Adam Arkin is the Dean A. Richard Newton Memorial Professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and Senior Faculty Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He and his laboratory develop experimental and computational technologies for discovery, prediction, control and design of microbial and viral functions and behaviors in environmental contexts.

He is the chief scientist of the Department of Energy Scientific Focus Area, ENIGMA(Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies, http://enigma.lbl.gov), designed to understand, at a molecular level, the impact of microbial communities on their ecosystems with specific focus on terrestrial communities in contaminated watersheds. He also directs the Department of Energy Systems Biology Knowledgebase (KBase) program: (http://kbase.us) an open platform for comparative functional genomics, systems and synthetic biology for microbes, plants and their communities, and for sharing results and methods with other scientists. He is director of the newly announced Center for Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space which seeks microbial and plant-based biological solutions for in situ resource utilization that reduce the launch mass and improves reliability and quality of food, pharmaceuticals, fuels and materials for astronauts on a mission to Mars. Finally, he is the Co-Director of the Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute, which brings together U.C. Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Scientists with Industry Partners to forward technology and applications for sustainable biomanufacturing.

Brooks Abel is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and staff scientist in the Materials Science Division at LBL. He received a B. S. in Polymer Science and a Ph.D. (2016) in Polymer Science and Engineering (NSF Graduate Fellowship) from the University of Southern Mississippi. His Ph.D. work under the advisement of Prof. Charles McCormick focused on synthesizing stimuli-responsive water-soluble polymers using controlled radical polymerization methods for applications such as drug delivery and water remediation. Following his graduate studies, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Geoffrey Coates at Cornell University (2017-2021) where he developed bifunctional Lewis acid catalysts for the alternating ring-opening copolymerization of epoxides and cyclic anhydrides to synthesize well-defined polyesters. While at Cornell, he also developed a new living cationic ring-opening polymerization of cyclic acetals, enabling the synthesis of high molecular weight polyacetals thermoplastics capable of near-quantitative chemical recycling back to monomer. His independent research interests lie in the areas of sustainable polymer organic chemistry, ionic polymerizations, catalysis, polymer stereocontrol, and polymer recycling.

Jake hails from the far-away lands of the Midwest. He received his Bachelor's degree in Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was introduced to the world of scientific research through the study of the evolution of gene expression regulation in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Upon graduation, Jake began his graduate work in Marine Studies at the University of Delaware where he studied the regulation of energy metabolism in green sulfur bacteria (the Chlorobiaceae). Being a microbiologist that had always admired synthetic biology from a distance, and one that was enamored with space exploration, Jake joined the Arkin Lab at the University of California-Berkeley as a postdoc to pursue applications of microbial engineering to space exploration and colonization. Jake's research interests include environmental microbiology, microbial physiology/systems biology, genetics, synthetic biology, and space bioengineering. 
 

kbsander [AT] berkeley [DOT] edu

Kyle Sander grew up in Portland, Oregon and attended Oregon State University earning a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.  He interned at a Georgia-Pacific Containerboard Mill for a year as an Environmental/Process Engineer, and then went on to earn an M.S. degree in Biological and Ecological Engineering studying life cycle effects of algae production for fuels and co-products. He also investigated rapid sand filtration as an algal dewatering process step and enzymatic degradation of, and simultaneous saccharification and ethanol production from, of algal cell biomass.

Kyle earned his PhD from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville conducting his thesis research within the BioEnergy Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  Kyle focused on characterizing and engineering regulatory genes and related cellular redox in two candidate lignocellulolytic, ethanol-producing biocatalysts; Clostridium thermocellum and Caldicellulosiruptor bescii.  Basic redox metabolism was characterized in C. thermocellum, yielding an expanded view of redox metabolism in this organism, as well as a set of promising redox-active metabolic loci which were targeted in subsequent engineering for ethanol yield improvement done by others.  Single-gene deletion mutants of promising regulatory gene targets in C. bescii were generated and screened in bioprocessing-relevant conditions to assess the engineering potential of each gene target.  Deletion of a global redox sensing transcription factor (Rex) enabled C. bescii to synthesize 75% more ethanol and allowed us to comprehensively describe the unique Rex regulon in this organism.  A genotype-phenotype relationship was identified between the FapR local fatty acid biosynthesis repressor and this organism’s tolerance to elevated osmolarity conditions, a highly complex, bioprocess-limiting, and difficult-to-engineer trait.

Outside of the lab, Kyle enjoys running, reading, rock-climbing, spending time with family and friends, and becoming more familiar with his new Berkeley and California surroundings.

