UA Researches Algae Growth Optimization
In a collaborative research effort between several departments, scientists and engineers at the University of Arizona are studying ways to optimize the environmental factors to control the rate…
PNNL Studies Algae Petroleum Replacement
High oil prices and environmental and economic security concerns have triggered interest in using algae-derived oils as an alternative to fossil fuels. But growing algae—or any other biofuel source—can…
Researching Algae to Clean Up Nuclear Waste
Researchers from Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory have shown quantitatively how Closterium moniliferum, one of the bright green algae often seen in ponds, sequesters strontium…
A.I.M. Interview: USDA’s Dr. Rick Barrows
As the world’s appetite for the lean protein of fish grows, so does the demand for alternatives to traditional fishmeal, the blends of small fish species—including herring, capeli and menhaden…
A.I.M. Interview: ASU’s Dr. Qiang Hu
When a guy like Mark Edwards says, “He is the smartest guy I know,” I have to pay attention. “Who is the smartest guy you know?” I ask him. “Yes,” he says. “Hu is the smartest guy I know”…
UCLA Researchers Develop Algal Proteins for Biofuels
Two types of raw materials are currently used for biorefining and biofuel production: carbohydrates and lipids. Biofuels like ethanol are derived from carbohydrate raw materials such as sugars…
Algae Group Discovered in Both Fresh and Sea Water
A team of biologists has discovered an entirely new group of algae living in a wide variety of marine and freshwater environments. This group of algae, which the researchers dubbed…
Israel’s BGU Begins Algae Research with Thailand’s PTT
Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and the PTT Chemical Public Company Ltd. in Thailand have signed a research and development collaboration agreement for commercial development…
A Primer on Algal Genomics
To the untrained eye, microalgae are typical photosynthetic, unicellular organisms. Most species are characterized as green, red, or brown in color with a moderate growth rate and size as small as one micron in diameter…
A.I.M. Interview: Scripps’ Dr. Greg Mitchell
Dr. B. Greg Mitchell is a research biologist and senior lecturer at the University of California San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. An avid surfer, Greg credits the gnarly waves of…
Predicting Algal Lipid Content using NIR Spectroscopy
At NREL’s National Bioenergy Center, we are working towards developing a new method for estimating the oil or lipid content and chemical composition in a wide range of algal strains…
A.I.M. Interview: Algae Genetic Engineer Dr. Stephen Mayfield Part 2
We continue with the conclusion of our interview with Dr. Stephen Mayfield…Do you have a concern about genetic engineering? Is there a dark side that you think has a valid risk…
A.I.M. Interview: Algae Genetic Engineer Dr. Stephen Mayfield
If moving genes around on a chromosome is your idea of a good time, meet Dr. Stephen Mayfield, Director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology. A PhD geneticist from UC Berkeley…
AIM Interview: LANL’s José Olivares
National security is at the root of the nearly seventy-year old Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of the world’s leading scientific research institutions. While originally organized for a single purpose: to design and build the atomic bomb…
AIM Interview: Dr. Russell Chapman
Dr. Russell Chapman, Executive Director of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in San Diego, takes great joy in sharing his passion for algae with his students. Delighting crowds with his colorful…
DOE and Salk Researchers Study Volvox Genome
On the long and difficult road toward a carbon-neutral source of transportation fuels, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a diversified approach. This effort involves exploring a range of potential…
Spirulina Nutritional Trials in Chad
Donors hope spirulina, a blue-green, protein-packed algae, labeled a “wonderful future food source” 45 years ago by the International Association of Microbiology, will deliver on its promise by the time a US $1.7 million cultivation project in Chad…
U. of Toledo Receives Grant to Build Algae Biofuels Research Facility
A research and development facility for algae biofuels will soon be built on The University of Toledo Scott Park Campus for Energy and Innovation. The pilot-scale facility…
AIM Interview: NREL’s Al Darzins
Dr. Al Darzins joined the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL, www.nrel.gov) in the fall of 2005. As a principal group manager he leads the research of the Applied Sciences Group in the National Bioenergy Center (NBC), a multidisciplinary research…
AIM Interview: Dr. John Benemann
As pioneers go, in the modern business of algae biofuels and co-products, possibly no one has built a longer record of accomplishment than Dr. John Benemann. Involved in algae biofuels and…
