Center for industrial bio-technology inaugurated in Shanghai

The Research Center for Industrial Biotechnology opened at the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS). Its nameplate-unveiling ceremony and an academic symposium were jointly held on 14 March at Institute for Plant Physiology and Ecology (IPPE) under SIBS.

Chaired by IPPE director CHEN Xiaoya, the ceremony brought together some 40 government officials and scientists from CAS and Shanghai Municipality. CAS Vice President CHEN Zhu sent his congratulatory letter, saying that the new center would be successful in creating a national system for industrial innovations by providing a platform for updating Chinese enterprises in the on-going upsurge of bio-engineering economies worldwide.

After the conclusion of the ceremony, two scientists, Prof. SHAO Liqin, an advisor from the Ministry of Science and Technology, and LI Laigeng from the US North Carolina University, made lectures entitled "The Developmental Trends of New Energy Sources" and "Beyond the Barriers: Ethanol from Lignocellulosic Feedstocks," respectively.

The replacement of fossil fuel by renewable energy and the substitution of high-polluting chemical process circuits by environment-friendly bio-engineering should be the unavoidable tendency for the future of contemporary industries. Also, this should be one of the most pressing tasks facing humanity in the 21st century. Industrial bio-technology is the occupational basis for biomass engineering and biomass industry. In this aspect, the SIBS boasts a long-time academic build-up and a competent contingent of qualified personnel.

With an objective of integrating its scientific research with the industrial development, the center will play a role in promoting economic development in the Yangtze estuary. Its establishment will be conducive to the integration of its internal R&D strengths, redefine new R&D objectives and enhance its cooperation with other research bodies in the vicinity. Its research priorities will be placed on the cultivation of energy-rich plant varieties, enzyme engineering, metabolic engineering and other key expertise in a bid to realize the industrialization of related R&D results and provide supporting backing to the sustainable development of China's bio-product manufacture, energy, light industry, agriculture and other sections in the national economy.

Source from CAS