MBP Students Visit LanzaTech

Students in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Biotechnology Program (MBP) recently visited a nearby company turning pollution into possibilities.  

The students spent a day at LanzaTech, a Skokie, Ill.,-based company that transforms industrial emissions into fuel and high-value chemicals needed in a variety of industries.

The tour was arranged by MBP’s Association of Biotechnology Students (ABS), which is in charge of organizing academic, social, community service, and professional development events for the cohort.

“It is important for MBP to offer visits like this one so that our students can get a better idea of what it is like to actually work in industry,” said Matthew Williams (MBP ‘24), who serves as ABS industry and alumni relations chairman. “These are great ways to meet people in companies that you are interested in working with.”

LanazTech is one of those companies — particularly for Williams himself.

He interviewed with the company in December 2021, in between the time when he earned his undergraduate degree in biological sciences and when he started MBP. Though he didn’t get the job, he said the rejection spurred him to continue his education so he could learn the necessary skills to make a difference at a synthetic biology company.

He and his MBP classmates got a firm understanding of those needs during their LanzaTech tour. 

The day started with a presentation from Rasmus Jensen, LanzaTech’s advanced manager of lab automation, about the creation of the company and its evolving technology. That technology feeds carbon emissions that otherwise would be harmful environmental pollutants to microbes. Those microbes then transform them into useful products that fuel industry.

The company reported a 31 percent year-over-year operating revenue increase in the second quarter of 2023 and said it has the financial flexibility to execute its business strategy through the end of 2024 without the need for additional resources. Third-quarter results will be released Nov. 9.

After Jensen’s presentation, the group toured the company’s facilities and got a firsthand look at its technology.

“It was fascinating to see the bioreactors in person,” Williams said. “I had never seen gas fermentation, so it was very interesting to see that happening up close.”

LanzaTech boasts several MBP alumni on its employee roster. After the facility tour, these former MBP students met with the current cohort to talk about their lives at LanzaTech.

The conversations didn’t end with the visit.  

“Several MBP alumni offered to talk with us later if we had more questions,” Williams said. “It was an important reminder to engage with people in industry where you are interested in working, especially in our alumni network.” 

The visit served to heighten Williams’ enthusiasm for working at LanzaTech someday. He has done contract and internship work as a bioformulation scientist and software developer, and he is on target to graduate from MBP in June. He said his career interests lie at the intersection of synthetic biology and computer science.

“I was impressed with our visit,” he said. “I have worked in a couple labs before joining MBP, and it was very interesting to see how their lab space differed to allow for anaerobic gas fermentation. Seeing them made me excited to apply to research with them.”