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Plant metabolic engineering expert joins UNT's Renewable Bioproducts research cluster
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- The University of North Texas has selected Dr. Stevens Brumbley, a well-known bioengineer with expertise in plant metabolic engineering, as the first senior hire to the Renewable Bioproducts research cluster, a group of researchers exploring "green" product solutions to move the world away from a petroleum based economy toward a biological based economy, or bioeconomy. Brumbley joined UNT this semester after four and a half years as a senior research fellow and project leader of the Sugarcane Metabolic Engineering Group at the University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. Brumbley will retain a 25 percent appointment at the University of Queensland while he completes a project funded by a $2.4 million grant from the Australian Research Council. Brumbley will be charged with developing cross-disciplinary research that unites the biological sciences and engineering. He also will assist with the hiring effort for the Renewable Bioproducts research cluster and help expand external funding to support the cluster's research activities. Brumbley began his career engineering plants to resist pests and disease. He has been working on engineering plants, specifically sugarcane, to produce a range of industrial bioplastics and bioplastic precursors, which will provide alternatives to petrochemical-based plastics. "As the number of world consumers grows, it becomes increasingly important to produce products from the renewable base of plant sciences, instead of the finite resources of petroleum. Brumbley's research in sugarcane metabolomics will have a huge impact on the development of renewable solutions for next generation products and technologies. His expertise will greatly augment this cluster," said Vish Prasad, vice president of research and economic development at UNT. Brumbley has co-authored more than 40 journal articles and book chapters and has collaborated with corporations such as DuPont, Procter & Gamble and Metabolix. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and a doctoral degree in plant pathology from the University of Georgia. "The demand for petrochemical-based products is quickly outpacing the world's supply of oil, but we are discovering that there are alternatives to the petroleum-based economy. We are entering the age of biology, and I am excited that UNT is providing me with the support to build the team of researchers that we need to be at the forefront of this new economic revolution," said Brumbley.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Alyssa Yancey (940) 565-3510
Email: alyssa.yancey@unt.edu
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