I just returned from attending the 8th International Biotechnology Conference in Sanur, Bali. It was put together and hosted by the Plant Biology department at my university (Rutgers), my official Indonesian counterparts (Universitas Nasional in Jakarta), and the national office of scientific research in Indonesia (BRIN). It was awesome to see the research methods and technology that Rutgers faculty and students have developed. Dr. Ilya Raskin especially has done an incredible amount to make modern floristic surveying and screening for active compounds feasible for researchers around the world, and he and Dr. Vyacheslav Dushenkov of CUNY have helped many research teams around the world, especially in developing academic settings, launch new bioprospecting projects and floristic inventories. I was also very impressed by the practical research being conducted by Dr. James Simon (also of Rutger's Plant Biology department), who is taking a Borlaugian approach while also protecting plant diversity and turning into a tool for improving human wellbeing. On the last day Dr. Isabel Armas Gutierrez gave a full demonstration of the RAMES technology suite at the Bali Botanic Garden, Indonesia's largest botanical garden, which enables field testing for active compounds in any material (plant, fungi, animal, whatever). Here are some photos from the event: (Thank you Will, Eva, Isa, Hannah, Ibu Retno, & Pak Tatang for the photos!)
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