West Point Bioengineers Brief at the Pentagon

Dr. J. Kenneth Wickiser, LTC Alvarez, and Cadets Barthel, Matsas, and Yu (’17) briefed Dr. Melissa Flagg, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research), and her team at OSD on Synthetic Biology research projects and the development of a West Point Bioengineering Core Engineering Sequence at the Pentagon. The cadets are engaging in DTRA-funded Synthetic Biology science and engineering projects within the iGEM (international Genetically Enhanced Machine) student competition. The iGEM competition has its origins at MIT but has evolved into an annual event where several thousand undergraduates from over 40 countries compete for prizes in the fields of genetic engineering and synthetic biology. The cadets spoke about engineering microbes to serve as Carbon Monoxide sensors, to produce wound-healing natural products for the warfighter, and to engineer an electronic nose using bio-inspired materials from animals with superior olfactory capabilities. The attendees, including many representatives from OSD, DTRA, and MIT's Lincoln Lab applauded the cadets for their accomplishments in their research, coursework, and military development opportunities and offered their support of expanding the bioengineering opportunities at West Point.