PROTECTING THE PLANET
MEET MR . ALGAE
How algae can revolutionize the world in food , water , energy , healthcare , and , oh yeah — surfing .
by Kim McDonald
When the White House called Stephen Mayfield and said , “ We hear you ’ re Mr . Algae ,” he went with it .
It ’ s a fitting name for the biology professor and director of the California Center for Algae Biotechnology ( Cal-CAB ) at UC San Diego . Mayfield has studied algae for over three decades , manipulating the single-celled plant ’ s genes to make forms of gasoline , innovations in food science ( what D . C . was calling about ), and vaccines for endemic diseases — not bad for your average pond scum .
But his most widely publicized achievement came in April , when he formed a team with two chemistry faculty members , a surfboard manufacturer and a private biotechnology company . The product ? The world ’ s first algae-based surfboard .
Like many environmentally conscious surfers , Mayfield was bothered by the contradiction in surf equipment . “ In surfing more than any other sport ,” he says , “ you are totally connected and immersed in the ocean environment . And yet your connection to that environment is through a piece of plastic made from fossil fuels .”
Leave it to Mr . Algae to find a solution . If algae oil could replace the fuel in our gas tanks , he wondered , couldn ’ t it also replace the petroleum-based core of our surfboards ?
With this in mind , he engaged his biology students and those from the labs of Michael Burkart , a professor of chemistry and biochemistry , and Robert “ Skip ” Pomeroy , a chemistry professor who helps students recycle waste cooking oil into biodiesel that powers the green UC San Diego buses . Together , the team determined how to chemically modify the oil obtained from laboratory algae to make different kinds of “ polyol ” suitable to become a surfboard ’ s core . Collaborations with the biotech and surfing industries led to the final product .
The algae surfboard not only represents the hallmark collaborative spirit of UC San Diego , but the fusion of biotechnology , surfing and environmentally conscious thinking that makes our campus a desirable place to work , live and study for scholars and innovators who cherish the coastal environment .
12 TRITON | FALL 2015