Bioenvironmental Systems
The primary role of the Bio-Environmental Systems Group (BES) within the Center for Environmental Biotechnology is to develop better approaches for sustainable development and for understanding processes in the natural environment. Researchers in this group deal with a variety of environmental concerns, often using new technologies and scientific approaches developed by the other major CEB groups. This group carries out both basic research into the fundamental nature of environmental systems or processes, and practical, goal-oriented research. The group includes faculty from a variety of disciplines including the earth sciences, engineering and agriculture, many of whom have already worked extensively with CEB researchers, addressing problems such as biodegradation of contaminants in groundwater, or the effectiveness of wastewater treatment systems. The research agenda for BES can be divided into three main areas, as described below:

Earth Science and Ecosystems
The driving force for earth science and ecosystem research is the ever-increasing demand for utilization of natural resources. Particularly, water and soil resources are often over-utilized or mismanaged, even in areas, such as the southeastern U.S., where these resources are abundant. CEB researchers are involved in active research in a number of topics within the field of earth sciences and ecosystems. One area of focus is the fate and transport of contaminants in soils and groundwater. This is often related to control and clean up of contaminated sites, particularly those at the Department of Energy¹s Oak Ridge Reservation, and other federally owned sites. Biotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in contaminant clean up, particularly in developing microbially-based criteria for assessing the potential for ³natural attenuation² at sites. This is one of the core strengths of CEB, and research in this area is expected to grow. Survival and transport of pathogenic microorganisms in the hydrosphere is also an area of active research for this group, and interest in this area is increasing as a result of recent changes to federal guidelines (i.e. the ³Groundwater Disinfection Rule²). Other areas of active research which can benefit and grow through collaboration with CEB include, carbon/nitrogen cycling in oceans and the biosphere, microbially-mediated dissolution and precipitation of minerals, development of modern and ancient soils, climate change, groundwater/surface water interactions, and studies of early life and life in extreme environments.

Bioprocesses
This field encompasses a wide range of engineered systems that utilize microorganisms to produce enzymes or products, as well as processes that are designed to clean up wastes, such as sewage or contaminated groundwater. This field includes controlling unwanted growth of microorganisms in industrial processes. One of the key areas of interest for this group is the use of biotechnology to develop improved monitoring and process methods for treatment of potable water, wastewater treatment, agricultural wastes and municipal/industrial sludge. Molecular-based methods provide a previously unavailable approach to systems analysis and assessment of emerging technologies that have not been extensively employed in engineered processes. The research is taking advantage of the rapidly growing DNA/RNA microarray technology to develop new monitoring capabilities for multiple microorganisms in engineered and environmental systems.

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The Center for Environmental Biotechnology
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
676 Dabney Hall
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-1605
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