Scientific Team
Dr. Jonathan Trent, Dr. Qiang Hu, Dr. Lene Lange, Dr. Peter Lindblad, Dr. Maurice Averner, and Dr. Susanne Johansen Trent. See below for biographies.
Project Leader: Jonathan Trent
With a Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Jonathan spent two years at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Munich, a year at Århus University, and two years at the University of Copenhagen. He was also a guest scientist at the University of Paris in Orsay, before returning to the USA to work for two years at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine at Yale Medical School. During the next five years, he established a lab in biotechnology and bioremediation at Argonne National Laboratory, which is run by the University of Chicago for the US Dept. of Energy. For the last ten years Jonathan has been doing research in Astrobiology and Nanotechnology at NASA Ames Research Center in California and six years ago he accepted an Adjunct Professorship in the Biomolecular Engineering Dept. at the University of California in Santa Cruz.
Jonathan has done pioneering research in marine science, developing SCUBA methods for studying the open ocean and published papers that revealed the fine-structure of pelagic communities. He has been on many research cruises across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as in the Bering, Chuckchi, and Beauford Seas. He has worked with Navy Saturation Divers and peered into the deep sea from the research submersible Alvin. His field research on extremophiles in Iceland, Italy, Sicily, Indonesia, the Russian Far East (Kamchatka), and in many geothermal areas in the US, have given him skills in developing specialized sampling and cultivation methods for microbes. His 23 years of experience in molecular biology provide him with a working knowledge of the tools of genetic engineering. His work at NASA during the last ten years has focused on bionanotechnology, which has most recently led to developing alternative fuels from cellulose. He currently leads a team funded by Google, investigating Global Research into Energy and the Environment at NASA (GREEN), which is conducting a seminar series on GREEN technologies and organizing research projects.
Jonathan has established an international network of scientists and engineers that include experts in marine science, molecular biology, astronomy, physics, computer science, nanotechnology, and clean/green technologies. His research experiences give him special qualifications to lead the investigation into the feasibility of successfully creating an Algal Energy Research Facility at CTF Lolland.
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Dr. Qiang Hu:
is a Professor at the Department of Applied Biological Sciences and the Co-Director of the Laboratory for Algae Research and Biotechnology (LARB) at Arizona State University (ASU) that performs fundamental and applied research on algae for the production of feedstock for biofuels and other biomaterials, and for the bioremediation of air, water, and wastewater. Dr. Hu received a Ph.D. degree in Microalgal Biotechnology from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel in 1996. Prior to the current position, Dr. Hu spent his postdoctoral period at the Marin Biotechnology Institute Kamaishi laboratory in Japan and in the Department of Plant Biology (joint appointment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) and then worked as an Assistant Research Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University. Dr. Hu has over 20 years of knowledge and experience in applied phycology, photobioreactor system design, and mass culture of algae for various commercial applications. Pioneering high-density algal culture methodology, Dr. Hu has contributed significantly to the understanding of biological principles underlying photosynthetic productivity in algae mass cultures. An expert in photobioreactor system design, he has developed innovative large-scale bioreactors in China, Israel, Japan, and USA. Prior to ASU, Dr. Hu was engaged in the final phase of a 10-year National Algae-Based Carbon Sequestration Program in Japan. Dr. Hu has published over 30 research papers and is an inventor of 14 provisional and utility patents related to algae-based biofuel production, carbon sequestration, and wastewater treatment, as well as high-value products from algae. Dr Hu’s current research focuses are biosynthesis and regulation of lipids/oil and carbon partitioning in algae, critical biological and engineering problems associated with mass culture and downstream processing of algae for biofuels, and exploration of offshore algal mass culture system and process for biofuels, high-value bioproducts, and bioremediation.
Dr. Hu brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organizing committee and a network of experts from all over the world, but in particular China, Japan, and Israel.
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Dr. Lene Lange:
is Professor and Vice Dean of Research at the Department of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering at Aalborg University in Denmark. The professional career of Lene Lange includes experience and employment in all three major sectors of research in Denmark: 6 years employment at the University of Copenhagen; 8 years at a research institute (Danish Government Institute of Seed Pathology, Danida); 19 years in private industry (Novo, Novo Nordisk and Novozymes A/S) and most recently head of the Biomolecular Department at Copenhagen University.
Lene Lange has held several positions at international Boards and Committees e.g; Board Chair, of NordForsk, the organization of the Nordic and Baltic research councils, Board Chair for International Wheat and Maize Research Institute, CIMMYT, Mexico, Vice chair, DSF, Danish Strategic Research Council and Board member of the CGIAR Alliance of 15 International Agricultural research Institutes (which has a budget of >500mill USD).
