VIMS

Algae in our gas tanks?

This summer I am working with Dr. Elizabeth Canuel looking at the biochemical composition of algae. I am doing this so that we can determine if algae is a good potential source for biofuel. Currently Exxon is investing a large sum of money to look at the same idea... what I am doing is the start of a new direction in the biofuel market, hopefully.

All in all this week has been a great one for me! I finished up my extractions on my algae samples, i.e., I got everything I wanted out of them and now they are ready to be analyzed. I am also all done with my lab work, tear, and am ready to move on to bigger and better, the writing of my final paper. After 8 weeks of lab work and scraping algae, the summer is coming to a close.

Here are a few important things I learned this summer that I want to share:

  1. Algae smells worse than it looks
  2. Pipetting is more fun when another person is there
  3. There is an unending supply of glassware to be cleaned
  4. Instruments are rarely happy and willing to work when you want them to.