Petra Bauer is head of the Institute of Botany at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Her research is addressing the acquisition of the micronutrient iron by plant roots, its storage and transport through the plant. Plant growth and biomass production are crucially characterized by efficient usage of minerals while application of fertilizer should be limited. Prof. Bauer aims to contribute to an efficient and resource-saving agriculture by developing new processes and methods for controlled cultivation and for physiological and molecular analysis of plants.

Efficient use of renewable resources

Professor Dr. Regina Palkovits from the RWTH Aachen received the DECHEMA Prize 2016 due to her fundamental work on the development of heterogeneous catalytic processes which enable a selective conversion of renewable materials in the liquid phase into basic chemicals and tailor-made fuels.

The BioSC lecture on “The role of plant breeding in bioeconomy” was given on the 15th of March at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Dr. Léon Broers, Member of the Executive Board of KWS SAAT SE, Einbeck and Member of the German Bioeconomy Council talked to many interested persons about the actually status of the plant science in the bioeconomy.

On 01.02.2017, more than 75 participants from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark und Northern Ireland joined the new BioSC event „Spotlight“ in Aachen. Eight interesting talks were given by scientists from academia and industry, addressing different aspects within the scope of „Enzymes and Processes for Biomass Degradation“. Latest developments were intensively discussed by all participants.

BioSC participated in the Innovation Days in San José, that were initiated by the German (BMBF) and the Costa Rican (MICITT) Science Ministry.

Topic: Protein stability engineering as a workhorse for a sustainable bioeconomy

Speaker: Jens Erik Nielsen, Director, HTS and Design, Novozymes A/S

In the present lecture, Jens Erik Nielsen will discuss different strategies for stabilizing enzymes and highlight current research at Novozymes aimed at producing enzymes that are stable against a number of harsh conditions.