Cassandra is a highly motivated and curious senior undergraduate in the Bioengineering department at UC Berkeley, with a specific focus on cell and tissue engineering. She has previously worked in immunology research, where she formulated antibody-conjugated lipid nanoparticles and assessed their transfection into antigen presenting cells for their possible use as mRNA therapeutic delivery vehicles. She has also worked in polymer research, where she contributed to the standardization of nanoindentation as a modality for retrieval analysis of the polymer component from total knee replacement. Through her coursework and research experiences, she has developed a strong interest in the field of synthetic biology which she hopes to utilize to solve problems caused by the climate crisis, with the increasingly necessary exploration of space being one of these issues. Currently, she is working with Gwyneth Hutchinson and NASA CUBES to engineer Spirulina for pharmaceutical and flavor production with applications for supporting human exploration of space. She hopes that through this work and further research done through a PhD program and beyond, she will be able to assist in finding solutions to climate-related issues. In her free time, you can catch her at the roller rink, or on a hike in the Berkeley hills. She also enjoys crocheting and reading novels.

Gwyneth Terry is a senior administrator supporting Adam Arkin and his laboratory at Berkeley Lab and University of California, Berkeley. She has a BSc in geology from Cal State East Bay. She assists lab personnel with the UCB and LBL bureaucracy and helps moves science forward.

Dr. Aaron J. Berliner is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley, as well as the major domo of the NASA-funded Space Technology Research Institute (STRI) CUBES (Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space). He obtained both his Ph.D. in Bioengineering under Dr. Adam Arkin and his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering under Dr. Bernstein from UC Berkeley in 2022. Prior to this, he studied biomedical engineering, and synthetic & systems biology at Boston University. Dr. Berliner began his career at the NASA Ames Research Center under Dr John Hogan and Dr. John Cumbers, where he worked on projects involving 3D printing, bioelectrochemistry, and astrobiology. In 2013, he joined the Life Sciences group of Autodesk Research in San Francisco, working on diverse projects such as bioprinting, software engineering, synthetic virology, and DNA origami. Accepting that he had caught the “space bug,” he returned to academia to help establish CUBES and begin work on Crucible, an open-source reactor for space synthetic biology experiments.

With a strong background in bioengineering, nuclear engineering, and systems engineering, Dr. Berliner has made significant contributions to the field of Space Bioprocess Engineering (SBE), an interdisciplinary field integrating bioengineering principles to develop biotechnologies for long-term space missions. His primary focus has been designing a biomanufactory-driven reference mission architecture for human exploration of Mars, aiding space agencies in their mission planning by providing parametric designs on requirements and operational aspects driven by specific biological systems, including advanced life support, biological and chemical manufacturing, and in situ resource utilization (ISRU). Dr. Berliner's vision is to harness living systems to support off-world biomanufacturing, realizing the inherent mass, power, and volume advantages offered by biotechnology over traditional mechanical and chemical approaches. His expertise and commitment to the field in the integration of bioengineering into human space exploration has most recently been acknowledged with his acceptance of a lectureship at UC Berkeley in the new Program in Aerospace Engineering.

Zohaib Siddiqi was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in the Bay Area, California. He pursued his B.S. in chemistry at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, where he conducted research on melt-cast energetic materials with Professor Adam Matzger and MOF supported homogeneous catalysts with Professor Melanie Sanford. He obtained his Ph.D. in 2023 under Professor David Sarlah at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, where his work was focused on the dearomative oxidation of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds, as well the dearomatization of commodity polymers. Afterwards, Zohaib joined the lab of Professor Brooks Abel at the University of California Berkeley, where his work will be focused on developing novel methods for controlled cationic ring opening polymerizations.

Gwyneth graduated from UC Berkeley in 2020 where she did nearly 3 years of research and a fellowship in reproductive neuroendocrinology, chronobiology, and cellular biology. She then transitioned to the UCSF-Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease where she pursued novel research into the contributions of cellular energy metabolism and bioenergetic failure into neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. Following this, she worked as a Senior Research Associate at Conception Biosciences where she focused on the development of biotechnologies to turn stem cells into viable eggs for individuals and couples to overcome physiological, age-based, and sexuality-based barriers to reproductive success. With NASA CUBES, Gwyneth is developing innovative approaches to build on the Arkin Lab’s recent successes engineering Spirulina for nutrient, pharmaceutical, and flavor production with applications for supporting human exploration of space. She is devising innovative ways to further improve the efficiency of engineering this previously recalcitrant organism and determining the best routes for metabolic engineering of these critical products. She is also interested in pursuing questions surrounding human physiology and reproduction in space with the goal of improving health outcomes for astronauts and space travelers both during missions and upon return to Earth. When she’s not in the lab, Gwyneth loves to spend time with her puppies—Willow and Pandora—and play guitar. She also fancies herself an amateur shark diver and is on the Board of Directors for a literacy nonprofit.

Milan is an undergraduate student at Rice University studying Electrical and Computer Engineering with a Data Science & Systems specialization. He is interested in utilizing synthetic biology and environmental biotechnology and combining it with artificial intelligence to create sustainable methods of food production, mitigate issues caused by rapid climate change, and assist in deep space exploration.

