Conferences

The International Conference on Microbial Biopolymers will cover advancements in the field, with focus on synthesis/production of microbial biopolymers, and recent technologies in characterization, and applications. The vision of the conference is to serve as a focal point for the international community engaged in microbial biopolymer research, enabling exchange of scientific and technological developments in a rapidly developing field of key importance to sustainability of the global environment.

The conference includes the following goals.

• Share advancements in microbial biopolymer research
• Provide networking opportunities for researchers from academia, industry and government
• Provide opportunities for students to interact with established researchers
• Help identify scientific bottlenecks, as well as impediments to commercial translation of research findings.

A strong aspiration of the conference is to bring together all stakeholders in the microbial polymer research and development enterprise, including scientists and engineers in industrial, government and industrial labs; R&D leaders from established companies and start-up companies, and policy makers.

This technical forum, held in the foothills of the scenic Black Hills mountain range, will serve as a congenial meeting place for international knowledge dissemination through high-quality presentations, an optional short course, student design contests, and exhibition booths.

The conference program is divided into four Topic Areas, each comprising 2 – 5 sessions.

1. Polyhydoxyalkanoates (PHA)
     Topic Area Chair: Dr. Mark R. Wilkins, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• Microbial Synthesis of PHA
  Convenor: Dr. Davinia Salvachua, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
  Co-Convener: Dr. Namita Bansal, Microvi Biotech Inc.
• Plant Synthesis of PHA
  Convenor: Dr. Senthil Subramanian, South Dakota State University
• Genetic Engineering of PHA
  Convenor: Dr. Saurabh Dhiman, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 
• PHA Production and Scale-up Strategies
  Convenor: Dr. Aditya Bhalla, DuPont
  Co-Convenor: Sara Iverson, Tepha Inc.
• PHA Applications
  Convenor: Dr. Timothy Brenza, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 
  Co-Convenor: Dr. Mohit Bibra, Green Biologics Ltd.

2. Exopolysaccharides (EPS)
     Topic Area Chair: Dr. Dilpreet Bajwa, Montana State University

• Synthetic Biology of EPS
  Convenor: Dr. Xiangkai Li , Lanzhou University, China
  Co-Convenor: Dr. Pu Liu, Lanzhou University
• Extremophilic EPS
  Convenor: Dr. Margarita Kambourova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
  Co-Convenor: Dr. Jia Wang, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 
• Biomedical Properties of EPS and their Applications
  Convenor: Dr. Barbara Nicolaus, Italian National Research Council, Italy
  
• EPS and Biofilms
  Convenor: Dr. Christopher Allen, Montana State University
  Co-Convenor: Dr. Sundeep Popat, Clemson University

3. Nanocellulose
     Topic Area Chair: Dr. Srikanth Pilla, International Center for Automotive Research, Clemson University

• Processing and Production of Nanocellulose
  Convenor: Dr. Peter Ciesielski, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
• Nanocellulose in Biocomposites
  Convenor: Dr. Muthu Muthukumarappan, South Dakota State University
• Microbial Cellulose
  Convenor: Dr. Surojit Gupta, Unversity of North Dakota
• Nanocellulose Functionalization
  Convenor: Dr. Gregoriy Sereda, University of South Dakota
  
• Nanocellulose Applications

4. Polymers from Alginates

• Synthesis and Characterization of Alginates
  Convenor: Dr. Jawahar Raj Kalimuthu, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology 
• Alginate Appications
  Convenor: Dr. (Jana) Srinivas Janaswamy, South Dakota State University

Pre-Conference Professional Short Course on Microbial Biopolymers

Owing to the environmentally benign nature of microbially-derived biopolymers, they are considered promising alternatives to replace conventional, chemically-derived polymers. These biopolymers are also indispensable for targeted/controlled drug delivery, biosensing, and tissue engineering applications.

Considering the strong expansion of the biopolymer industry and market demand, there is a growing need for professional training in this specialized field. The course is planned to expose scientists and engineers from industry and academia to different aspects of the upstream/downstream processing of microbial biopolymers, and to methods of characterization.

The course will comprise 6 lectures (approxiimately 1 hour each) and 2 hands-on sessions.

