My career has moved from a research focus to a commercial focus and this seminar will cover 3 projects along that continuum. The first portion will cover research elucidating the mechanism Ebolavirus entry into host cells. The second is a review of methods for plastic recycling, including a technoeconomic analysis of enzymatic plastic degradation. The final portion will focus on the process for commercially launching innovations into the market— how business cases are developed and analyzed to decide what products are a go or no-go and what research gets funded in industry— based on my experience in the biofuels and vegetable seeds industries.

Bio: Lakshmi holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University and PhD in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University. Her doctoral research focused on host factors involved in the Ebolavirus membrane fusion mechanism. Her industry experience with BASF includes research on surfactants for bioprocessing, new business development for novel enzyme markets, project management for mosquito control technologies, and business analysis for enzymes used in biofuel production. She currently leads the marketing team for BASF | Nunhems vegetable seeds in the US/Canada.