At CUBES, he is currently working with Dr. Hilzinger to build a cyanobacteria pan genome and utilizing it to understand and analyze the evolution of important phenotypes across different variants (e.g. multicellularity) using machine learning.

Hue is an undergraduate student studying Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. She is interested in exploring the intersection between synthetic and computational biology with hopes of harnessing an application towards enhancing biomedicine and sustainability. She is working with Dr. Hilzinger in the FPSD division of CUBES to help develop innovative approaches toward improving the metabolic engineering of A. platensis for small molecule production. By enhancing the production of pharmaceuticals, nutrients, and flavors in Spirulina, the project aims to support human exploration of space. In her free time, Hue enjoys traveling, watching sunsets at the beach, swimming, and crocheting.

Ishan is a 1st year undergraduate student studying Microbial Biology at UC Berkeley. He is passionate about biopharmaceuticals and its application across diverse fields of study, including in space exploration. Ishan is working under Dr. Hilzinger on the CUBES project to develop genetic tools in A. platensis for improved metabolic engineering. Additionally, he is investigating CRISPR/Cas-9 and its use in developing new plasmids for this bacterium.

Kylie Akiyama is a second-year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley majoring in bioengineering. She is especially interested in the field of synthetic biology and how we can utilize it in the context of space exploration. Kylie is currently within the FPSD division of CUBES, working to improve the group's capacity to metabolically engineer A. platensis for small molecule production.

Snigdha is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley (Class 2025) studying Genetics and Plant Biology. She is working with Dr. Sander on the CUBES project investigating the growth coupling of polyhydroxyalkanoate production in species of Cupriavidus for applications in space exploration. She is interested in studying the genetic engineering of metabolic pathways in bacteria and algae, especially in the broader context of sustainability.

Isaac Lipsky is a senior undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying environmental science. In concert with Aaron Berliner, he is working on developing cost-benefit metrics for Mars surface operations. His interests include planetary science and the tantalizing prospect of Martian terraforming.

Eliana Matos is a highly motivated student pursuing her studies in Bioengineering, with a specific focus on cell and tissue engineering. She has experience working and volunteering with a myriad of organizations, which range from nonprofit hospitals to YMCA Camp Campbell. Here, she effectively applies her optimistic outlook and critical thinking skills. Throughout her undergraduate career, Eliana has explored a broad range of classes and clubs, delving into fields such as neurotechnology, health care advocacy, as well as advanced mathematics and sciences related to engineering. While she expresses an interest in the path towards medical school, she remains fascinated by the multitude of opportunities that bioengineering could potentially offer her. For instance, during her first year of college, she co-authored a research paper on the potential for bioengineering in space exploration, an experience that utterly astounded her. The prospect of integrating her major with space exploration filled her with an exhilarating sense of anticipation.

Eliana, as an individual, is extremely optimistic and consistently seeks the positive aspects in every situation. When she is passionate about a project, her perfectionism surfaces, propelling her to ensure that she executes every task to the best of her abilities. Eliana is willing to devote extra time to projects that pique her interest and often finds herself thrilled when encountering new challenges from which she can learn and grow. She places a high value on efficiency and aims to accomplish tasks correctly on the first attempt. Additionally, she prioritizes constructive criticism and communication, cherishing the opportunity to receive advice and learn new methods for tasks or adapt to new work environments.

Eliana also has a keen interest in applying what she has learned to make a positive impact on her community and the wider world.

Katie is an undergraduate from New York City studying Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. She is interested in exploring the interdisciplinary connections between computer science and synthetic biology for therapeutic applications. Her past research experience includes altering strain specificity of phage-like molecules and developing small molecule therapeutics for immunosuppression.

Through CUBES, she will be working under the FPSD division towards metabolically engineering A. platensis for small molecule production. Katie hopes to pursue a PhD in Bioengineering after graduation to strength her experimental planning and scientific analysis skills. In her free time, she enjoys trying new foods, traveling, hammocking, crafting, and spending time with friends and family.

Hanen is an undergraduate at UC Berkeley studying Bioengineering. He is interested in utilizing computational and synthetic biology to reduce plastic pollution, develop new drugs and diagnostics, and improve food production and the environment, especially in poorer regions of the world. At CUBE, he is focusing on engineering microbes to produce bioplastics useful for applications in space missions as well as on Earth. 

After undergrad, Hanen plans to pursue a PhD in bioengineering or biotechnology to grow as a scientist. He aims to start a company one day focusing on using bioengineering to address environmental and food insecurity issues around the globe. 

As a San Franciscan native, Hanen enjoys exploring the Bay Area, sports, and reading in his free time. 

 

Justin Wahyudi is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Justin is interested in exploring synthetic biology and understanding the various applications that the field offers in healthcare and pharmaceutical settings. He is currently working under Dr. Jacob Hilzinger in the FPSD division of CUBES to help genetically engineer A. platensis for the purpose of pharmaceutical production and supporting advances made in space exploration.

