Romas Kazlauskas brings experience from World Class University Project home to Minnesota

This summer Romas Kazlauskas (BTI/ Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics) completed a 5-year collaboration with Seoul National University on lignin biorefinery as part of the World Class University Project. Run by South Korea’s Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation (NRF), the program was designed to attract leading international scientists to Korean Universities.

As part of the collaboration in Seoul, Kazlauskas developed a course on protein engineering which will be offered soon at the University of Minnesota.

Friedrich Srienc serves as Program Director at the National Science Foundation

In September 2012, longtime BTI member Friedrich Srienc (BTI/Chemical Engineering) began a 2-year appointment as Program Director for the Biotechnology, Biochemical, and Biomass Engineering (BBBE) program at the National Science Foundation (NSF). During his appointment, Srienc will play a key role in funding of  basic engineering research related to cellular and biomolecular processes, including the development of enabling technologies for the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and bioenergy industries.

The NSF program encourages research in emerging disciplines, multidisciplinary practice, and activities which effectively incorporate educational endeavors. On leave of absence during his appointment, Srienc plans to return to University of Minnesota in the fall of 2014.