Conference Session

Bioengineering laboratories: Bringing research into the classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rupa Iyer, University of Houston (CoE)

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

curriculum offered is a group of independent and unrelated laboratoryactivities that provide information on classical biochemical and molecular techniques. Thisproject will develop lab activities from data collection, molecular techniques of isolation,transformation, gene cloning to bioprocessing of the gene product and applications and is basedon research conducted by Dr. James Wild and Dr. Melinda Wales at Texas A & M University3.These lab exercises will then be the foundation of two proposed laboratory courses for theundergraduate biotechnology program. The first lab will teach basic molecular techniques andits applications and the second lab will concentrate on bioprocessing of recombinant productincluding upstream and downstream processing

Conference Session

Bioengineering laboratories: Bringing research into the classroom

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alvin Post, Arizona State University; Qiang Hu, Arizona State University; Milton Sommerfeld, Arizona State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

an opportunity to practice projectmanagement skills, and the cost of building a small demonstration bioreactor module is veryreasonable.Two different closed bioreactor systems are described, a ‘stepped’ reactor that was studentdesigned and built, and a 700 liter in-line unit developed by the authors with student assistanceduring construction. Detailed cost and schedule estimates for the 700 liter reactor are presented,along with actual funding and time expended on the project, as an example of these aspects ofproject management. The results provide an illuminating example useful when teaching costingand scheduling as part of a project management module.Typical Algal Bioreactor RequirementsAlgae must be well aerated, with an air flow rate of

Conference Session

Biology and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ramana Gosukonda, Fort Valley State University; Masoud Naghedolfeizi, Fort Valley State University; Sanjeev Arora, Fort Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

to teach stand-alone courses in the subject. As a result, it is very difficult for FVSU to establish an independent bioinformatics major or minor program at this time. 3. Traditional computer science curricula are not designed to accommodate the subject or applications of bioinformatics hence poorly serving this field. Similarly, the curriculum in biology at FVSU is designed mainly to prepare students towards medical professions and does not accentuate interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics. As a result, there is a need to seamlessly integrate biological and computer sciences to establish a bioinformatics program that would appeal to both students and faculty 10.These challenges notwithstanding, the

Conference Session

Biology and Engineering

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

George Meyer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; David Jones, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Tagged Divisions

Biological & Agricultural

AC 2007-2729: ADVANCED MODELING IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERINGUSING SOFT-COMPUTING METHODSGeorge Meyer, University of Nebraska-Lincoln GEORGE MEYER, Professor, has taught graduate and undergraduate classes that involve plant and animal growth and environmental factors, modeling, and instrumentation and controls for both agricultural and biological systems engineering students for 28 years. He has received national paper awards and recognition for his work in distance education and has received university teaching awards. His current research include measurement and modeling of crop water stress, fuzzy logic controls for turf irrigation management, and machine vision detection, enumeration, and