Xina Wang is an undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying chemical biology and data science. She is interested in the potential of harnessing biosystems found in nature for applications in biomanufacturing and biomedicine through the intersection of synthetic biology and computational tools. Currently, she is engaged in engineering microbes to produce bioplastics for human space exploration as well as for industrial or environmental applications on Earth.

Anthony Abel is a Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering in the Clark Laboratory at UC Berkeley. Previously, he earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and M.S. in Materials Science at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, where he developed solution deposition techniques for inexpensive semiconductor materials. He has previously worked for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he designed reactors for the sustainable production of hydrogen via photoelectrochemical water splitting. 

Anthony’s research interests lie at the intersection of chemical engineering, materials science, and microbial synthesis. Within CUBES, he will focus on the simulation and design of hybrid bioinorganic reactors and engineering microbes to function optimally within this artificial environment.

In his spare time, Anthony is a mentor for Bay Area Graduate Pathways to STEM, and enjoys reading science fiction and playing squash.
 

Joyleen is currently a freshman, studying aerospace engineering in the first ever class of that major at UC Berkeley. She was always interested in space exploration, which is why she joined CUBES with Aaron Berliner to work in the Systems Designs and Integration Division. Her other interests include tennis, reading, and adopting cats.

Jeremy Adams is a Ph.D. student in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UC Berkeley, currently working in the Clark Lab. He received a BSE in Chemical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2017. Jeremy’s research interests lie in the intersection of synthetic biology and biochemical engineering, particularly towards the development of sustainable biomanufacturing processes. His work in CUBES involves engineering lithoautotrophic microbes to convert Mars-available resources into useful products, as well as engineering export pathways of those products to simplify downstream separation processes. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys traveling and scuba diving.

Sophia is a sophomore at UC Berkeley studying Molecular & Cellular Biology and Economics. She was initially drawn to CUBES because of their work with In-situ Resource Utilization and is interested in studying different forms of life in strenuous environments. In her free time she enjoys surfing, playing soccer and reading novels.

Brooklyn Brace is a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Molecular and Cell Biology. She has an interest in microbiology and genomics and how they apply to bioengineering. In the Arkin Lab, Brooklyn is currently working in the MMFD division investigating genes important for nitrogen fixation. Previously, Brooklyn worked in a synthetic biology lab at Columbia University working on the development of a multiplexed drug screening platform.

Daniel received his Ph.D. in Plant Biology with a designated emphasis in biotechnology from the University of California, Davis in 2017. Daniel’s research utilized a multidimensional approach to better understand the immune response initiated by XA21, a rice immune receptor that provides resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease. As part of his Ph.D. studies, Daniel also performed research at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, where he used marker-assisted selection to develop stacked resistance to BLB in the Swarna-Sub1 rice variety, which is tolerant to flooding and favored by millions of subsistence farmers in India. Daniel also interned with East-West Seed Group in Thailand, where he developed genetic markers to distinguish isolates of Colletotrichum spp. causing pepper anthracnose and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. momordicae causing Fusarium wilt on bitter gourd. 

Daniel is currently a post-doctoral scholar in Devin Coleman-Derr’s group at the University of California, Berkeley where he is exploring ways to minimize the challenges of extraterrestrial farming, including finite resources and limited growing space within controlled-environment agricultural systems. Focusing on rice, Daniel is using a microbiome-based approach to select plant growth promoting bacteria that enhance phosphorus and water-use efficiencies. Additionally, he is using CRISPR/Cas9 based-gene editing to generate rice plants with increased conversion efficiency of light into edible biomass.
 

Rong Cai is a postdoc in the Yang Group at the University of California, Berkeley. She received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry Department from the University of Utah in 2019. Her research focuses on understanding the electron metabolism of microbes and designing inorganic material to deliver electron to bacteria efficiently.

Cameran Casale is a second year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying bioengineering. She is currently working with Aaron Berliner in the Systems Design and Integration Division of CUBES. In her time at this lab, Cameran is interested in exploring different biological applications within space systems, such as the utilization of biologically derived materials in the development of nanoscale devices. When she's not in the lab or studying for school, Cameran is usually out playing beach volleyball or bass guitar.

Stefano Cestellos-Blanco is a Ph.D. student in Materials Science & Engineering in the Yang Group under the direction of Professor Peidong Yang at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University in 2016. His research interests lie at the intersection of inorganic materials and molecular biology. He envisions a future in which nanoengineered materials work in cooperation with the natural world. Stefano is investigating biohybrid catalytic systems for the fixation and utilization of CO2 and N2 in the MMFD division of CUBES. 
 

Skyler Chan is studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley, and he has wanted to become an astronaut since he was 3. In high school, he learned how to fly gliders, and was involved in various student-led space organizations. One of his goals is to make humanity an interplanetary species within our lifetime, and he joined CUBES to advance this mission. Currently, he builds in the Systems Design and Integration Division of CUBES. He is interested in exploring sustainable design on Mars, such as, how to build the first self-sufficient Martian cities. To Skyler, the idea that the choices we make designing the first Martian habitats today will have an impact on the future of humanity never gets old. In his free time, he can be found flying drones, PR-ing at the gym, and filming videos with friends.

