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Course Description: This course covers three main areas of environmental uses of trees: Phytoremediation, the use of plants for removing environmental pollution; Biofuels produced from renewable resources; and carbon sequestration, the removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The students will learn about how plants remove and detoxify organic pollutants and sequester metal pollutants. They will learn the advantages and disadvantages of using phytoremediation, and how the process is being improved. One lecture will focus on metabolic engineering of plants, followed by lectures describing how this method and others can lead to increased degradation of pollutants. The bioenergy part of the course covers bioethanol, biomethanol, and biodiesel as alternative fuels. Lectures on the need for biofuels and on how current practices are being improved frame this part of the course. The final part of the course briefly covers how plants can be used to sequester carbon. The unit is preceded by a discussion on global warming. Overall, the course aims to provide students with an ability to think about pressing environmental issues and possible solutions with an optimistic attitude.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

Oct 1, 2209- Introduction to the course (Professor Sharon Doty); overview on Environmental Uses of Trees

Oct 6- Phytoremediation of organic chemicals (Prof. Doty)

Oct 8- Phytoremediation of inorganic chemicals (Prof. Doty)

Oct 13- Genetic engineering of trees (Prof. Doty)

Oct 15- Enhancing Phytoremediation (Prof. Doty)

Oct 20- Enhancing phytoremediation (continued)

Oct 22- Enhancing phytoremediation (continued)

Oct 27- Exam #1 on Phytoremediation

Oct 29- Bioenergy overview (Prof. Doty)

Nov 3- Biodiesel (Prof. Doty)

Nov 5- Biodiesel from algae (Prof. Ann Meschner)

Nov 10- Bioethanol (Prof. Doty)

Nov 12- Improving the efficiency of biofuel production

Nov 17- Improving the efficiency of biofuel production (cont.)

Nov 19 - Using beneficial plant microbes to improve the efficiency of biofuel production (Dr. Regina Redman)

Nov 24- Midterm Exam #2 on bioenergy (covers lectures from Oct29-Nov10)

Nov 26- Thanksgiving holiday

Dec 1- Global climate change; Photosynthesis and carbon sequestration (Prof. Doty)

Dec 3- Guest speaker: Prof. Joyce Cooper on Life Cycle Assessments

Dec 8- Plant responses to climate change (Prof. Soo-Hyung Kim)

Dec 10- Review of the course (Prof. Doty)

Final Exam (comprehensive) for 175 points



	College of Forest Resources ESRM325/CFR521, Autumn 2009 Forest Bioresources Instructor: Professor Sharon Doty Email: sldoty@u.washington.edu Office: Winkenwerder 205 Office Hours: by appointment Telephone: 206-616-6255 Meeting Times and Locations Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30-noon Announcements November 5 2009, 11:42 AM Final Exam Tip Please note that the Final Exam is comprehensive and worth nearly half the grade in the class. Be certain to get any class notes that you missed during the quarter. Use the links to papers to supplement your understanding. There will not be any "regrading" option for the final exam. November 5 2009, 11:38 AM Regrades Exam 1 regrading: You can submit your corrected answers by Tuesday Nov 10 for half-credit. November 2 2009, 3:46 PM Exam 1 Results CFR521 mean was 94; ESRM325 mean was 83 Some students misread questions, so I am giving everyone the opportunity to improve their score if they want. We will discuss it at the beginning of class on Nov 3rd.	Professor Doty's website Lecture Outline1 Lecture 2 Outline Lecture 3 Outline Lecture 4 Outline (G.E.) Lectures 5&6 Outline Lecture 7 Outline (endos) Lecture 8 notes Lecture 9 Notes MeschnerSeminar BioethanolLectureNotes ImprovingBioEnotes RedmanSeminar
Send mail to: sldoty@u.washington.edu Last modified: 11/19/2009 2:29 PM Course Syllabus Course Description: This course covers three main areas of environmental uses of trees: Phytoremediation, the use of plants for removing environmental pollution; Biofuels produced from renewable resources; and carbon sequestration, the removal of excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The students will learn about how plants remove and detoxify organic pollutants and sequester metal pollutants. They will learn the advantages and disadvantages of using phytoremediation, and how the process is being improved. One lecture will focus on metabolic engineering of plants, followed by lectures describing how this method and others can lead to increased degradation of pollutants. The bioenergy part of the course covers bioethanol, biomethanol, and biodiesel as alternative fuels. Lectures on the need for biofuels and on how current practices are being improved frame this part of the course. The final part of the course briefly covers how plants can be used to sequester carbon. The unit is preceded by a discussion on global warming. Overall, the course aims to provide students with an ability to think about pressing environmental issues and possible solutions with an optimistic attitude. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE: Oct 1, 2209- Introduction to the course (Professor Sharon Doty); overview on Environmental Uses of Trees Oct 6- Phytoremediation of organic chemicals (Prof. Doty) Oct 8- Phytoremediation of inorganic chemicals (Prof. Doty) Oct 13- Genetic engineering of trees (Prof. Doty) Oct 15- Enhancing Phytoremediation (Prof. Doty) Oct 20- Enhancing phytoremediation (continued) Oct 22- Enhancing phytoremediation (continued) Oct 27- Exam #1 on Phytoremediation Oct 29- Bioenergy overview (Prof. Doty) Nov 3- Biodiesel (Prof. Doty) Nov 5- Biodiesel from algae (Prof. Ann Meschner) Nov 10- Bioethanol (Prof. Doty) Nov 12- Improving the efficiency of biofuel production Nov 17- Improving the efficiency of biofuel production (cont.) Nov 19 - Using beneficial plant microbes to improve the efficiency of biofuel production (Dr. Regina Redman) Nov 24- Midterm Exam #2 on bioenergy (covers lectures from Oct29-Nov10) Nov 26- Thanksgiving holiday Dec 1- Global climate change; Photosynthesis and carbon sequestration (Prof. Doty) Dec 3- Guest speaker: Prof. Joyce Cooper on Life Cycle Assessments Dec 8- Plant responses to climate change (Prof. Soo-Hyung Kim) Dec 10- Review of the course (Prof. Doty) Final Exam (comprehensive) for 175 points