Microbial Fuel Cells,” sponsored by the CBE Structure-Function Research Group, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, January 11–14, 2006 Note that the date has been changed.

For more information on the Structure-Function group’s workshops, go to: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/

“Biofilm Methods Workshop,” organized by the CBE
Montana State University, February 1, 2006. See the sample 2005 agenda at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/sTAC05_Wrkshp.pdf

For more information about the Biofilm Methods Workshops, go to: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Workshops/
 

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Web Watch

BiofilmsOnline.com

See the BiofilmsOnline.com August issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.

Subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter by registering at: http://www.biofilmsonline.com/cgi-bin/biofilmsonline/newsletter_signup.html

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Newsletter Listserve

The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you wish 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.

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