The Student Leadership Council (SLC) had its third industry visit in coincidence with the Fall Retreat at MIT on September 14, 2009. Kevin Madden of Microbia (http://www.microbia.com) generously offered to host us for a company tour and presentation/Q&A.  Microbia is a leader in industrial biotechnology to create renewable sources of products that either displace petrochemical-derived chemicals, or create novel biomaterials with commercially desirable properties. The past company visits have been an excellent opportunity for all of us who have our heads in academia to see what it's like to be part of the industry working environment, to learn about what types of research they are working on, and to hear insider stories of how various companies evolve from an idea in the lab to a major R&D hub. Julius Lucks (jblucks@berkeley.edu) is leading the trip.

The Microbia visit follows a trip to LS9, (http://www.ls9.com) an industrial biotechnology company based in South San Francisco developing patent-pending biofuels made with the power of synthetic biology. LS9 continues to have openings for graduate and undergraduates interns, and is particularly interested in candidates who have a background in synthetic biology. If you are interested, please contact Kate Spohr at kspohr@berkeley.edu