Adam is from Elk Grove, CA, but was born in San Francisco and is well-accustomed to life in the Bay Area. He became interested in engineering when he was very little, building Lego sets and working on home construction projects with his uncle. Not knowing much about bioengineering coming into university, Adam tried learning about different disciplines alongside his initial classes and prioritized gaining skills over hyper-focusing on curriculum, which is where his passion for software engineering developed. His goal is to become a software engineer at a biotech company, so that he can use his programming skills and knowledge of biological systems in tandem to make software and tools that can help the next generation of scientists manipulate and visualize experiments in a more concise and efficient way. Outside of engineering, he loves making art (painting and drawing with any medium he can get his hands on), watching k-dramas and anime, cooking with his friends, and hiking. After graduation, he hopes to travel to places like South Korea and France to learn more about other cuisines and cultures. Adam believes that we all owe it to ourselves to try as many things as possible, so we can find out what we like and don't like to do, and of course where we are exceptional and what needs improvement.

Zain earned a BA in Planetary Science from UC Berkeley. He developed an interest in spaceflight at a young age watching launches at Cape Canaveral. Even as a child he was interested in sustaining human life in space. He hopes to live to see the day when humanity has a permanent Mars colony. On top of his interest in space, Zain has an interest in medicine and hopes to eventually be a physician-scientist. He discovered his interest in medicine after taking biochemistry classes, where he became fascinated by the interconnected chemistry of the human body. In the future, Zain plans to attend medical school and apply in depth knowledge of human biology to space colonization efforts. He joined CUBES just after graduating from UC Berkeley in May 2022. At CUBES, he helps define states for bioastronautics software under Aaron Berliner. In his free time, Zain likes to make music on his guitar and piano, hike, and volunteer with the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative.

Wesley Chuang is a 1st year Ph.D. student in Chemistry at the University of California Berkeley in Professor Yang's Group. He received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2017 and M.S. degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from University of California Berkeley in 2019. His research interest is focused on the CO2 fixation via bio-hybrid system in the MMFD division of CUBES.

Doug Clark is the Gilbert Newton Lewis Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Dean of the College of Chemistry of the University of California Berkeley.

Dr. Clark’s research interests are in biochemical engineering and biocatalysts. His research is in the field of biochemical engineering, with particular emphasis on enzyme technology, biomaterials, and bioenergy. Current projects include the structural characterization and activation of enzymes in non-aqueous media, the development of metabolic biochips for high-throughput catalysis and bioactivity screening, protein design and assembly for the development of advanced biomaterials, and enhanced conversion of lignocellulosic feedstocks to biofuels.
 

Dr. Coleman-Derr received his graduate education at the University of California at Berkeley in the lab of Dr. Daniel Zilberman in the Plant and Microbial Biology Department, studying mechanisms of epigenetic regulation of transcription in the model plant Arabidopsis. He then completed a post-doctoral research position at the Joint Genome Institute in the group of Dr. Susannah Tringe studying the microbial ecology of the root systems of desert succulents; in this role he also served as bioinformatic support on multiple JGI collaborative metagenomic research efforts involving analysis of 16S rRNA tag data from a variety of environmental and host-associated samples. Dr. Coleman-Derr now leads a research team for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, where he aims to improve our understanding of the effect of abiotic stress on the plant microbiome, and to help identify plant growth promoting microbes capable of alleviating drought stress in their plant hosts. Current research involves several projects related to drought stress response in Sorghum bicolor (sorghum), including investigations into the changes in rhizosphere community composition under drought stress, a genome wide association study to reveal host loci controlled by drought tolerance-inducing root endophytes, and a screen of a collection of cereal endophytes for the ability to confer drought tolerance in sorghum. Dr. Coleman-Derr was awarded the USDA’s Scientist of the Year Award in 2017 for his contributions in this area.
 

Daphne is an undergraduate student at Purdue University studying Engineering Technology Education with minors in Computer Information Technology, Global Studies, Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, and Design & Innovation. She has previously been involved with the HHMI SEA-PHAGES project at Purdue University discovering and characterizing novel bacteriophages. Additionally, she has previously written and edited for a variety of science communication publications.

Within CUBES, she is working with Kyle Sanders on the Numerical Modeling team as a SULI intern, where she is using Julia to analyze relationships within a microbial ecosystem for implantation into the rhizosphere of O. sativa.

Skyler Friedline received his BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Santa Barbara in 2016. He is new to the fields of synthetic biology and microbial engineering but is motivated to learn quickly and make an impact. He began working as a research associate and lab manager in Adam Arkin's UC Berkeley Lab in 2019. He is interested in the development of microbes enabling closed loop living in space and on earth.

