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RESEARCH · BIOTECHNOLOGY BIOTECHNOLOGY |
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Biotechnology employs living organisms or their components to produce useful products. The most notable historical impacts of biotechnology are represented by the large-scale production of antibiotics that have transformed how infectious diseases are treated. Development of recombinant-DNA and monoclonal antibody techniques has further created a dramatic impact in the areas of food, health, the environment, and energy, the full extent of which is, as yet, unpredictable. Recent advances in stem cell technologies and gene and immune therapies have also shown promise for revolutionizing how diseases are treated. By capturing the rapid progress in biotechnology, bioengineering, which combines life science techniques with engineering principles, has become an exciting engineering discipline. In this new area, chemical engineers work with life scientists to focus their research on engineering novel biomolecules, cells, tissues, and organisms for industrial and biomedical applications. For example, David Wu's research aims at enzyme and cell engineering for improving the efficiency of a bioprocess for directly converting biomass into ethanol; and bioreactor engineering for bone marrow and embryonic stem cell culture to produce stem cells and tissues for transplantation purposes. |
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| Other research areas: Advanced Materials Biotechnology Clean Energy Nanotechnology |
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