Thomas O. Baldwin - Böcker

The Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program has sponsored seven previous international symposia covering a wide variety of topics of interest to industrial and academic chemists. The eighth IUCCP symposium, held March 19-22, 1990, at Texas A&M University, represents a deviation from the former symposia, in that it is the first of a two-symposium series dedicated to the rapidly moving new field of industrial biochemistry that has beco~e known as biotechnology. Biotechnology is really not a new discipline, but rather is a term coined to describe the new and exciting commercial applications of biochemistry. The development of the field of biotechnology is a direct result of recombinant DNA technology, which began in earnest about 15 years ago. Today, we can routinely do experiments that were inconceivable in the early 1970's. Only comparatively simple technology available even in small laboratories is required to synthesize a gene and from it, to produce vast amounts of biological materials of enormous commercial value. These technical developments and others have stimulated increased activities in the field of enzyme biotechnology, using enzymes to catalyze "unnatural" reactions to produce complex molecules with stereochemical precision. It is true today, we can readily produce DNA fragments that will encode any amino acid sequence that we might desire, but at this point, our foundation of basic knowledge falls short. The dream of "designer enzymes" is still a fantasy, but the current wave of research activity and exciting new developments suggest that in the future the dream may become a reality.

The Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program (IUCCP) has sponsored eight previous international symposia covering a range of topics of interest to industrial and academic chemists. The ninth IUCCP Symposium, held March 18-21, 1991 at Texas A&M University was the second in a two part series focusing on Biotechnology. The title for this Symposium "Applications of Enzyme Biotechnology" was by design a rather all encompassing title, similar in some respects to the discipline. Biotechnology refers to the application of biochemistry for the development of a commercial product. Persons employed in or interested in biotechnology may be chemists, molecular biologists, biophysicists, or physicians. The breadth of biotech research projects requires close collaboration between scientists of a variety of backgrounds, prejudices, and interests. Biotechnology is a comparatively new discipline closely tied to new developments in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and medicine. The primary function of Texas A&M University is to educate students who will be appropriately trained to carry out the mission of biotechnology. The IUCCP Symposium serves as an important forum for fostering closer ties between academia and industry and exchanging ideas so important to this evolving area.

The Industry-University Cooperative Chemistry Program (IUCCP) has sponsored eight previous international symposia covering a range of topics of interest to industrial and academic chemists. The ninth IUCCP Symposium, held March 18-21, 1991 at Texas A&M University was the second in a two part series focusing on Biotechnology. The title for this Symposium "Applications of Enzyme Biotechnology" was by design a rather all encompassing title, similar in some respects to the discipline. Biotechnology refers to the application of biochemistry for the development of a commercial product. Persons employed in or interested in biotechnology may be chemists, molecular biologists, biophysicists, or physicians. The breadth of biotech research projects requires close collaboration between scientists of a variety of backgrounds, prejudices, and interests. Biotechnology is a comparatively new discipline closely tied to new developments in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and medicine. The primary function of Texas A&M University is to educate students who will be appropriately trained to carry out the mission of biotechnology. The IUCCP Symposium serves as an important forum for fostering closer ties between academia and industry and exchanging ideas so important to this evolving area.