Dr. Barry Bruce
Barry Bruce is presently a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Bruce is a co-founder and associate director of the Sustainable Energy and Education Research Center (SEERC) and a co-principal investigator in the Sustainable Technology through Advanced Interdisciplinary Research (STAIR) program, one of the two NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) programs at UT Knoxville. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In 2007, Forbes magazine selected him as one of the “Ten People that May Change the World.”
His lab works concurrently on two aspects of membrane biochemistry related to photosynthesis: A) Chloroplast protein import and B) Applied photosynthesis.
A) Chloroplast protein import: He has had a long-standing interest in on the biogenesis of organelles and in particular the family of organelles specific to plants, known as plastids. This family includes a divers set of organelles that perform an extensive set of biochemical reactions including the process of photosynthesis, which takes place in chloroplasts. This diverse metabolic activity is the enabled via the import of several thousand nuclear encoded proteins from the cytosol. This targeting and import process is critical to many if not most of the key metabolic processes associated with plants. WE are specifically interested in how chloroplast destined precursors are targeted, recognized and translocated into the plastid via two translocons, TIC and TOC, that are found in the chloroplast inner and outer envelope membranes, respectively. This process is mediated by selective recognition of the transit peptide by one or more of the TOC components. We are working to explain the biochemistry and biophysics of how these proteins are translocated across the plastid membranes.
B) Applied photosynthesis: A second area of research is how he may exploit the ultra efficient process of solar energy capture and conversion of natural photosynthesis into hybrid devices that will provide either direct photovoltaic electricity or be stored in some form of fuel such as molecular hydrogen. To date he has helped design build and characterize novel: 1) luminescent solar concentrators, 2) hybrid Bio-organic thin-film photovoltaic devices, 3) hydride bio-inorganic photovoltaic devices, and 4) bio-Pt hydrogen evolving nanoparticles.
Education and Degrees
1993 Postdoc., NSF Fellowship in Plant Biology, University of Wisconsin, Dr. Ken Keegstra
1990 Ph.D., Molecular Plant Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Richard Malkin
1982 M.S., Biochemistry/Biophysics, University of Massachusetts, Dr. Bob Blankenship
1980 B.A., Chem./Biol. Double, University of California, Santa Cruz, Dr. Harry Beevers
Professional Experience
Current:
2007- Associate Director, Sustainable Energy & Education Research Center, UT Knoxville
2001- Member, Center of Excellence in Environmental Biotechnology, UT Knoxville
2000- Associate Prof., Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology Dept., UT Knoxville
2000- Faculty, Genome Science & Technology Graduate Program, UT Knoxville/ORNL
1994- Faculty Member, Plant Physiology & Genetics Graduate Program, UT Knoxville
Past:
2007 Professor, Biochemistry, Cellular & Molecular Biology Department, UT Knoxville
2007 Adjunct Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UT Knoxville
2007 Adjunct Professor, Microbiology, UT Knoxville
2001-2005 Founding Member, Center of Excellence in Structural Biology, UT Knoxville
2001-2005 Founding Member, Center of Excellence in Food Safety, UT Knoxville
Professional Recognitions and Awards
2010 Delegate and Panel Moderator, CleanEquityÒ Monaco 2010
2008 College of Arts & Sciences Convocation, Senior Faculty Research Achievement Award, UTK
2007 NSF “Grand Challenge” Participant, Biosensors Workshop, U.M. College Park
2007 Forbes Magazine, selected as one of the Ten People That May Change the World
2007 Finalist, EPA P3 Competition, National Mall, Washington DC
2007 ASPB Representative, CoFARM Congressional Visit, Capitol Hill, Washington DC
2007 Expert Witness, Dekalb Plant Genetics vs Syngeneta, St. Louis Fed. Circuit Court
2005-2006 Expert Witness, Monsanto vs Syngeneta, Wilmington Federal Circuit Court
2003 Expert Witness, Monsanto vs Bayer Crop Science, St. Louis Federal Circuit Court
1996-2002 SARIF Award (4), Faculty Senate Research Council & Office of Research, U.T.K.
1997-2000 Science Alliance Research Excellence Award (3x), ORNL/U.T. Knoxville
1996-2001 EPPE Award (5), Faculty Senate Research Council & Office of Research, U.T.K.
1994 Professional Development Award, U.T. Knoxville
1994 Science Alliance Research Initiative Award, U.T. Knoxville
1993 Directors Fellowship, Los Alamos National Laboratory (not accepted)