Amanda Barry of Los Alamos National Laboratory will discuss algae as an answer to energy security Monday evening at Unquarked. Courtesy photo

SCIENCE ON TAP NEWS

Join the Bradbury Science Museum and the Los Alamos Creative District for Science On Tap Monday, Dec. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at UnQuarked Wine Room. The discussion will feature Amanda Barry of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and her research on algal diversity.

Algae is not the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of Los Alamos or its global security mission. However, for Amanda Barry of the Lab’s Bioenergy and Biome Sciences group, algae is the answer to one of the world’s most pressing issues – energy security.

Traditional energy resources like oil and natural gas are finite and fiercely sought after; disputes over these resources have ignited wars costing trillions of dollars and countless lives and will likely continue until we find alternative approaches to fueling modern life. At Los Alamos, Barry and partnering researchers hope to provide one such alternative with efficient, environmentally-friendly algal biofuels.