Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies

Last updated
The Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies
AbbreviationICB
Formation2003
Founded at University of California, Santa Barbara
Purpose biotechnology

The Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies (ICB) is a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) primarily funded by the United States Army. Headquartered at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) and in collaboration with MIT, Caltech and industry partners, ICB's interdisciplinary approach to research aims to enhance military technology by transforming biological systems into technological applications. [1]

Contents

Founding

UARC proposed the ICB's development in January 2003 and the institute came to fruition by August 22, 2003 with the US Army's announcement to grant $50 million for military research. [2] [3] Since that time, the ICB has remained intact and expanded to include 60 faculty members and 150 researchers that have completed over 135 research projects.

Research

The ICB's research aim is to model biological mechanisms for use in military materials and tools. Quoting Army Research Office program manager Robert Campbell, "The inspiration for the ICB comes from the fact that biology uses different mechanisms to produce materials and integrated circuits for high-performance sensing, computing and information processing, and actuation than are presently used in human manufacturing." [4] Much research is focused on evaluating biomolecular sensors, bio-inspired materials and energy, biodiscovery tools, bio-inspired network science, and cognitive neuroscience through the disciplines of cellular and molecular biology, materials science, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and psychology.

Leadership

Present

Francis J. Doyle III, ICB Director [5]

Scott Grafton, ICB Associate Director

David Gay, ICB Director of Technology

Robert Kokoska, ICB Army Program Manager [6]

Past

Daniel Morse, Founding Director [7]

Affiliates

The ICB is affiliated with the following: [8]

Army Partners

Industry Partners

Controversy

In 2008, S.B. Antiwar protested ICB's annual military conference by blocking UCSB's Pardall Tunnel, the main path and bikeway between the campus and city of Isla Vista. Between 200 and 300 students and community members participated and a total of three arrests were made. The conference area was then secured by campus police and the event continued as planned. [9] The ICB has continued to hold conferences at UCSB each year without incident.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bionics</span> Application of natural systems to technology

Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert S. Langer</span> American scientist

Robert Samuel Langer Jr. FREng is an American chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, inventor and one of the nine Institute Professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) is a strategic United States Department of Defense (DoD) research center associated with a university. UARCs are formally established by the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. UARCs were developed to ensure that essential engineering and technology capabilities of particular importance to the DoD are maintained. They have many similarities with Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, including sole source funding under the authority of 10 U.S.C. § 2304(c)(3)(B). However, UARCs are allowed to compete for other science and technology work, except when it is prohibited by their contracts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broad Institute</span> Biomedical and genomic research center

The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, often referred to as the Broad Institute, is a biomedical and genomic research center located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The institute is independently governed and supported as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization under the name Broad Institute Inc., and it partners with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, and the five Harvard teaching hospitals.

Craig Jon Hawker is an Australian-born chemist. His research has focused on the interface between organic and polymer chemistry, with emphasis on the design, synthesis, and application of well-defined macromolecular structures in biotechnology, microelectronics, and surface science. Hawker holds more than 45 U.S. patents, and he has co-authored over 300 papers in the areas of nanotechnology, materials science, and chemistry. He was listed as one of the top 100 most cited chemists worldwide over the decade 1992–2002, and again in 2000–2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological engineering</span> Application of biology and engineering to create useful products

Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number of pure and applied sciences, such as mass and heat transfer, kinetics, biocatalysts, biomechanics, bioinformatics, separation and purification processes, bioreactor design, surface science, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and polymer science. It is used in the design of medical devices, diagnostic equipment, biocompatible materials, renewable energy, ecological engineering, agricultural engineering, process engineering and catalysis, and other areas that improve the living standards of societies.

Reflectins are a family of intrinsically disordered proteins evolved by a certain number of cephalopods including Euprymna scolopes and Doryteuthis opalescens to produce iridescent camouflage and signaling. The recently identified protein family is enriched in aromatic and sulfur-containing amino acids, and is utilized by certain cephalopods to refract incident light in their environment. The reflectin protein is responsible for dynamic pigmentation and iridescence in organisms. This process is “dynamic” due to its reversible properties, allowing reflectin to change an organism’s appearance in response to external factors such as needing to camouflage or send warning signals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCSB College of Engineering</span> Undergraduate college at University of California, Santa Barbara

The College of Engineering (CoE) is one of the three undergraduate colleges at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California NanoSystems Institute</span>

The California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) is an integrated research center operating jointly at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara. Its missions are to foster interdisciplinary collaborations for discoveries in nanosystems and nanotechnology; train the next generation of scientists, educators and technology leaders; and facilitate partnerships with industry, fueling economic development and the social well-being of California, the United States and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edgewood Chemical Biological Center</span> Military unit

The U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) is the United States's principal research and development resource for non-medical chemical and biological (CB) defense. As a critical national asset in the CB defense community, ECBC supports all phases of the acquisition life-cycle ― from basic and applied research through technology development, engineering design, equipment evaluation, product support, sustainment, field operations and demilitarization ― to address its customers’ unique requirements.

