History of Workshops

Research in this field was stimulated following the fuel crisis of the early 1970’s, a logical result of the realization of the fickle nature of oil as a chemical feedstock. The acetone-butanol fermentation of Clostridium acetobutylicum, pioneered by Chaim Weizmann, stood out as an example of the industrial success of biological fermentations, and the 1980’s saw a concerted effort to improve understanding of the physiology of this and related bacteria. In 1990, researchers came together for the first time at a specialist meeting organised by Nigel Minton, Palmer Rogers and David Woods. It is their legacy that this meeting spawned the series of meetings.

 

The success of these meetings has been primarily due to the quality of the science presented, but the traditional informal and friendly atmosphere has contributed in no small measure to making them both enjoyable and rewarding experiences.

*The history of the previous conferences has been adapted from Wilf Mitchell, who compiled this information for the 2004 meeting.