SeanJordan

Period2
IRIG/T
5January2016
SeanJordanTranscribedInterview

RogelioZimbron:Hello!

SeanJordan:Hey!

(AwkwardSilence)

RZ:Iseethatitgetsprettycoldthistimeofyear..whatisitlike,six?

SJ:Noit'sactuallyaround30orso..

RZ:OK.

SJ:It'sbeenlike50and60forthepastthreeweeks.It'sbeenweird..

RZ:Huh..ItwaslikethisinVermontalsountillastweek.Itwasunusuallywarmforus.Justthe
waytheweatheris.

SJ:Yeah.

RZ:Yeah.SoItookyourdocumentthatyousentmeandItypedupsomeresponsesandI'llsend
themtoyouaftertheemailforreference.Iassumeyou'regoingtorecordthis,right?

SJ:Yeah.

RZ:I'mperfectlyfinewithrecording.I'vedoneitafewtimesbeforewithsomeotherpeople.

SJ:OK,sweet.

RZ:So,let'sgetstarted!

SJ:OK.Sothefirstquestion.Oneofthemostrecognizedbenefitsofalgaeistheuseforbiofuel.
Thishasamuchsmallerfootprintthanfossilfuels,thereforemakingitacleanerenergysource.

Doyouthinkthat,ifthisprocesscanbemultiplied,itcanworkwithothercleanenergysources
suchaswindandsolarenergytomakeacleanerenvironment?Ifyes,thenwhy?

RZ:I'mgoingtosaythatitdefinitelyhasalotsmaller,well,IthasaveryinterestingCarbon
footprintbecause..Actually,beforeIcontinue,onofthethingsthatImcurioustoknowis
whatsyourhighestlevelofbiologythatyourschooloffers?

SJ:Uhh..ImcurrentlyplanningtotakeAPBiologynextyear.

RZ:Oh,good!SothiswillgiveyoualittlebitofaheadstartIguess.Ok,sothemajorityofall
photosyntheticlifeonEarthpulls90%ofitsbiomass,actually95%ofallitsbiomassfromthe
air,andCO2.Sobasicallyitfixesthosecarbons,makessugars,andessentiallybuildsmore
complexcompounds,suchascellulose.So,whatyouredoingistakingCO2outoftheairand
capturingitintobiomass,andthenthealgae,theyregoingtotakesomeofthatbiomass,which
istheoilsthattheyproduce,intheircellmembranes,andthenyouconvertthoseoilsinto
biodiesel,or,anytypeofbiofuel,really.So,theoverallneteffectthatyouhaveisalgaepulling
theCarbonDioxideoutoftheair,andgetridofit,sothattherealneteffectofbiofuelisactually
negative.

SJ:Negativeisbetterthanpositiveinthiscase,right?

RZ:Exactly.Especiallysince,today,thelevelsofCO2arerisingtoadangerouslevel.So,umm,
Iknowbiofuelsarereallycool,especiallyhereinVermont,and,somequestionswehave,are
howwouldyougooutandfindalotofalgaethatarevalidforbiofuels,andhowwouldyougo
froma1literculturetoa1000literculturewithoutlosinganyefficiency.Thatsthebiggest
problemwithalgae.Whenyoutalkaboutalgaeandbiofuels,youreactuallytalkingaboutlipids
andphospholipids.Youknowwhatthoseareright?

SJ:Yeah,definitely.

RZ:Ok,good.Sotheyreinterestedinhowmuchoiltheycanpulloutofthelipidsinalgaecells.
Algaeisuniqueinthatithasahighertendencytostoreoilthanotherphotoautotrophs,andthisis
whatmakesithavesuchanappealingfactortobiofuelscientistsandsuch.Possiblyyou,right
now!

SJ:Haha,thanks!

RZ:But,overall,thischangesthebuoyancyofthealgae,andendsupbeingquiteinefficientin
manufacturing.Imaginehavingoliveoilinyourfridge.Itsolidifies,andthatsnotgood.


