Haluk Beyenal

Biography

Dr. Beyenal is widely known for his biofilm engineering expertise in the area of microscale biofilm characterization and electron transfer processes in biofilms. The research in his laboratories has focused on the fundamental understanding of biofilm processes, their characterization, and applications of biofilm processes. He has developed many research tools for understanding biofilm processes at the microscale, including microelectrodes for monitoring local chemistry and electron transfer mechanism inside biofilms. He has developed mathematical models for predicting biofilm activity, electron transfer rates, and biofilm structure. He pioneered the studies of electron transfer processes in biofilms using microelectrodes and powering electronic devices using microbial fuel cells. He and his collaborators in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) developed an electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance microimaging technique to study electron transfer processes in biofilms. The microscale techniques developed in his laboratory are critically used to study biofilms respiring on electrodes. His research group also developed technology to power remote sensors using energy harvested from microbial fuel cells. His research has been supported by the Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation program, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, National Institute of Health as well as industry. He and Zbigniew Lewandowski published a book entitled “Fundamentals of Biofilm Research” in 2007 and 2nd edition in 2013 and he received an NSF-CAREER award in 2010. He and Jerome Babauta edited a book entitled “Electrochemically active biofilms in microbial fuel cells and bioelectrochemical systems: From laboratory practice to data interpretation” in 2015. Recently his research group was awarded by the National Institute of Health to develop an electrochemical bandage for wound healing by eliminating biofilms. Currently, he is a tenured Professor at Washington State University, in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering. He trained many Ph.D. students in the field of electrochemistry and biofilm engineering. These students are employed by Intel, Academia, Gamry, Illumina, and other companies.

Education and Credentials

• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, 1997
• MS in Chemical Engineering, Hacettepe University, 1993

Major accomplishments

• Received NSF-CAREER award
• Received 3M non-tenured faculty award
• Invented electrochemical scaffold and discovered mechanism of action for electrochemical biofilm control
• Developed novel electrochemical techniques to study electrochemically active biofilms
• Discovered applications of electrochemically active biofilms
• Published a book on fundamentals of biofilm research (1st and 2nd editions)
• Published an edited book on electrochemically active biofilms
• Developed new electrochemical and optical microsensors
• Discovered new treatment strategies for wound biofilms
• Designed microbial fuel cells and developed technologies for using electricity from microbial fuel cells
• Developed image analysis software for biofilm structure quantification
• Organized workshops to teach biofilm processes

Awards and honors

• 2018 Outstanding Research Faculty Award, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington State University
• 2018 Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Award, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, Washington State University
• 2017 Outstanding Research Faculty Member in the Voiland School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, Washington State University
• 2017 Tech Connect Defense Medical Innovation Award
• 2014 Outstanding Academic Advisor, Washington State University, Graduate and Professional Student Association
• 2013 Senior fellow for the summer faculty research program, Office of Naval Research
• 2012 Co-Founder: ISMET (International Society of Microbial Electrochemical Technology)
• 2011 Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Architecture, Washington State University
• 2010 NSF-CAREER Award
• 2007 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award
• 2005 Outstanding Researcher Award, College of Engineering, Montana State University
• 1996 Doctoral research fellowship for studying abroad, awarded by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey
• 1994-1996 Doctoral research fellowship, awarded by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey