Michigan Tech Biotech Expert Shares Vision with U.S. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill

Michigan Technological University has recently had an honor of being among the small number of institutions that were invited to Capitol Hill to form the future direction of biotechnology in the United States. At the core of this significant event was Dr. Stephen Techtmann, a famous associate professor of biology at Michigan Tech and associate director of the Great Lakes Research Center.

In the morning of June 5, Techtmann was one of two individuals who stood at a joint hearing held by the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Energy. The hearing, titled “Pursuing the Golden Age of Innovation: Strategic Priorities in Biotechnology,” united the top brains in the industry to assist policymakers in understanding both the bright perspectives and the urgent problems the U.S. interdisciplinary field of bioscience is facing.

Surely, Techtmann’s speech was all about his lab’s revolutionary research work as well as the real breakthroughs in the field of biotech at Michigan Tech. He stressed that basic research is the first step on the way to a new wave of biotech innovation. His lab’s activities such as converting plastic waste into valuable resources and recovering the critical minerals from mine waste that they documented demonstrated that Michigan Tech’s contribution to the global problems solution is already underway.

Among those who attended the hearing alongside Techtmann was another group of experts, consisting of Drew Endy from Stanford University, Deb Gracio from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Kelvin Lee from the University of Delaware. These four people showed how biotechnology when provided adequate support can fundamentally change the healthcare, agricultural, manufacturing, and even national defense industries.

The interviews drew attention to the fact that the competition in the biotech industry had become global. Even though the U.S. has been for an extended period a forerunner when it comes to biotech, other countries are now in the race with them since they have put massive amounts of national resources into the field of biotechnology. The committee’s target was to find the key priorities that would enable the U.S. to remain at the global innovation forefront.

Techtmann’s words indicated that the “Golden Age of Innovation” is doable with the help of biology, computing, and data science. The result of such a futuristic vision can be seen at Michigan Tech, where in addition to other things, anything that is possible in sustainable, high-impact biotechnology is researched.

It is seldom that a university study points out the direction of national policy, yet the exposure of Michigan Tech in Washington, D.C. acts as a strong evidence in favor of the integral role of academic research in the process of building a better, smarter future.