Dr Gregory Martin

PhD (Biochemical Engineering), University of Melbourne, Australia (2008)
MSc (Biochemical Engineering), University of Melbourne, Australia (2005) 
BASc (Chemical Engineering), Queen’s University, Canada (1998) 

Lecturer

Email: gjmartin@unimelb.edu.au
Tel:  (03) 8344 6613
Fax: (03) 8344 4153 

Room 313, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Building 1 

Current Research Activities

• Bioprocess Engineering
  • Biofuel production from lignocellulose and microalgae
  • Fermentation & enzymatic hydrolysis
  • Dairy processing & membrane separation
• Environmental Engineering
  • Life cycle analysis of biofuels
  • Wastewater microbiology
• Nano and Biomolecular Engineering
  • Protein structure & behaviour in bioprocessing

Greg’s primary area of research is bioprocessing. This can be broadly described as attempting to understand how complex biological systems behave during large-scale processing. His research is applied primarily to the areas of dairy processing and the production of biofuels.

In the area of biofuels Greg has done extensive research on the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol as a renewable source of liquid fuel. This work includes research and development of three of the major bioprocessing steps: acid pretreatment of biomass, enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and fermentation of lignocellulosic sugars to ethanol using recombinant E. coli in continuous culture. An area of emerging interest for Greg is the production of ethanol and biodiesel from cultivations of microalgae.

His research in dairy primarily involves the investigation of changes incurred on proteins during processing of milk, including dairy powder manufacture and reconstitution, cheese-making, and membrane separation.

Professional Experience

• 2003-2005: Research Associate, Iogen Corporation, Ottawa, Canada
• 2002: Scientific-Literature Analyst: New Zealand Guidelines Group, New Zealand
• 1998-2000: Field Engineer, Halliburton Energy Services, USA & Indonesia

Honours/Awards

• Early Career Researcher Scheme, Melbourne School of Engineering, 2009
• Symposium Fellowship, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 2001
• University of Canterbury Undergraduate Scholarship, 1995

Selected Recent Publications

1. Zhou B, Martin GJO, Pamment NB. "A novel assay for rapid in vivo determination of phenotypic stability of recombinant ethnaol-producing microorganisms". Submitted to Bioresource Technology.
2. Martin GJO, R.P.W. Williams, C.Choong, B.Lee & D.E.Dunstan“Comparison of rennet gelation using raw and reconstituted skim milk”, International Dairy Journal 18: 1077-1080. (2008)
3. Zhou B, Martin GJO, Pamment NB. "Increased Phenotypic Stability and Ethanol Tolerance of Recombinant E. coli KO11 when Immobilized in Continuous Fluidized Bed Culture". Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 100(4): 627-633. (2007)
4. Martin GJO, Williams RPW, Dunstan DE. "Comparison of Casein Micelles in Raw and Reconstituted Skim Milk". Journal of Dairy Science 90: 4543-4551. (2007)
5. Martin GJO, Knepper A, Zhou B, Pamment NB. "Performance and stability of ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain FBR5 during continuous culture on xylose and glucose". Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology 33(10): 834-844. (2006)