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Idaho National Laboratory

Photo: David N. Thompson
David N. Thompson
Biological Systems Department
Idaho National Laboratory
P. O. Box 1625
Idaho Falls, ID 83415-2203
USA
Phone: (208) 526-3977
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Current Projects

  • Principal Investigator for a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with an industry partner to develop thermoacidophilic enzymes for bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fuels and chemicals. The project is industry-funded and is an outgrowth of INL's discovery and development of Xtreme Xylanase, an extreme thermoacidophilic xylanase enzyme that was awarded a 2006 R&D 100 Award by R&D Magazine as one of the 100 most important technological innovations of 2005.
  • Principal Investigator for a Cooperative Research & Development Agreement with Washington State University, the University of California-Davis, Glatfelter Corp., Strandex Inc. and ECO:LOGIC Inc. to develop a system to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) in wastewater treatment systems utilizing pulp and paper mill effluents as the sole carbon source. The PHAs are being tested in composite formulations for the production of structural engineered wood composites. The project is funded jointly by the Industrial Technologies Program at DOE and by the industry partners.
  • Principal Investigator for a DOE Biomass Program-funded project that is investigating the potential use of endoxylanase enzymes in agricultural biomass storage and queuing systems. The goal of the project is to assess potential benefits of limited degradation of the hemicellulose fraction during storage on the handling characteristics and costs, and on downstream processing in a biorefinery.
  • Co-Investigator with William Apel, Jeff Lacey, Brady Lee, Deborah Newby, David Reed, and Vicki Thompson of the Biological Systems Department at the INL utilizing a systems biology approach to understanding lignocellulose derived carbon metabolism by a thermoacidophile. This is an internally-funded INL Research and Development project.
  • Co-Investigator with Fred Stewart, Mason Harrup, and Mike Benson of the Interfacial Chemistry Department at the INL to develop catalytic membrane-based chemical separations to enable biorefinery systems. This is an internally-funded INL Research and Development project.

Research Interests

  • Biological transformations of renewable feedstocks to value-added products.
  • Biological methods for upgrading renewable feedstock quality.
  • Application of biological conversions to the development of sustainable energy systems.
  • Extremophilic enzymes and organisms.
  • Renewable energy.

Education

  • B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 1987, Purdue University.
  • M.S. in Chemical Engineering, 1989, Michigan State University. Thesis: "The effects of physical and chemical constraints on the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials."
  • Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering, 1994, Michigan State University. Funded by the NSF Center for Microbial Ecology. Dissertation: "In vitro depolymerization of natural insoluble lignin in aqueous media by the extracellular peroxidases of Phanerochaete chrysosporium."
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1995-97, administered by Associated Western Universities, Inc., and served at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Developed bioremediation technologies for acid rock drainage (ARD), volatile organic contaminants, and selenium. Designed and tested a bacterial cellulose production method and system utilizing Acetobacter xylinum.

Patents

  • U.S. Patent No. 5,772,887 - Modular bioreactor for the remediation of liquid streams and methods for using the same (with Karl S. Noah and Raymond L. Sayer)
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,579,821 - Method for reactivating solid catalysts used in alkylation reactions (with Daniel M. Ginosar, Kyle Coates, David J. Zalewski, and Robert V. Fox)
  • U.S. Patent No. 6,729,951 - Method and apparatus for selectively harvesting multiple components of a plant material (with Reed L. Hoskinson, J. Richard Hess, Kevin L. Kenney, John M. Svoboda, Thomas D. Foust, and William T. McKean)

Selected Publications

  • W.A. Smith, D.N. Thompson, V.S. Thompson, C.W. Radtke, "Assessment of xylanase activity in dry storage as a potential method of reducing feedstock cost." In preparation for Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol.
  • G.R. Mockos, W.A. Smith, F.J. Loge, D.N. Thompson, "Sustainable production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from foul condensates by pulp mill waste activated sludge." In preparation for Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol.
  • G.R. Mockos, W.A. Smith, F.J. Loge, D.N. Thompson, "Effect of carbon to nitrogen ratio on polyhydroxyalkanoate production by pulp mill activated sludge." In preparation for Biotechnol. Bioeng.

Additional Material

  • Professional Contributions
    • Advisory Board, Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI), The University of Maine, 2007 - present.
    • Technical Advisory Committee, Pacific Regional Biomass Energy Program, USDOE, 2001 - 2003.
    • National Program Committee, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), 2002 - present.
    • Organizing Committee, annual Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals, USDOE, 2002 - present.
    • Area 15c Program Chair, Food, Pharmaceuticals & Bioengineering Division, AIChE, 2003 - 2005.
    • Program Chair, Sustainable Biorefineries Topical Conference, AIChE, 2006-2008.
    • Area 23b Program Chair, Sustainable Engineering Forum, AIChE, 2008 - present
    • Organized and chaired 23 technical sessions at international conferences and symposia since 2002.