SJ:Ofcoursenot.IvehadthathappentomewhenIdidntknowwheretoputawaythe
grocerieswhenIwasyoung.
(Giggles)

RZ:(
Giggles)
Yeah.Kids.Anyways,thisexactproblemispresentinalgaecellsalso,whichis
whatcausesthismethodtobeinefficient.But,aslongaswekeepworkingonalgaebased
biofuels,thenyes,itwilldefinitelybeplacedalongsidewindandsolarenergyinthegreat
demandforenergytoday.Theonlyreasonithasntkickstartedyetisbecausepeoplewanttosee
ifitworksthewayitsintendedtothefirsttime,anddoesntwasteanything.But,yeah.Algae
culturingisquitehard,asImsureyouvediscovered.

SJ:Definitely.Veryhardindeed.

RZ:Yeah.Also,thefundingforthisresearchisminimal,asitposesnorealdangerorbenefitto
todayssociety,andinsteadmoremoneyisshuntedofftowardsthoseareasofresearchthat
matter.Or,mattermore,Ishouldsay.But,itwillcontinuetoexistaslongaspeoplelikeyou
keeptalkingaboutit,anduniversitiescontinuetoshowitoff.AndIreallydohopethatwithin
mylifetime,oryourlifetime,thatwellseealgaebiofuelsas,uhh..,commonplaceforelectricity
generation.So,yeah.Thatstheanswertothat.

SJ:Okay.Nextquestion,youalreadytouchedonalittlebit..

RZ:Okay.

SJ:Butoffthetopofyourhead,doyouknowanyotherbenefitsotherthantheonesyou
mentionedearlier?

RZ:Uhh.yes.Thereareahandfulofthem,buttherearetwothatcometothefrontofmymind.
anditmentionsthealgaethatImworkingon.ThefirstoneisChlorellaVulgaris,anditsavery
common,veryeasytogrowfreshwateralgaestrainthatmultipliesreallyfast.Itsalsoreally
robustcomparedtootherstrainsinthearea.Aninterestingthingaboutthisstrainisthatit
producesalotofproteins.And,whatmanufacturersareactuallydoing,isthat,theyarecreating
soylentgreen.Idontknowifyouheardofthatmovieornot..

SJ:Uhhhhhhhhhh.Nope.

RZ:Okthen.Anyways,itsautopia,itsacultclassic,anditsbasedoffofsoylentfromalgae
products(Recordinggetsdistortedabit).Now,whatshappening,isthattheyarentgetting
enoughmeals,nutrients,etc.So,themoviesaysthatalgaecanhelpcurepoorpeopleofvitamin

andmineraldeficiency.Now,whatyoullseeinyourculture,isthatthealgaecellsaresucking
thenutrientsoutofthesurroundingmedium,thenitrogenions,andsuch,andtheyabsorbthese
minerals.Now,theresaspecifictypeofprocessknownasbioremediation,whichinvolvesusing
aspecificsampletohelpremovetoxicwastesfromanenvironment.Thisincludesoil.Now,I
knownothingofhowtheyincorporateoilintothemselves

SJ:Meneither.

RZ:
(laughs)
Yeah,andyouknow,itsanincrediblething,typicallythethatorganismsare
naturallyexistingintheenvironment,havesomethingelsetothem.Now,thiscanbefoundout
byeithersomeonestumblingacrosssomething,orsomeonehavingahunch.IknowinVermont
wehavewhatarecalled[living/lipid]machines,whereweusefiltersanddumpchemicalson
organismsandstudytheeffectonit.Plantroots,algae,etc.Theyrereallyglorifiedversionsthat
canbecomposedofotherlivingspecies.Yep.

SJ.Ok,thirdquestion.

RZ:Mmhmm.