Lene Lange has also written 134 scientific publications over the period 1973-2005, incl. 75 full papers in international, refereed journals, 3 monographs, 3 text book manuals, editor of 1 book (on “Recent advances in Fungal Biotechnology”, 2004); 91 patent applications, belonging to 13 patent families.
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Dr. Peter Lindblad
is a professor of Biology/Microbial chemistry at Uppsala University in Sweden. His research explores the conversion of solar energy into a fuel, focussing on microalgal based H2-production / hydrogenases at applied, physiological, biochemical and molecular levels. Dr Lindblad received a PhD degree in Biology/Physiological botany from Uppsala university in 1987, spent postdoctoral peridos in Australia and USA before joining Uppsala univsersity as an Assistent Professor in 1989. 1999-2005 Dr Lindblad was the coordinator and participant of the international network “Photobiological hydrogen production” within the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen program. He also worked at the Swedish Energy Agency coordinating the start of a national hydrogen initiative and participated in the National panel on Alternative fuels for the transportation sector. At present Dr Lindblad is leading one of the research groups in the Swedish program on Natural and Artificial Photosynthesis. He also coordinates a Nordic collaborative project on BioHydrogen (11 partners in 7 countries, 2007-2010, Nordic Energy Research), and participates in the European project BiomodularH2 (6 partners, 2007-2009, EU/FP6-NEST). Moreover, he is the Deputy coordinator, and participant, of the recently started EU/FP7-Energy project SOLAR-H2 (2008-2011) with 12 strong partners. Dr Lindblad has published over 120 scientific papers.
Dr Lindblad brings a lof of scientific knowledge and experience to the organizing committee and a network of experts from Europe, specifically the Nordic region.
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Dr. Maurice (Mel) Averner:
Was a retired NASA Program Manager with a distinguished career in cell biology and a broad understanding of biological systems and project management. With his colleague Dr. Robert MacElroy, Mel developed the NASA program referred to as “Closed Ecological Life Support Systems,” which combined plants, physical-chemical devices, and computers to sustain human life on long space voyages and planetary exploration. Mel published many scientific papers and his monograph “On The Habitability of Mars” remains a classic in the field of Terraforming. During his prestigious career as a NASA Program Manager, Mel founded the NASA Fundamental Biology program and received many awards including the NASA Exceptional Performance Award and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award.
With a PhD from Brandeis University, Mel conducted postdoctoral research on microbial genetics and mammalian cell biology at Yale University, the University of Colorado, and the National Jewish Hospital and Research Center in Denver. Mel began his NASA career at NASA Ames Research Center before moving to NASA Headquarters. After his retirement from NASA, Mel continued to actively engage in research programs and in 2007 co-founded with Jonathan Trent a Google-funded project entitled: Global Research into Energy and the Environment at NASA (GREEN). As part of the GREEN team, Mel focused on the potential use of algae as a biofuel. He brought to the organization committee for Lolland his vast network of NASA scientists and engineers, his years of experience in program management, and a keen interest and extensive knowledge in the topic area of algae. Mel died 5 February 2009, but his ideas and inspiration live on in his many appreciative colleagues. His presence at the workshop will be sorely missed.
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Dr. Susanne Johansen Trent (STP Productions):
Coordinator and manager for the Scientific Advisory Committee, Susanne has a B.A. in Business majoring in Organizational Theory specializing in Strategy and Leadership from the Copenhagen Business School and a Ph.D. in Philosophy with graduate studies at Yale University and DePaul University of Chicago. She has worked as a chief editor for a Danish Magazine and for over a decade as a foreign correspondent. For the last 20 years, she has done many projects with Jonathan Trent, including the planning of the “Wind, Sea, and Algae” workshop since the idea for the workshop was conceived in 2007. With her education and experience, Susanne brings to the Science Advisory Committee and workshop an understanding of cross-cultural interactions, organizational and strategic planning skills, as well as her diligence and ability to facilitate such projects. She is a Danish citizen and US permanent resident.
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Project Management
Baltic Sea Solutions
Baltic Sea Solutions (Bass) is a Danish non-profit organization working for the strategic development of new solutions within the fields of economic development through sustainable energy and environmental business. Operating locally, nationally and internationally, the consultancy facilitates the essential work process – linked to decisive political and private players.
Our core business
- Sustainable economic regeneration of peripheral and island regions.
Areas of expertise:
- Regional Development policy and strategy.
- Sustainable tourism, agriculture, and industrial development.
- Renewable energy project development and research.
October 2, 2008
