Design and Assembly of Biological Routes towards Biofuels and Value-Added Biochemicals

The primary goal of this research is to develop novel routes for the production of liquid transportation fuels from biomass. We are focused on engineering of bacterial strains to produce novel molecules from simple sugars. These molecules may be used directly, or blended with existing fuels. Alternatively, the compounds could be chemically converted in order to produce an even more diverse range of compounds to serve as liquid fuels. Some molecules may also be useful for the synthesis of novel materials. We hope that this approach, utilizing renewable, biomass-derived feedstocks, will provide alternatives to supplement the current heavy use of petroleum for both fuels and chemicals in the U.S.