SJ:Inmyexperiencesofculturingalgae,IhadtolimittheamountofCO2thatwentintothe
environment,asmyprimaryadvisorwarnedofincreasingaciditylevels.Wegotaroundthisby
onlyturningtheairpumponatcertaintimesoftheday.Haveyoueverhadtodealwithacidity
levels?Ifso,howhaveyouavoidedthisproblem?

RZ:Uhh.Inmyculturingenvironment,whichyouveseenthroughmyblog,right?

SJ:Yeah,ofcourse!

RZ:Yeah.So,inmyculturingenvironment,Ivesortof,kindof,hadtodealwithit.Areyou
familiarwiththecarbonatebufferingsystem?CO2dissolvesintowater?Haveyoueverlooked
thatup?

SJ:Uhhh..Nope.Imafraidnot.

RZ:Ok,thatstotallyfine!Here,Illsendyouaquicklinktothewikipediaarticle
(Hesendsme
alinktothepageoverskype,andIbrowsethroughitforaminuteortwo).
Itsbyfarthemost
importantbiologicalbufferingsystem.Period.Ithappenswithinusconstantly,switchingfrom
carbonicacidtocarbonateandbicarbonate.Thisconstantswitchhappensbecauseweneedto
maintainhomeostasis,andtodothat,weestablishanequilibriumofthepH.Nowthealgae

formsacompoundcalledcarbonicanhydrase,whichregulatesthisbufferingsystem.
(Hesends
meanotherlinkpointingtocarbonicanhydrase).

SJ:Interesting..Imayhavetouchedonthisthelasttwoyearsofscience,whenItook
Chemical/PhysicalSciencein,uhh,8thgradeandthenGTBiologylastyear.Welearnedabout
bufferingsystemsintheblood,andtheirimportancewithpHandhowtheywork.

RZ:Verygood,youknowthebasicsofbiology.Thatwillproveveryhelpfulinyour
experiments.

SJ:Iwouldassumeso.

RZ:Continuingon,bicarbonateisthebase,andanditsfoundrightoutsidethecellandinside
thecytoplasm.Itconvertsthecarbonicacidintobicarbonate,andwhatwillhappenovertimeis
thatinsteadofadecreaseinpH,youllgetanincreaseofpHasyoupumpmorecarbonbased
moleculesintothesolution.Itcangoupfrom7to10.Now,onpaper,thatsabigchange,butin
reallife,itsaHUMONGOUSchangeinacidity.Thisiswhythissystemisextremelyimportant
intheliver.Atleast,Ithinkitstheliver.Yeah,Imprettysureitstheliverthatbuffersthe
carbon.Funfact,thisisthereasonwhyyoubreathefaster.Yourebodyisartificiallychanging
thebuffersothatitaccountsforthevariedlevelsofcarbonbasedmolecules,likeCO2,inthe
blood.Toansweryourquestion,Ihaventreallyhadtodealwithacidityallthatmuchinmylab.
Ivehadrelativelystrongstrainswhenitcomestobacteria,butitvariesbetweeneachstrain,
especiallyyours.WhydontyoutakeaminuteandfindwhattheoptimumpHforyourstrainis?
(IlookupwhattheoptimumpHis)

SJ:ItsayshereonWileythattheoptimumpHforD.Salinaisbetween9and11.

RZ:Really?Wow,thats..uhh.reallyhigh..

SJ:Yeah..Itsodd.Maybebecauseofthehighsalinity?

RZ:Thatsthemostviableexplanation,yes.

SJ:SoIguessIshouldkeeptheairpumponallthetimenow?

RZ:Yeah,Ithinkthatwouldbeyourbestbet.Checkinwithyourprimaryadvisorfirsttosee
whatshethinksaboutit.

SJ:Ok.IllaskhertomorrowduringResearchclass.

RZ:Also,ifthepHstartstowaver,uh,asinitdipsdownoruptodangerousacidityandbasic
levels,youcanalwaysaddcarbonicacidandcarbonatetoquicklyshiftthepHintotheoptimum
range.Carbonateisprettycheapalso,itsalsoknownasbakingsoda.Youcangetthatpretty
mucheverywhere,right?