Avery is a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, currently working towards a double major in Economics and Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in developmental genetics. She is interested in how the intersection of her two academic disciplines come together to further the research behind space exploration. In CUBES, Avery is working towards optimizing an elemental balance in a martian biomanufacturing system. Previously, Avery worked at the University of Michigan on research relating to metabolic control in the immune system and the development of new drugs for the treatment of autoimmunity and cancer.

In the future, Avery would like to pursue a career in the biotechnology industry.

Davian is a second year Berkeley undergrad studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In CUBES, he is working on the interface for space resource modeling software. Davian is also investigating phages in the gut microbiome as part of ENIGMA, and makes vector graphics.

Brendan, originally from Austin, TX, is a second-year chemical engineering major with a concentration in biotechnology. His research interest lies in the intersection of chemical engineering and synthetic biology. As a part of CUBES, Brendan is currently working with postdoctoral scholar Jacob Hilzinger to genetically engineer cyanobacteria to produce useful biomass in both Earth-based and Mars-based economies.

Farrah is a second year undergraduate student studying Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. In the past, she did computational biology research at UCSD working on genome-scale metabolic modeling. She joined CUBES in late Fall of 2021 working under Aaron Berliner. Currently, Farrah is working with Davian to create a crew-member model that simulates how crew members consume and waste resources during space travel and extravehicular activity.

Dania Khan is a fourth year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying chemical engineering. In CUBES, her work involves the simulation of hybrid bioinorganic reactors. Prior to transferring to Berkeley, she was a student at Foothill Community College and worked on research related to asphaltene aggregation at oil/water interfaces, as a part of the Fuller Group at Stanford.

Ji Min Kim is a 1st year Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California Berkeley in the Yang Group. She received her B.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Hanyang University in 2016 and M.S. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Seoul National University in 2018. Her research interest is focused on the CO2 fixation via a semiconductor nanowire-bacteria hybrid system in the MMFD division of CUBES. The system utilizing light capturing high surface area nanowire array and acetogenic anaerobes enables the photoelectrochemical acetic acid production with long-term stability.

Anderson Lee is a third-year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley studying Bioengineering with a focus on Synthetic and Computational Biology. He is currently optimizing the production of biopharmaceuticals to be utilized during space travel. In previous companies, he has developed an ELISA procedure to determine the concentration of a tumor-detecting drug in biological samples and enhanced a mobile, quick diagnostic machine that scans for viruses. Previous to the Arkin Lab, he worked in Mohammed Mofrad's Cell and Biomechanics Laboratory at UC Berkeley where he used neural networks with backpropagation to predict a virus' host based on the genome of the virus.

In the future, he sees himself using synthetic biology to conquer problems inherent to the nature of space travel. He believes that technology already present in nature and perfected with evolution can be the key to send humans to other planets.

Elizabeth (Libby) Lineberry is a Chemistry Ph.D. student in the Yang Lab at the University of California, Berkeley, where she works on photosynthetic biohybrids. She received her B.S. in chemistry from Bethany College in 2021. Libby’s research interests include photoelectrochemistry, microbiology, and the combination of these fields to lead to a highly selective artificial photosynthesis system.

George earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a M.S. in "Process, Simulation, Optimization, and Control" from the University of Patras (Greece) in 2016 and 2018, respectively. While there, he was a member of the “Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Rheology” where his research focused on the rheology and numerical simulation of flows involving complex yield-stress fluids. He is now pursuing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at University of California, Berkeley, working in the “Process Systems and Control Laboratory”. His current research interests lie in learning-based optimal control of complex systems that intrinsically contain uncertainties. As a member of CUBES, he will be part of the SDID, focusing on systems engineering, process modelling, dynamic optimization and control. His motivation for studying Chemical Engineering was his particular interest in mathematics as a high-school student, as well as his enthusiasm in applying scientific principles towards solving real-world problems.

Ali Mesbah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Mesbah's research interests are in optimization-based systems analysis, fault diagnosis, and predictive control of uncertain and stochastic systems.

Before joining UC Berkeley, Dr. Mesbah was a senior postdoctoral associate at MIT. He holds a Ph.D. degree in systems and control from Delft University of Technology. Dr. Mesbah is a senior member of the IEEE and AIChE. He was awarded the AIChE's 35 Under 35 Award in 2017 for his contributions in the area of systems and process control.

Mia Mirkovic is a second-year undergraduate student in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences department at the University of California, Berkeley pursuing mixed-signal processing and circuit design. Her interests include systems modeling and control, imaging, representation theory, modern music technology and history, and radio.

She works with Aaron Berliner on the development of Crucible, an open-source, 3D-printable chamber for space synthetic biology experiments, and mathematical models for Martian in-situ resource utilization for life support, power, and an integrated, multi-function, multi-organism bio-manufacturing system to produce fuel, food, and materials. These models will likely underlie a software package for accelerating mission design and simulation. 
 

