There is a growing trend in the field of environmental engineering to use biotechnology as a tool for investigating engineered and natural systems, and as a technique applied to detecting and preventing potential problems before they arise. The faculty at Virginia Tech have recognized this as an important addition to the traditional disciplines within environmental engineering, and are actively expanding the facilities to accommodate. The current capabilities within the department are basic nucleic acid and protein extraction and manipulation, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), fluorescent in-situ hybridization (FISH), and 16S rDNA community profiling. The Fralin Biotechnology Center and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech are additional resources on campus adding the capabilities of confocal scanning laser microscopy, quantitative PCR, nucleic acid sequencing, proteome analysis, genechip and custom microplate technology. Dr. Nancy G. Love Interest in identifying mechanisms employed by bacteria to metabolize xenobiotic compounds or to protect cells from damage incurred by xenobiotic compounds has increased substantially over the past decade. The fate of many of these compounds in natural and engineered systems depends upon several factors, primarily (1) the structure of the compound, (2) the composition of the microbial consortia present in the system, (3) the nature of the surrounding environment, and (4) the presence or absence of other compounds. The relationship between these factors and the fate or inpact of xenobiotic compounds is generally quite complex and not well understood. A systematic approach to studying the impact of each of these factors, alone and in combination, on the biological fate of xenobiotic compounds is suggested so that primary mechanisms can be elucidated. Subsequently, models can be developed which will assist engineers and scientists in predicting how xenobiotic compounds influence natural and engineered systems. Use of modern microbiological and molecular methods will prove valuable in research of this nature as many of these methods allow for improved detectability and precision. An important component of this research is the verification of models using laboratory and pilot scale systems. An outcome of this work may be the development of biosensors, which can be integrated with process control models to facilitate efficient operation of engineered biological treatment systems.

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