“Mussel Power: Defining the Essentials for Translation to Technology”
Hosted by the Department of Chemical Engineering and co-sponsored by the Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology (CBB)
Dr.
J.
Herbert
Waite,
PhD,
Professor
of
Biochemistry
Departments
of
Molecular
Cell
&
Developmental
Biology
and
Chemistry
&
Biochemistry,
University
of
California,
Santa
Barbara
(UCSB)
[Poster]
[Video]
Abstract: There are huge economic incentives for engineering practical adhesives that perform well in the presence of salt water and on oxidized, corroded or fouled surfaces. Mussels routinely make adhesive bonds underwater, so some of us are looking to these organisms for innovative design strategies. Biomimetic efforts all need to come to terms with a critical question: How much biological insight is necessary to make a high-performance, synthetic version? In the case of wet adhesion, the answer is “quite a bit”, and this will be showcased using the catechol-rich adhesive proteins isolated from the mussel. Catechols are wonderfully versatile groups for interfacial interactions with minerals and metal oxides– but only if their redox tendencies are under stringent local control. Mussels appear to be masters of redox control.
Biosketch:
Dr.
Waite
received
his
A.B.
from
Harvard
University
in
1971;
Ph.D.
in
Biochemistry
from
Duke
University
in
1976;
he
worked
as
a
Postdoctoral
fellow
at
the
University
of
Copenhagen
and
among
other
institutions.
Then
he
became
a
professor
at
the
University
of
Delaware
in
the
Chemistry
and
Marine
Studies
programs
for
12
years
before
moving
to
UCSB
in
1998.
Dr.
Waite
was
elected
a
Fellow
of
the
American
Association
for
the
Advancement
of
Science
in
2009
and
is
co-leader
of
IRG-1
for
the
new
Materials
Research
Science
&
Engineering
Center
(MRSEC)
at
UCSB.
Dr.
Waite
also
currently
serves
as
the
Vice
Chair
of
the
Biomolecular
Science
&
Engineering
Graduate
Program
(BMSE),
which
is
much
favored
by
graduate
students
desiring
to
work
at
the
interface
between
science
and
engineering.
If you are interested in meeting with Dr. Waite, please email Dr. Ting Tsui.
Event
is
FREE
–
please
RSVP
via
EventBrite
Coffee/cookies
will
be
available
Pay parking available in lots B or N (map)