When you consider microorganisms, your first thought may not be health benefits or sustainable energy. However, Dr. Bruce Rittmann, of Arizona State University, is focused on using these microscopic living organisms for just that. As one of the world's most highly cited researchers, with more than 500 peer-reviewed papers, Dr. Rittmann works to understand and manage microbial communities so that they can provide us with invaluable services such as cleaning up pollution, producing renewable resources, and improving our health. By partnering with microorganisms, he and his team are able to take advantage of their special metabolic capabilities. Dr. Rittman explains, by thinking like microorganisms, he and his team are able to, "work for the microorganisms so that they work for us," thereby improving environmental quality, society's sustainability, and human health.

To understand the microbial communities, Dr. Rittmann and his team use an amazing set of skills from a multitude of disciplines, including chemical, environmental, and electrical engineering; microbiology, biochemistry, and ecology; biogeochemisty; organic and inorganic chemistry; mathematical modeling; medicine; and materials science. Due to the extraordinarily multidisciplinary nature of such work, Dr. Rittmann's research requires the formation of trans-disciplinary teams within the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology and around the world. This unique approach, which harnesses the potential of microorganisms to provide services that make human society more sustainable, is likely to make a large impact on our society. From the fundamental investigations to the in-field applications, Dr. Rittmann's leadership has guided his team towards solving important problems and creating opportunities for society!

Current projects include:

• Pollution: When handled improperly, the large confined animal feedlots becomes a pollution problem. Dr. Rittmann is hoping to transform such liabilities of waste materials to capture the resources within them. By transforming waste to resource, Dr. Rittman hopes to capitalize on the incredible amount of energy available and to assist agriculturalists with renewable fertilizer.

• Renewable Energy: Dr. Rittmann is hoping to use the sun to create renewable energy sources. Using photosynthetic microorganisms, Dr. Rittmann is able to capture and convert carbon dioxide into valuable products. Therefore, instead of relying on fossil fuels, Dr. Rittmann hopes to use photosynthesis to create a major chemical energy.

• Human Health: Swette Center researchers are among the leaders in applying the concepts and tools environmental biotechnology to the microorganisms in human intestines. Dr. Rittmann is studying the relationships between the microbial communities that inhabit our intestines and good or bad health outcomes. Current work addresses autism and the impacts of bariatric surgery as a means to overcome obesity.