Public Lecture by Professor Nam-Hai Chua, Rockefeller University.
While the prediction of a Malthusian catastrophe some 200 years ago never came true, the new demand for renewable energy has rekindled the old debate about competition between food and fuel and has led The Economist to coin the term “agflation” and to declare the end of cheap food. In this lecture, I will trace factors that drive the sudden growth of corn-based biofuels in the last two years and its consequential impact on crop production and food prices world-wide. I will discuss the challenges associated with the use of different types of plants to produce bioethanol and biodiesel and the opportunities to enhance productivity of biofuel plants with minimal pressure on food production systems using modern plant biotechnology.
Time: 2-3pm
Venue: Classroom 1, NTU School of Biological Sciences, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551
Website: NTU website with online registration, location map and more details on the speaker.
Contact: SBS-RSVP@ntu.edu.sg or 63162811
