Natural products

Our natural products work focuses on molecules that are released/utilized into the environment as chemical signals for inter-organism communication. Generically termed semiochemicals, these signaling molecules include: pheromones, plant/insect defense compounds, algal neurotoxins, quorum promoters. Curious from an engineering perspective, very little has been published with respect to how tracing the environmental signatures of these natural products can be used to inspire the development of sustainable chemical technologies for agriculture and beyond.