SJ:Yeah,youwouldthinkso.

RZ.Yeah.Thatprettymuchanswersthatquestion,right?

SJ:Yes,Ibelieveso.

RZ.Ok.

SJ:QuestionFour:So,Ihaveafearofrunningoutoftimeforthisexperimenttotakeplace,and
IwanttohavemyfinalstudiesdonebeforeJune(atlatest).Isthereawaytosafelyincreasethe
reproductionrateofalgae?

RZ:Ok,uhhh,sohowlongdoyouhavetofinishit?

SJ:Iwouldsaynotlong,maybeuntilAprilatthelatest.Weredoingouroutlinesforourfinal
researchpaper,andIdontthinkyoucanputanideawithnoevidenceornoworkingprojecton
there.

RZ:Ok,sothereisntnecessarilyawaytoincreasethereproductionrateofalgaewithout
outsideconditionschanging.Thisiswhyyouneedtotestyourcultureacoupletimesaweek.If
somethinggoeswrongwithyourpump,youwontknowuntilyoutestit.Learninghowa
suspensionorganismreproducesisareallyfascinatingthing.Ithinkeitherpeoplehaveahunch
aboutwhattheyveseeninotheralgae,ortheysawsomesimilarorrelatedgenesintwo
organisms,andseeiftheyactthesameundercertaintestingvariables.Theystumbleontoit
completelyrandomly,likemyself,whoendedupusingalighttableforalgaegrowth.

SJ:Yeah..

RZ:YourenvironmentisntwhatIwouldcalltheluxuriousenvironment,butitllpassthetest.
Now,athingthatyoushouldbedoingfrequentlyisstirringupthealgaewithabubblepump.

SJ:Well,rightnow,itstickstothebottomalot.ProbablybecauseIonlyleavetheairpumpona
certaintimeeachday.

RZ:Yeah,youreallyneedtoleavethatthingon24/7.Youcandocountlessexperimentswithair
pumpsandlightangles,etc.thatcanallsometimesturnupsomethingextraordinarythatyou
neverknewexisted.Yeah.Irememberyousayingthatyoureusingplasticbottlesforthis
experiment,right?

SJ:Yeah..

RZ:Yeah,ummpphh,theplasticpreventsmoreofthelightfromgoingintothealgaesolution,
unliketheglass,whichletsalmostallofthelightpassthrough.Now,backtothequestionof
time.Youlljusthavetowaitandhopethatthealgaecellsmultiplyfastenoughtoprovidea
decentprojectforyourresearchclass.Iftherewasawaytodrasticallyincreasethespeedof
growth,uhh,safelyincreasethespeedofgrowth,thatis,thenwewouldbeusingitalready.So,
yeah.Imsorry,butyoumayrunoutoftime.But,Idoencourageyoutokeepuptheprojectat
home,oratschoolifyourteachersletyou.

SJ:Yeah,uhh,veryslimchanceofthathappening.I,uh.Ihadtomesswithateacherslesson
plans,soshecanonlyuseonefumehoodfortheentireyear,andIdoubtshewouldallowmeto
dothatagain.Evenifshedid,Iwouldfeelbadforgettinginherwayallthetime.Butbringingit
homemeansamuchhigherriskofinfection.

RZ:Yeah,wellhavetofigureoutawaytosterilizethenewenvironmentatyourhouse,uhh,
thatsIFyoudoindeeddecidetokeepitup.AndthatsprettymuchallIhavetotellyouforthis
question.

SJ:Okay,questionfive.So,theresanarticleontheNCBIPubMedWebsite.Itsaboutapoptosis
andalgae.Haveyoulookedoverit?

RZ:Forthemostpart.

