I Guess Plastic and Many Chemcials are not Toxic Enough

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http://www.rdmag.com/News/Feeds/2009/12/energy-young-scientist-places-first-in-national-research-/

Young scientist places first in national research competition
Posted In: Energy

By Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Monday, December 7, 2009




November 30, 2009

Issued by PNNL and Washington State University
Fungal genetics work at PNNL earns recent intern high marks

1 of 1
RICHLAND, Wash. – A recent intern at the Department of Energy's
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory earned top honors at a national
undergraduate competition for research that could help scientists use
fungi to make chemicals used in plastic and fuels.

Kristen Meyer, of West Richland, Wash., placed first in the life
sciences division of the 2009 Science and Energy Research Challenge
Poster Competition, which took place Nov. 8-9 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The
award included a $3,000 scholarship.

Now a junior studying chemistry at Washington State University Tri-
Cities, Meyer spent this summer working with PNNL molecular biologist
Kenneth Bruno. She developed a new, time-saving method to test
specific genes in a black mold commonly found in soil, Aspergillus
niger. The work could provide a way to use mold to make plastics and
other chemicals from broken-down plant matter, called biomass.

"Kristen is very detail-oriented," Bruno said. "Sometimes she's even
able to correct me. You can trust that her research will be precise."

She was one of five recent PNNL interns who participated in the
competition. Another, Mike Larche, placed third in the energy
division. Larche, of Pasco, Wash., is studying physics at Eastern
Washington University.

Washington State University's full press release on Meyer's award can
be found online.



Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a Department of Energy Office
of Science national laboratory where interdisciplinary teams advance
science and technology and deliver solutions to America's most
intractable problems in energy, national security and the environment.
PNNL employs 4,650 staff, has a $918 million annual budget, and has
been managed by Ohio-based Battelle since the lab's inception in 1965.
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