AAUEBiT
<<BACK TO THE HOME PAGE>>
Workshop on Biotechnology and Advanced Materials
Jan 4 -Venue AAU EBiT
I. Advanced Methods in Materials/Technological Research for Health Applications- : Research and Development Mulugeta Alemseghed President of Frtl Creative Labs)
Advancements in Polymeric material Science have afforded us many possibilities for groundbreaking product development and research particularly in the preventative healthcare sector. The transition from development to product must be considered with the utmost attention to sustainability and focus to health and happiness. At the At the heart of all scientific research is both valuable information and the potential to improve quality of life. In this discussion we will outline some recent developments in material science, technology and the applied benefits of creating new ways to improve the health of humanity in a sustainable way. This discuss will outline some innovative methods in investigation, design and implementation
II. Design for Zero Waste in Materials Science/Industry: [How Can We Invest in] Initiatives to Design for Zero Waste?- Environmental Engineering/Sustainability (Nicole Chardoul, RRS)
As the use of packaging and disposable products continue to grow, managing these waste streams and developing methods to recover and recycle our resources becomes more important. “There is no waste in nature” is a simple way to describe the reuse and recycling Circular Economy around a common goal of sustainability. Through the collective action of local champions and proactive Public/Private initiatives, we can plan and implement materials management and zero waste solutions that can prevent further pollution of our environment, improve public safety, generate jobs, design infrastructure for the reprocessing and recycling industry and develop end market opportunities. This session will explore initiatives that can bring together these partners in the value chain with a single shared purpose of sustainability and zero waste.
III. Overview of process development for recombinant therapeutic proteins: Yinges Yigzaw, PhD Sr. Scientist, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California
The discovery of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s lead to the emergence of genetic engineering as a new industry in biotechnology. Genetic engineering allows the cloning of desired DNA sequence into bacteria or other desirable expression systems and large-scale production of recombinant proteins. In 1982, Genentech successfully cloned and produced the first recombinant human insulin and secured FDA approval for human use. Since then the technology has evolved and enabled to manufacture much more complex therapeutic proteins such as monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of several disease indications in cancer, immunology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. These products are referred as biologics or biopharmaceuticals to differentiate from small molecule pharmaceuticals made through traditional chemical synthesis. Advances in bioengineering have benefited millions of patients, created thousands of jobs, and the biologics market is expected to reach ~400 billion by 2025. Before the approval of these products for human use, the process that will be sued to manufacture at large scale needs to be developed and refined through extensive studies at small and pilot scale. These include optimization of the bioreactor condition for optimum protein expression, purification steps for consistent product quality, and formulation condition for reliable protein stability. This presentation will highlight process development focus areas required for the reliable production of a recombinant therapeutic protein.
VII: Workshop on Ethiopian Scientific and Academic Network: A model to Revers Brain Drain and to Enhance Scientific Research in Ethiopia (Promoter: Abebe Kebede)
Ethiopia has several higher education institutions with a variety of experiences and priorities. The primary objectives of these institutions are to produce white-collar workers, teachers, and the work force for mining, textiles, construction, agricultural industries. Higher education and scientific research is young. Following the deliberations of higher education meetings and the literature on African higher education there is a growing advocacy on structural changes in higher education, North-South institutional linkages, mobilization of the African/Ethiopian Diaspora and funding. The growing internet use and the quality of information exchange among borderless expertise may allow in a limited way to enhance the virtual mobility of the intellectual asset; effectively reversing brain drain. We propose an organizational model the Ethiopian Scientific and Academic Network (ESAN) that would facilitate and enhance international scientific partnerships between Ethiopian scientists, educators, students and their counterparts elsewhere. In our model we will focus on a possible networking mechanism where the Ethiopians and their colleagues will play a major role in addressing the financial and human resources needs of higher education in Ethiopia. In addition we will explore ways where such social network can become effective tool for positive social change.
VII. Workshop on STEM Education Resources: Introducing the BBC Micro Bit- Robotics for Ethiopia (Promoter: Abebe Kebede)
Information and communication technologies help students access learning materials that enhance their classroom learning. The most recent STEM learning tools and environments allow students to gain practical and pointed experiences for deep learning. These practical experiences engage the students in both hands activities that allow students to learn methods of measurement, plot graphs, and determine physical quantities interactively. The recently introduced BBC Micro Bit and products similar to it are widely used in STEM education. In this workshop we will review STEM and education resources and introduce the BBC Micro bit. Students will learn coding, operate autonomous robots.
III. Computational Materials Discovery of 2D materials for Energy Application (Dr. Tekalign T. Debela-, Jeonju University, Republic of Korea)
Tekalign Terfa Debela is a Research Professor at the Institute for Application of Advanced Materials, Jeonju University, Republic of Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Zhejiang University in December, 2014. He then moved to Northwestern polytechnical university as a postdoctoral researcher, and partly worked at Moscow Institute of Physics (MIPT). In 2017, He was awarded the Korea Research Fellowship program of the National research foundation of Korea. His research is focused on first principles calculations for energy application of layered materials including secondary batteries, electrochemical water splitting, etc.
Without new materials there would be no new technologies. Recently, the crystal structure prediction algorithms combined with DFT calculations are speeding up the discovery of new materials with superior and desirable properties. In this talk, I will introduce the crystal structure prediction technique, and how it can lead to discovering of new materials with ‘forbidden’ chemistry. In addition, our recent works on two-dimensional WS2@Nitrogen-Doped Graphite for High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries (Experiments and Molecular Dynamics Simulations), Phase polymorphism and electronic structures of TeSe2 will be discussed.
References
1. Debela et al, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2018 10 (44), 37928-37936.
2. Debela et al J. Mater. Chem. C, 2018,6, 10218-10225.
IV Overview of process development for recombinant therapeutic proteins: Yinges Yigzaw, PhD Sr. Scientist, Genentech Inc, South San Francisco, California
Seminars
Educational Resources, access and Library Development- AASDO-ESAN Education Missions (Promoter: Abebe Kebede)[Asela, Gondar]