INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY:
What specifically is driving your excitement about the potential of biobased innovation?
VAL SMITH: I am excited by the potential of biobased innovation to provide vitally important, marketable new commodities and processes that can help to improve the human condition.
IB:
As an ecologist, how do you see the science of ecology contributing to technological breakthroughs that can be deployed for the cause of sustainable human development?
VAL SMITH: Biobased innovation and industrial biotechnology can be enhanced by recognizing that all engineered biosystems must obey predictable principles of biology, ecology, and evolution. I very strongly believe that the magnitude, the stability, and the sustainability of product output from engineered biosystems can be significantly enhanced by recognizing this fact.
IB:
Your training as an ecologist allows you to examine algal biofuels and bioproducts development from a different set of insights than a molecular biologist or an engineer might bring to the table. How does this training shape your assessment for development of algal biotechnology?
VAL SMITH: Ecologists typically take a big picture/whole system point of view, and I consider the entire algal biofuels production chain from the perspective of an ecosystem ecologist. I am thus interested in the input/output balances of nutrients, water, and energy in the entire production system; nutrient use efficiency and photosynthetic efficiency; the species composition of the cultivation system, and how this composition affects the magnitude, stability, biochemical composition, and downstream processing of biofuel precursor molecules; the biological and ecological risks or hazards that may be associated with the biofuel production chain; and the environmental implications of the entire commercial venture.
IB:
What advice would you offer to a young student seeking a career as an ecologist and interested in being part of the industrial biotechnology community? What do you believe is the most important aspect of mentoring young students as they begin their research careers? What has been the most valuable and enjoyable aspect of these opportunities for you?
VAL SMITH: I think that this is an incredibly exciting time for students in the ecological sciences. Ecology is a highly interdisciplinary field, and new advances in bioengineering and synthetic biology offer exceptional new opportunities for collaboration and innovation. Young ecologists bring with them unique (and I believe refreshing) new points of view that can help bioengineers look at the biological and ecological properties of their production systems in an entirely new light. With regard to mentoring, the most important things that I can convey to my students are as follows: be as well-read and as well-rounded as possible; work hard: do only top-quality work, always get it to supervisor(s) on time, and don't bristle at constructive criticism (because there will always be criticism of some kind); be patient, because success takes time; and be humble, regardless of your career stage, as there is always someone else out there who is as good or better. The most enjoyable aspect is seeing my students achieve positions with responsibility, influence, and recognition.
IB:
What are your main research and career interests at present? What are you most passionate about?
VAL SMITH: My research program focuses on the relationships between resource supplies and the structure and function of biological systems. My primary area of expertise is in the area of algal ecology, and I have worked extensively for more than three decades to develop modeling tools that can be used to manage and protect water quality in lakes, rivers, and estuaries worldwide. I also have strong interests in the mechanisms that generate and maintain organismal diversity in both natural and bioengineered environments, and in the mechanisms that regulate the biological processing and cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.
During the past 20 years I have actively sought to apply ecological science in the design and operation of bioengineered systems ranging from wastewater treatment plants to algal biofuel production systems. I am currently a member of the University of Kansas Feedstock to Tailpipe team, which seeks to produce renewable biofuels from algae produced in wastewater-fed outdoor bioreactors. My key goals are to maximize algal biomass production and to develop cost-effective and reliable methods to protect these algal crops against losses from pests and disease.
IB:
How do you see your role in championing industrial biotechnology?
VAL SMITH: I see my role as an advocate for the application of key principles of applied ecology, biological chemistry, and organismal biology and physiology in helping to guide the development, the cost-effective and sustainable operation, and the final product yields of engineered biosystems that have been designed for the industrial-scale production of marketable bioproducts.