Topics        

1.  Introduction to microbial biopolymers: Unique properties, global demand, markets, and scope for commercialization (L1)
2.  Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates: Screening of microorganisms, extraction, and characterization of PHA (L2)
3.  Computational biology approaches for screening the microorganisms for biopolymer production (HT-1) 
4.  Bioprocess optimization and scale up for biopolymer production: Effects of optimizing pH, temperature, and media composition for enhancing                    biopolymer production (L3)
5.  Production of bacterial extracellular polysaccharides: Screening of microorganisms, extraction, and characterization of bacterial extracellular                      polysaccharides (L4)
6.  Process design software, economic feasibility analysis and demonstrating the operation of a bioreactor  (HT-2)
7.  Extremophilic bioprocessing for enhanced yield of biopolymers with improved physical and thermal properties (L5)
8.  Genetic engineering/gene editing for enhanced yield of biopolymers with improved physical and thermal properties (L6)
9.  Microbial electrochemical technologies for improving biopolymer yield  (L7)

Overall Goals

• Introduce the concepts behind the production of different mircrobial biopolymers, with emphasis on upstream/downstream processing and characterization
• Discuss various bioprocess engineering, genetic engineering, and electrochemical technologies for enhancing the yield and properties of the biopolymers
• Demonstrate methods for extracting the biopolymers from microorganisms, and characterization using different analytical technique

Course Instructors

Dr. Saurabh Dhiman, Tanvi Govil, Dr. Navanietha Rathinam, Professor Rajesh Sani, Professor David Salem, Dr. Jia Wang

We invite abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations in all areas of microbial polymer research, especially in the topic areas given in the Preliminary Program. 

Abstracts should be up to 350 words and of high scientific quality. 

Please submit abstracts to the conference secretariat by 2021 Date to be Announced, and indicate whether you would prefer the submission to be an oral or poster presentation.

Conference Secretariat:
Kristine Starmer
E-mail: Kristine.Starmer@sdsmt.edu   
Tel: (1) 605 394 5271 

Coming soon.

Conference Co-Chairs
David Salem
Rajesh Sani

Administrative Team
Saurabh Dhiman
Tanvi Govil
Eleni Moutsoglou
Navanietha Krishnaraj Rathinam
Kristine Starmer, Secretary
Sindhu Sureshsingh
Jia Wang

Chairs
Dilpreet Bajwa, Montana State University
Srikanth Pilla, International Center for Automotive Research, Clemson University
Mark R. Wilkins, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Convenors
Christopher Allen, Montana State University
Namita Bansal, Full Cycle Bioplastics
Aditya Bhalla, DuPont
Mohit Bibra, Green Biologics Ltd
Timothy Brenza, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Peter Ciesielski, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Saurabh Dhiman, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Surojit Gupta, Unversity of North Dakota
Sara Iverson, Tepha Inc
Srinivas Janaswamy, South Dakota State University
Margarita Kambourova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Jawahar Raj Kalimuthu, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Xiangkai Li , Lanzhou University, China
Pu Liu, Lanzhou University, China
Muthu Muthukumarappan, South Dakota State University
Barbara Nicolaus, Italian National Research Council, Italy
Sundeep Popat, Clemson University
Davinia Salvachua, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Gregoriy Sereda, University of South Dakota
Senthil Subramanian, South Dakota State University
Jia Wang, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Silver Sponsor – $2,000.00

• Names will be included in the conference program materials and conference website.

Gold Sponsor – $4,000.00

• Names of all sponsors will be included in the conference program materials and conference website.
• Featured as a sponsor for a session.

Platinum Sponsor – $5,000.00

• Names of all sponsors will be included in the conference program materials and conference website.
• Featured as a sponsor for a session.
• Featured as a sponsor for campus tour, lab visit, and visit to the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF).
• Platinum sponsors will be given the opportunity to present their companies activities in the evening or between sessions.
• Short videos of company’s activities can be presented in the session breaks.
  • •  

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, South Dakota.

Located at the foothills of the Black Hills, the city has easy access to the spectacular attractions of the region, including Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse monument, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, Black Elk Peak, Devils Tower, and the Badlands.

Rapid City Regional Airport is served all year round by major airport hubs, with nonstop flights to/from Minneapolis, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Mesa. In addition, nonstop flights to/from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston and Newark are available seasonally.

Accommodation in the area includes a selection of downtown hotels such as the historic Hotel Alex Johnson (Hilton Curio), The Rushmore Hotel, and the Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza, a wide choice of well-known hotel brands throughout the metropolitan area, and a spectrum of independent hotels, B&Bs and mountain lodges in the Black Hills region, including the State Game Lodge and the Sylvan Lake Lodge.

Preferred Hotels:
Best Western Rapid City Ramkota

AmericInn

Comfort Suites

Sleep Inn & Suites

Baymont Inn & Suites