CSIRO - Engineering Nitrogen Fixation in Plants
External opportunities: These internships are not automatically approved for course credit as we do not have a formal agreement with the host organisations. They are considered as self-sourced internships and if they meet the requirements for project content, learning outcomes, safety, etc they can be considered for credit.
If you negotiate a self-sourced internship, email science.internships@anu.edu.au to enquire about credit. Contact us as soon as possible so we can assess the internship requirements, and enrolment in the internship course (eg SCNC 3000) arranged for credit. Include this information in your email: Name of Host organisation; Address of Host organisation; Title of project; Description of project and your duties; Clearances required; Host Supervisor contact details: name, address, email address and phone number; Number of units; Intended session/year of internship eg. Semester 1, 2021.
Internship type
Credit
Level
Description
At CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. Our value to the Australian economy is massive. Our proud legacy invented fast Wi-Fi, Aerogard and polymer banknotes. Today we’re helping to find the first gravitational waves in space, growing gluten-free grains, 3D-printing body parts and pioneering new renewable energy sources, just to name a few. With more than 1800 patents, we are Australia’s largest patent holder. This ever-increasing wealth of intellectual property is a vast source of commercial opportunity and has already resulted in more than 150 spin-off companies, with many more to come.
Projects
Project: Engineering Nitrogen Fixation in Plants
| Internship details | |
|---|---|
| Availability | Semester 1, 2021 |
| Discipline |
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| Level |
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| Open to international students | Yes |
| Preferred project skills |
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| Clearances required | No |
| Host supervisor |
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| Location | CSIRO, Black Mountain, Acton, Canberra - mainly lab work. Computer will be provided as required. |
Summary:
Industrial nitrogen fixation is the largest contributor to the world’s population expansion over the past century. It is remarkable that this chemical process requiring high temperature (>400°C) and pressure (150 atm) can be accomplished at room temperature by the bacterial enzyme nitrogenase. Harnessing this enzyme for ammonia production in plants has been a longstanding goal of biotechnology. More recently, increasing environmental pollution associated with fertilizer production and usage, as well as food security concerns, have lent urgency to this aspiration.
In this project you will work on assembling components of the nitrogenase enzyme complex in plants. This will involve bioinformatic research and lab based molecular biology work.
Note from Science Internships Office:
This project has been approved for credit. Please note that ANU does not have a formal agreement with CSIRO, and the intern must abide by CSIRO’s terms and conditions.
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Engineering Nitrogen Fixation in Plants
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