David Wendell
Encyclopedia
Background
David Wendell studied at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Wendell’s field of study is nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
and his PhD focused on biomedical engineering
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
.
In 2009, Wendell and a team of scientists from the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
undertook a research program that resulted in the successful development of an artificial pore. In September 2009, their subsequent paper, “Translocation of double-stranded DNA through membrane-adapted phi29 motor protein nanopores,” appeared in the Journal Nature Nanotechnology
Nature Nanotechnology
Nature Nanotechnology is a monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal, which is published by Nature Publishing Group. It was established in October 2006. The editor in chief is Peter Rodgers, a full-time professional editor who is employed by Nature Publishing Group...
. The engineered channel has potential applications in nano-sensing, gene delivery
Gene delivery
Gene delivery is the process of introducing foreign DNA into host cells. Gene delivery is, for example, one of the steps necessary for gene therapy and the genetic modification of crops. There are many different methods of gene delivery developed for a various types of cells and tissues, from...
, drug loading and DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....
.
The researchers identified ways to take energy from the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, and carbon from the air to create new forms of bio-fuels. Their report, "Artificial Photosynthesis in Ranaspumin-2 Based Foam" was published in the journal Nano Letters
Nano Letters
Nano Letters is a monthly, peer-reviewed, scientific journal, published by the American Chemical Society. It was first published in January 2001. The two Co-Editors-in-Chief are A. Paul Alivisatos and Charles M. Lieber...
, in March 2010.
Artificial Photosynthetic Foam
In 2010, David Wendell, as Research Assistant Professor, worked alongside student Jacob Todd and College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Carlo Montemagno co-authored the paper, based on research in Montemagno's lab in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Their work focused on making a new artificial photosynthetic material which uses plant, bacterial, frog and fungal enzymes, trapped within a foam housing, to produce sugars from sunlight and carbon dioxide, known as Artificial Photosynthetic Foam.In August 2010, David Wendell, Jacob Todd and Carlo Montemagno were announced as one of six finalists for The Earth Awards
The Earth Awards
The Earth Awards is an aspirational platform for consumer-driven ideas that challenge designers and innovators to build a new economy. It is an annual competition since 2007, aiming to "transform visionary ideas into market-ready solutions by offering finalists the unique opportunities to pitch...
- an annual competition for design and innovation with the potential to improve quality of life. The Grand Prize winner of The Earth Awards
The Earth Awards
The Earth Awards is an aspirational platform for consumer-driven ideas that challenge designers and innovators to build a new economy. It is an annual competition since 2007, aiming to "transform visionary ideas into market-ready solutions by offering finalists the unique opportunities to pitch...
2010 will be announced in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in September 2010. On September 16, 2010, the Artificial Photosynthetic Foam was awarded the 50,000 USD Grand Prize.