Kim is a second-year undergraduate student studying Bioengineering. She is interested in the applications of engineering and science in space exploration. In CUBES, she will be working on exploring species of cyanobacteria and developing a pan-genome.

Will is an undergrad at UC Berkeley studying molecular biology and math. He is captivated by the potential of synthetic biology and the application of modern methods of engineering to biology whether in microbes, mammalian cells, or multi-organism communities. In CUBES, Will models and designs microbial communities for agricultural enhancement. Previously, he has worked on metabolic engineering for the production of biofuels and commodity chemicals, directed evolution for the bioremediative degradation of plastic, and microRNA circuits and protein engineering for immunotherapy.

Yuexiao Shen joined Prof. Peidong Yang’s group at UC Berkeley as a postdoc in October, 2017. He finished his Ph.D. from the department of Chemical Engineering at Penn State in 2016. During his Ph.D., he worked on several projects in the interdisciplinary areas of chemical engineering, biology, chemistry and material science. He was focused on developing bioinspired membranes using membrane proteins that mimic the rapid and selective transport as seen in biological membranes. He extended to explore the potential of mimicking biological channels and lipids using supramolecular chemistry and investigating them using biophysical techniques. Yuexiao finished his bachelor and master degrees at Tsinghua University, where he studied environmental engineering. His academic accomplishments include several high-quality publications in journals such as PNAS, JACS and Journal of Membrane Science (JMS), and have been recognized by nationwide academic organizations with a number of very competitive awards. Yuexiao has already been offered an assistant professor position at Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering at Texas Tech.
 

Fengzhe is an undergraduate at Beijing Jiaotong University and now an exchange student at UC Berkeley studying computer science. He is interested in data mining, deep learning and interdisciplinary tasks. In CUBES, Fengzhe mainly works on modeling deep learning methods in dynamic systems. Previously, he worked in a computer science lab at Peking University on an information retrieval and recommender system.

Divya is a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley majoring in Bioengineering. She screens Spirulina mutants as they are generated and help in the development of better transformation methods for this organism in FPSD.

Jeffrey Skerker's research focuses on engineering complex traits in microbes using a systems metabolic engineering approach. He has worked on a variety of non-model bacteria and fungi and is particularly interested in developing methods for high-throughput genetics and genome engineering. In the CUBES program, he will help develop Arthrospira platensis (commonly known as Spirulina) as a source of nutrition and medicine. In the initial phase of this project, a basic genetic toolbox will be developed for this organism and then as proof of concept, a two-gene pathway for the production of acetaminophen (i.e. Tylenol) will be integrated into the genome. Although Spirulina is widely grown at the industrial scale as a nutritional supplement, very little strain genetic engineering has been reported in the scientific literature. 

Alex Starr is a second year undergraduate at University of California Berkeley with interests in synthetic and molecular biology, applied math, artificial intelligence, and the utilization of biology in space exploration.  As part of CUBES, he is working to develop a system for the detoxification and enrichment of Martian regolith using the perchlorate reducing bacterium Azospira suillum PS.  Prior to joining CUBES, Alex studied expression of genes related to root growth in sunflowers and worked on understanding the genetic basis of drought-tolerant root phenotypes in maize.
 

Alex graduated from Georgetown University in 2014 with a B.S. in Environmental Biology with a focus in community ecology. Following graduation, he moved to the University of Kentucky to study how bacterial symbionts mediate insect ecology in agricultural systems.

Now, pursuing a PhD in Plant Biology at UC Berkeley, Alex studies plant-associated microbial communities from shoots to roots. In cassava, a tropical root crop, Alex  investigates the phyllosphere ecology and carryover of the microbiome between planting seasons. For CUBES, he aims to construct synthetic bacterial communities via host-mediated selection to better grow rice in space. As both a Trekkie and wannabe farmer, Alex is very excited to be a member of FPSD.

Currently Su is a postdoctoral researcher working with Professor Peidong Yang at University of California, Berkeley. His current research focuses on the bioelectrochemical CO2 fixation and N2 reduction. He received his Ph.D. degree in Chemistry on September 2017, with Professor Peidong Yang at University of California, Berkeley. During the Ph.D., he was awarded the MRS Graduate Student Award and the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-financed Student Abroad. Su obtained his B.S. degree in Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China on 2012, before joining the Peidong Yang Group as a graduate student.

Tom is a Visiting Scholar from the Netherlands completing the research for his master thesis in the Peidong Yang Group. His work is focused on the microbial synthesis of ammonia from dinitrogen gas. Ammonia is essential for a successful manned mission to Mars. However, it is not feasible to achieve the current production method, the Haber-Bosch process, on Mars due to limited resources. Therefore, the search for an alternative way to produce ammonia is paramount to the success of this mission. The reduction of dinitrogen gas with a solar-driven potential and bacteria as catalysts is a very promising way of achieving this.

