Thursday, February 11, 2010

Lunchbox Laboratory

Lunchbox Laboratory is a collaboration between Futurefarmers + the Biological Sciences Team at the National Renewable Energy Lab. Currently scientists are using algae to produce hydrogen and have discovered that it is a viable renewable energy form, in thatalgae is everywhere and it could also be used to produce biodeisel. One of the main hurdles for the research is to find the most productive strains of algae. Since there are potentially millions of strains, this task is monumental. Lunchbox Laboratory is a prototype for a potentially distributed research tool that would be sent to schools such that young scientists could do primary screening of a collection of algae strains. This would serve as a preliminary screening such that non productive strains would be ruled out and only productive strains would reach labs. This project enables students to participate in big science as well as network with other students nationwide to compare notes. http://futurefarmers.com/projects/lunchboxlaboratory

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