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Science Alliance Annual Report

2008–2009

UT-ORNL Joint Institutes

Joint Institute for Biological Sciences

The Joint Institute for Biological Sciences focuses on biology, energy, and health. UT’s new 35,000-ft2 JIBS building with 18 laboratories equipped for high-throughput genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic research; 35 offices and conference rooms in the facility opened for occupancy in January 2008. JIBS manages full access to these facilities and encourages UT faculty, students, staff, and administrators to participate and collaborate in their use.

The $125 million DOE BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) is headquartered in the JIBS facility. This ORNL-led project focuses on new methods for producing large volumes of ethanol from grassy and woody plant material at a price that is competitive with gasoline. The energy crops under consideration, such as switchgrass and hybrid poplars, have resistant cell walls, hardened to withstand weather, insects, and disease. Bioprocessing using a single or a single group of microorganisms to move the plant material from biomass to biofuel would reduce costs, as would genetic modification of the plants to make them less resistant to breakdown. Both are on the BSEC research agenda.

Gary Sayler, UTK microbiology and the Center for Environmental Biotechnology (CEB), directs the JIBS research and development program; JIBS biophysicist, Jeremy Smith holds the state’s first Governor’s Chair appointment. Smith uses neutron scattering and computer simulation techniques to learn more about biological proteins. The joint institute continues recruitment of Governor’s Chair candidates to fill critical gaps at UTK and ORNL in plant sciences, microbiology, climate change and biogeochemistry.