Nishi is a fourth year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley with a major in chemical engineering and a minor in data science. In CUBES, she is working on using data-driven methods to explore the integrated design and control of biomanufacturing systems relevant to carbon fixation and polymer production. Some activities she likes to do are baking, dance fitness and watching television.

Gretchen Vengerova is a third year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, studying bioengineering. She is interested in applying bioengineering concepts to conservation efforts. Previously she worked at CSU San Marcos, studying the transcriptomics of algae. In CUBES, she is working to study potential loop closure processes in a Martian biomanufactory. In the future, she hopes to use loop closures concepts to decrease terrestrial waste and pollution, but she would also enjoy more opportunities to merge bioengineering with space.

Nicholas Watanabe is a Ph. D. student in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, where he joined the Yang lab in 2021. He received his B.S. in chemistry from Lehigh University in 2018. Nicholas’ research interests lie in using light to power reactions and processes, such as photo(electro)chemical fixation of carbon dioxide by acetogens. To this day, he still finds microbes and all that they can do fascinating, whether it is saving the world one CO2 molecule at a time or placing the finishing touches on tea, coffee, or dry-aged meats.

Kelly Wetmore is a graduate student in Adam Arkin’s lab at UC Berkeley with over 15 years of experience in microbial physiology and genetics before and during graduate school. She has been instrumental in developing a number of next-generation tools and protocols for microbial functional genomics. Kelly is supporting the CUBES team in applying these tools to optimize the core biomanufacturing microbes in physiologically more-or-less relevant conditions. She is also part of a large DOE environmental systems biology project in which she is developing a new technology to query high-throughput genetic interactions.

Shunsuke Yamazaki graduated Tokyo University, Japan, where he investigated the mechanism of bacterial lipoprotein transport in the laboratory of Hajime Tokuda. He is then hired Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and joined Research Institute for Bioscience Products and Fine Chemicals, Kawasaki, Japan, where he worked on breeding strains and developing several processes for production of amino-acids and pharmaceuticals. He was currently in charge of investigation of pharmaceutical production using enzymatic conversion process. He became a visiting scholar researcher of Adam Arkin lab at UC Berkeley, CA, USA.

Peidong Yang received a B.S. in chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China in 1993 and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1997. He did postdoctoral research at University of California, Santa Barbara before joining the faculty in the department of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1999. He is currently professor in the Department of Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering; and a senior faculty scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is S. K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Chair Professor in Energy. He was recently elected as MRS Fellow, and as a member of the National Academy of Sciences and American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He is the director for California Research Alliance by BASF, and co-director for the Kavli Energy Nanoscience Institute. He is one of the founding members for DOE Energy Innovation Hub: Joint Center for Artificial Photosysnthesis (JCAP) and served as its north director for the first two years.  Yang is an associate editor for Journal of the American Chemical Society and also serves on editorial advisory board for number of journals including Acct. Chem. Res. and Nano. Lett. He was the founder of the Nanoscience subdivision within American Chemical Society. He has co-founded two startups Nanosys Inc. and Alphabet Energy Inc. He is the recipient of MacArthur Fellowship, E. O. Lawrence Award, ACS Nanoscience Award, MRS Medal, Baekeland Medal, Alfred P. Sloan research fellowship, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Young Investigator Award, National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award, MRS Young Investigator Award, Julius Springer Prize for Applied Physics, ACS Pure Chemistry Award, and Alan T. Waterman Award. According to ISI (2002-2012, Thomas Reuters), Yang is ranked as No. 1 in materials science and No. 10 in chemistry based on average citation per paper. His main research interest is in the area of one dimensional semiconductor nanostructures and their applications in nanophotonics and energy conversion
 

Spencer is a senior at UC Berkeley studying MCB and astrophysics. He joined CUBES in October 2021 and is currently working with Aaron Berliner on an examination of habitability in black hole accretion disks. Outside of astrobiology, Spencer is interested in music and education, and helps direct an organization providing free college admissions prep to communities in the Bay Area. In his spare time, Spencer likes to read, play piano, and game.

Cindy is a second-year undergrad at UC Berkeley studying computer science. She is interested in applying CS skills to space research. At CUBES, she is working on building object oriented models to simulate and optimize a biologically-driven Mars exploration mission. Outside of academics, she practices Wushu (Chinese martial arts) and goes on spontaneous adventures to the beach.

Hao Zhang is a 4th year graduate student in Chemistry at University of California Berkeley with Prof. Peidong Yang. She received her B.S in Material Science and Engineering from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 2014.
Her research is focused on the CO2 fixation via photosynthetic biohybrid systems(PBSs) in the MMFD division. The non-photosynthetic bacteria could be photosensitized by using the semiconductors to reduce the CO2 into multicarbon products, such as acetate, ethanol, and other valuable products. Such PBSs inherits both the high light-harvesting efficiency and the superior catalytic performance from solid-state semiconductors and whole-cell microorganisms, respectively.