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University of Hawai'i |
(808) 956-8856 Telephone |
For Immediate Release: |
October 11, 2000 |
Contact: Alex Malahoff, Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center, 956-6802 Jim Manke, University and Community Relations, 956-6106
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| UH-New Zealand Agreement Establishes Research Partnership |
The University of Hawai`i, through its Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC), today signed a significant cooperative agreement with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS), a government-owned research company in New Zealand.
The agreement establishes a research partnership that will facilitate collaboration in the discovery, analysis and commercialization of products derived from microorganisms located near or in extreme environments (extremophiles), such as geothermal and hydrothermal areas of New Zealand.
MarBEC will provide training for New Zealand students and GNS employees who will collect and, in partnership with Hort + Research, a sister New Zealand government-owned research company, process microorganisms from a wide range of extreme environments in New Zealand and help establish an extremophile collection and laboratory in New Zealand. MarBEC researchers at UH will receive genetic material from the newly discovered microorganisms and use it in their work to screen for high-value compounds from algae and Bacteria. The agreement details how any commercial revenues are to be shared between GNS and Hort + Research, on behalf of the people of New Zealand, and UH, on behalf of the people of the USA.
For UH, the agreement extends the geographic base for MarBEC research and allows access for MarBEC researchers to one of the most extensive active geothermal and volcanic regions in the world. This agreement opens the door for MarBEC and GNS researchers for the collection, isolation, and identification of extremophiles, and provides an opportunity to develop a research, education, and commercialization relationship with GNS and biotechnology companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
"This agreement opens the doors to new research and business opportunities for the study of microorganisms from extreme environments as well as the commercial-ization of products derived from such organisms," said UH President Kenneth Mortimer.
Researchers at MarBEC are particularly interested in studying marine microorganisms that survive in extreme environments. "The theory is that extreme thermal characteristics and chemistries in these areas promote the development of novel microorganisms," said Alexander Malahoff, Director of MarBEC, "and this in turn produces compounds of industrial and biotechnological importance."
MarBEC students, engineers and scientists are conducting research to find new sources of enzymes, UV-absorbing compounds and other proteins used in industries ranging from chemicals and food to household products and pharmaceuticals. The agreement will allow for New Zealand firms to participate with USA firms in exploiting any of the commercial projects that might arise from New Zealand extreme environment microorganisms.
Researchers of GNS and Hort + Research, are also interested in studying with MarBEC the fundamental origins of life on earth and the contribution of microbial life to earth processes.
MarBEC and GNS researchers recently identified a new microorganism living in an acidic lake in New Zealand. There are other areas to explore in New Zealand's active geological zone that spans an area 20 times larger than Yellowstone National Park in the U.S.
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Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center, (MarBEC)
Dr. Alexander Malahoff, Center Director
The Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MarBEC) is a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center focused on the development of technology for the manufacture of products from marine and extremophile microorganisms for application in nearly every industry including food, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, energy, environment, and national defense.
MarBEC supports this growth through collaborative activities designed to advance:
· product discovery from a wide range of bioresources;
· development of efficient production systems;
· downstream processing and delivery of useful bioproducts.
MarBEC is also developing the next generation of engineering, scientific, and business leaders in marine biotechnology through multi-disciplinary research and education. Current research involves faculty and students in the areas of Microbiology, Metabolic Engineering, Enzyme Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Plant Biology, Ocean Engineering, Civil Engineering, Oceanography, Biosystems Engineering, and Chemistry.
Established in 1998, MarBEC is headquartered at the University of Hawaii, the lead institution, with the University of California, Berkeley, as a core research partner. Its collaborators include leading national and international laboratories and research centers.
Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences, Limited
Dr. Derek Milne, Chairman of the Board
Dr. Andrew West, Chief Executive
Institute of Geological & Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS) is an independent, government-owned research company. With 130 years of excellence in understanding earth sciences, GNS is the leading supplier of earth and nuclear scientific research and consultancy services in New Zealand. It has built an international reputation for delivering quality advice and innovative research through the expertise of its 260 skilled staff in the areas of:
· New Zealand's geological evolution and development
· Assessing the risks and managing the impacts of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunamis
· Evaluating and managing oil, gas, geothermal, groundwater, and mineral resources using earth sciences
· Applying isotope chemistry and nuclear technology in biological and medical research, industrial processes, archaeology, fisheries and atmospheric research, oceanography, geology, hydrology, geochemistry, geothermal research and exploration, and environmental monitoring.
A New Zealand limited liability company, GNS operates in accordance with the Companies Act 1993 and Crown Research Institute Act 1992. Shares in the company are held equally by two government Ministers --- the Minister of Crown Research Institutes and the Minister of Finance. These two shareholders discharge their ownership obligations under the CRI Act on behalf of the New Zealand Parliament, which in turn owns the Institute on behalf of all New Zealanders.