Bioproducts or bio-based products are materials, chemicals and energy derived from renewable biological material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald E. Ingber</span> American cell biologist and bioengineer (born 1956)

Donald E. Ingber is an American cell biologist and bioengineer. He is the founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, the Judah Folkman Professor of Vascular Biology at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, and Professor of Bioengineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. He is also a member of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Hellenic Research Foundation</span>

The National Hellenic Research Foundation is a non-profit, private-law legal entity established in 1958 with the aim of conducting interdisciplinary research in the fields of science and the humanities. It is supervised by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology (GSRT) of the Ministry of Development and Investment (Greece).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samir Mitragotri</span> American chemist (born 1971)

Samir Mitragotri is an Indian American professor at Harvard University, an inventor, an entrepreneur, and a researcher in the fields of drug delivery and biomaterials. He is currently the Hiller Professor of Bioengineering and Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Prior to 2017, he was the Duncan and Suzanne Mellichamp Chair Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara.

Mario Moisés Álvarez is a Mexican researcher. He was a Visiting Professor at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technologies, at the Brigham Women's Hospital of the Harvard Medical School, in Cambridge Massachusetts (2014-2017). He also collaborated as a visiting professor in the Microsystems Technology Laboratories at MIT (2015-2016). Álvarez conducted research at the BIRC in the areas of Tissue Engineering, Biomaterials, and Microfluidics. Today, Mario Moisés Álvarez is a Full Professor at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies, specializing in biomedical and biopharmaceutical engineering. His work has been recognized by Level III membership in Mexico's Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, a permanent membership in the AMC, two granted US patents and twelve granted Mexican patents. He received the Rómulo Garza Insignia Award in 2017, the most prestigious research award from his institution, Tecnológico de Monterrey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Scrutton</span>

Nigel Shaun Scrutton is a British biochemist and biotechnology innovator known for his work on enzyme catalysis, biophysics and synthetic biology. He is Director of the UK Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Director of the Fine and Speciality Chemicals Synthetic Biology Research Centre (SYNBIOCHEM), and Co-founder, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the 'fuels-from-biology' company C3 Biotechnologies Ltd. He is Professor of Enzymology and Biophysical Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He is former Director of the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology (MIB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregory L. Verdine</span> American chemical biologist

Gregory L. Verdine is an American chemical biologist, biotech entrepreneur, venture capitalist and university professor. He is a founder of the field of chemical biology, which deals with the application of chemical techniques to biological systems. His work has focused on mechanisms of DNA repair and cell penetrability.

Francis "Frank" J. Doyle III is an American engineer and academic administrator. He is the dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Doyle is also affiliated with the Division of Sleep Medicine of Harvard Medical School. On December 15, 2022 it was announced that Doyle will serve as the 14th provost of Brown University starting in the 2023 academic year.

Shenzhen International BT Leadership Summit is a biology-focused business conference. It is held each year in September. It is arranged by the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government. It is held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

Susan Rosser is a professor of Synthetic Biology at the University of Edinburgh.

References

  1. "Pioneering Research for the Army at the Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies" (PDF). US Army. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  2. "A--Army Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies". Federal Business Opportunities. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  3. http://www.dau.mil/pubscats/PubsCats/PM/articles03/bio-ja03.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. Thomson, Elizabeth (10 September 2003). "MIT, Calif. schools receive $50M grant for Army research". MITnews. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. "Leadership". The Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies. Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  6. Skaggs, Reed. "Exploiting Technical Opportunities to Capture Advanced Capabilities for Our Soldiers". Defense Technical Information Center. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013.
  7. "Army Research Office Awards up to $50 Million To UCSB-Led Partnership to Establish Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies". UCSB Engineering. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  8. "ICB Partnerships". The Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  9. Castañeda, Adrian (February 13, 2008). "Military Conference Sparks UCSB Protest". Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved 21 August 2013.