Josh Atkinson, Princeton University ⎸ Using synthetic biology to understand and control living electronics across scales

Date
Sep 30, 2024, 12:30 pm1:30 pm
Location
Joseph Henry Room, Jadwin Hall

Details

Event Description

Microbes have evolved genetically encoded machinery enabling them to utilize the abundant redox‐active molecules and extracellular minerals. Recently, the machinery enabling these redox reactions have been leveraged for interfacing cells and biomolecules with electrical circuits for biotechnological applications in energy harvesting, chemical production, and environmental sensing. Here, I will present on efforts to use protein engineering and synthetic biology to better understand the physical mechanisms of electron transport in bacterial biofilms and enable control of these processes across a range of spatial scales from metabolic pathways to multicellular communities and biohybrid interfaces between cells and electrodes. These efforts are providing new tools for constructing living electronic sensors and materials.