SJ:Ok,thatstotallyfine.Illsendyoualinktothearticlethatisthetopicofthisquestion,just
toletyou,uhh,letssaylookoverit.
(AfterIsendhimthelink,Itakeabathroombreakwhilehe
looksovertheabstractofthepaperforaboutfiveminutes)
.

RZ:Ok,Imready.

SJ:Okay.Questionfive.ReferencingthearticlepublishedbyMariaSegoviaandothersat
NCBI/PubMedabouttheevolutionofapoptosisinspecificstrainsofalgae,doyouthinkthatthis
istrulypossible?Ifso,couldthisresearchbeappliedtoeukaryoticcells,specificallydiseased
humancells?

RZ:Ok,so,personally,Ifindapoptosistobeaveryfascinatingprocessinthehumanbody.I
mean,uh,theresironyinthebodykillingoffitscellsinordertokeepitselfaliveandwell,and
howwe,as,ashumansarebornwithtailsthatgetcreatedanddestroyedalmostinstantaneously,
allbecauseofapoptosis.Now,wherethisconnectstoalgae,specificallythatonestrain,iswhere
Istarttohavemydoubts.

SJ:Yeah,Ivehadsomedoubtsaboutittoo,butmostlybecauseImrunningoutoftimeand
dontevenhavetherightstrainyet.

RZ:Specificallyincancercells,thereareinhibitorsthatblocksignalscomingfromthebrain
tellingthatcelltoprepareforapoptosis.Thearticledoesntmentionhowitcanhelpcancerous
cellsbecomenoncancerousagain.Imsorrytosaythis,butIjustcantseehowalgaecanhelp
withthissortofproblem.

SJ:Yeah,thatswhatIvebeenthinkingforawhilenow.ThisiswhyIswitchedmyprojectfrom
solelyonapoptosisinalgaetothebigbenefitsofalgae.Also,Icouldntpossiblydolike50
annotatedsourcesandafinalresearchpaperonthatnarrowofatopic
(Chuckles)

RZ:
(Laughs)
Yeah,wellIthinkthegeneralbenefitsofalgae,includingpossiblyapoptotic
properties,isamuchmorefunareaofresearchthanjustapoptosisinalgae.

SJ:Ok,readyforthefinalquestion?

RZ:Imready.

SJ:Ok.InyourblogAlgaeandFungiyoutalkabout
CulturingBetterAlgae
.Inthispost,you
talkabouthowyouaccidentallystumbledacrossabetterwayofculturingalgae.But,asIwould
understandit,thatisatauniversitylevel.

RZ:Yeah..

SJ:Consideringthe,uh,limitsofahighschoolenvironment,wouldtherebeabetterwayof
culturingthealgae(accordingtomyculture),ifthereisabetterway?Sobasically,uh,istherea
waytoimprovetheenvironmentorisitkindoftoolateasofnow?


RZ:Again,asImentionedearlier,tryandgetglassflasksifyoucan.Ifyoucant,thatstotally
fine,butitjustprovidesbetterlighttothealgae.

SJ:Ok.

RZ:Justremembertokeeptheairpumpon,andalwaysmonitorit.

SJ:Here,Illsendyouapicofmyculturingenvironment.
(Isendhimapicofthefumehoodwiththeequipmentinsidethroughskype)

RZ:ImprettysureIalreadyhaveit..Oh,Ok.Hereitis.Yeah,plasticbottlesarentthebest.
Tomorrow,uh,askyourprimaryadvisoraboutgettinganerlenmeyerflaskforyouralgae.OH,
thatmaybeaproblem,becauseyouresciencedepartmentmaybeusingalotofthem.

SJ:Yeah,itsthattimeofyear
(laughs)

RZ:(
laughs)
Yeah,justseewhatyoucando.Again,ifyoucantgetaholdoftheglass,the
plasticwilldojustfine.Yeah,youhavethesameairpumpIhave.

SJ:Everyoneseemstohavethesameairpump..

RZ:Itisthebestoneonthemarket,especiallyforalgaeculturing.Whatisthatlight?

SJ:Thatsaphotosyntheticlight.

RZ:Itemitspurpleandpinklight?

SJ:No,justredandbluelight.

RZ:Oh,Iseenow.Letssee,12bulbs,LED,huh.Thisisaverygoodsetupyouhavehere.Isee
yourairtubesandtubesplitter,againthesameoneIuse.Whatsthenapkintypethingonthe
tubesinthebottles?

SJ:Oh,thosewhitethings?

RZ:Yeah.

SJ:Thatsthesterilegauze.Itsanantibacterialmeasureforthealgae.


RZ:Ah,yes.Verygood.Youvedoneaprettygoodjobwiththis.But,Iwouldsaythatitsa
littlebittoolatetochangeanythingdrasticaboutit,sinceyourealmostdoneandoutoftime
anyways.

SJ:Yeah,thetimefactorisourbiggestenemyrightnow,right?

RZ:Yeah,Imean,weonlyhave,what,23months?

SJ:Approximately.

RZ:Ok.SowhatIwoulddoistosuggestyoutokeepdoingwhatyouweredoing,andjusthelp
cultureandmaintainthealgae.Youcanemailmebackifyouhaveanyquestionsaboutwhatto
donext.Or,youcouldaskyourresearchteacherwhattodoaboutyourfinalpaper.Ibelievethat
thatisit.Doyouhaveanymorequestionsformetoanswer?

SJ:Ihavenone.Ibelievethatthatsit.IjustwantedtosaythankyouSOmuchfortakingyour
50ishminutestospendtimewithme.Sorryitwentsolong!

RZ:Dontworry,Irambledonandon,andIhadtolookupsomearticlesonwhateverthat
websiteiscalled.

SJ:NCBI.

RZ:Yeah,thankyou.

SJ:Again,thanksfortakingyourtime,andIhopetogetbackintouchwithyousoon!
(Disconnect,withMr.Zimbronsendingmeacopyofhisansweredquestionsheet)

ReflectionParagraph
Ithinkthisinterviewwentverywell,consideringitwasmyfirsttimeprofessionally
interviewinganexpertonwhattheythinkonatopicImresearching.Igotinvaluable
information,suchashowtocontrolthepHthroughcarbonicacidandcarbonate(bakingsoda),
whentoleavetheairpumpon,andwhattotryandtalktoMrs.Radebeabout(erlenmeyer
flasks).Forthenextinterview,Iwoulddefinitelybringanicebreakeralongwithme,because
therewasanawkwardsilenceatthebeginningoftheinterview.Luckily,Mr.Zimbronfixedthat.
Iwillalsotrytodullmyquestionsalittlebitsotheydontlastaslongastomaketheinterviewa
littlelessthananhour.Asmallpartofthattimewaslookingupstufftogether/onourown.Inthe
future,Iwillalsoinsistongivingtheintervieweemoretimetoprepare,asweagreedtodothe
interviewadayafterIsenthimthefirstemail.Isenthimanappreciativeemailthankinghimfor
doingtheinterviewonsuchshortnotice.Ifeellikebothofushadsomeholesinourknowledge
thatcouldhavebeensharedandwouldhavesavedaround510minutes.Themostdifficultpart
oftheinterviewwasdefinitelythenervousnessofmyfirstrealinterview,andthefearthatI
wouldseverelymessup,andjustmakeafoolofmyselfinfrontofapersonthatIrespect.The
easiestpartoftheinterviewwastheinterviewwastheactualinterview.OnethingIwillalsotry
andfixishowlittleItalk.Ifeltlikehewasdominatingthewholehour,butIletitgobecausehe
wastheexpert,andhewassupposedtogivealltheinformationtome.But,allinall,Idsayit
wentreallywell.IgottheinformationthatIwanted,Igotsomeinsightonwhattodowithmy
projectinthefuture.