Attílio Converti

Attilio Convert is Full Professor of Chemistry and Fermentation Biotechnology at Genoa University (UNIGE), teacher of Industrial biotechnology of the Master in Chemical Engineering and of Industrial microbiology & fermentation biotechnology of the Bachelor in Biotechnology. Member of the Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering (DICCA) and of the homonymous PhD. Responsible for the Academic Agreement for International PhD between the Universities of Genoa and São Paulo (USP) (Brazil). He graduated in Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Camerino (1982), discussing the thesis in Macromolecular Chemistry entitled “L-Tryptophan-2 ,3-dioxygenase: equilibrium with ethylisocyanide”, Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Scholarship for 15 months for biotechnology research, funded by the Company “Italfluid”, Notaresco, TE, 12-month fellowship for research on biological treatment of water bed reactor fluidized, funded by the Company “Pollution Control Engineering”, La Spezia, 26 research contracts by UNIGE. Founding member and auditor of the Italian Society for Biotechnological Engineering and Environmental Biotechnology (SIBA), GRICU and AIDIC member, Board member of the Inter-university Centre for Human Ecology. PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Vigo (Spain), discussing the thesis entitled “Agroindustrial Waste Utilization for Generation of Food Additives: Treatment of Raw Materials and Metabolic Studies”. Responsible for SIBA reviews in Tuttochimica and AES magazines (1986-1988), Member of the Environment Committee UNI/UNICHIM of the National Unification Body (1990-1992), Scientist-in-Chief of DICCA Research Group on Biotechnology and Environment, UNIGE (1998 -), Member of the Working Party on Environmental Biotechnology of the EFB (1991-), Scientific Reviewer of about 50 international journals, Scientific Reviewer of the proposal for implementation of the “Biomass and Bioenergy K08-Center Graz” of the Austrian Government program Kplus-Funding (1999), Member of the Boards of PhDs in Food Science and Technology, University of Vigo, Ourense, Spain (05/29/2000), in Applied Biocatalysis and Industrial Fermentation of Bologna University (Cycle XIV, 03/01/2002), in Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology of University São Paulo-SP, Brazil (2004-), SIBA Representative at the EFB (2001-), Head of International Cooperation Activities between UNIGE and the Integrated Faculties Teresa d’Avila Lorena, Brazil (2000 -) and the USP (2000 -), External evaluator of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of USP. Co-author of 3 national (Italian, Spanish and Brazilian) patents. Special mention (silver plate) at the 5th National Award “Federchimica - for an intelligent future” for the Italian version of the work “Continuous production of ethanol from lignocellulosic residues in reactors with immobilized cells”, final report of the “Concerted Action on Enzymatic Hydrolysis” funded by the European Community - EEC (04/19/1993), Consultant of several federal Brazilian bodies and of Italian MIUR. Fields of scientific work: Optimization of industrial fermentation from different agro-industrial residues (starch, cellulose and hemicellulose hydrolysates, food industry wastes, etc.). Anaerobic digestion organic residues in suspended biomass reactors and anaerobic hybrid filter, Biological removal of metals from polluted waters, and Bioesterifications/biooxidations by freeze-dried fungal cells and bacterial cells, Production of xylitol by yeasts, Biofiltration of gaseous effluents polluted by organic substances, Determination of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of enzyme systems, Cellular bioenergetic studies, Production of microalgal biomass for food and environmental purposes, Liquid-liquid extraction of enzymes and antibiotics, characterization of different biomasses. Collaborator and/or coordinator of numerous local and national (Italian, Spanish and Brazilian) research programs. Scientific cooperation: Tennessee Valley Authority, USA (1983-1987), Solar Energy Resource Institute, USA (1983-1987), INETI, Lisbon (1991-), Roquette Italia SpA, Cassano Spinola, Italy, (1996-1999), Milan University, Department of Food and Microbial Science and Technology (1997-), University of Vigo, Spain (1998-) and student mobility under the Socrates/Erasmus EU Program (1999-), Department of Biotechnology of USP, Campus of Lorena-SP , Brazil (1998-), Department of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Technology, USP, Brazil (1999-), University of La Coruna, Spain, Student mobility within the Socrates/Erasmus EU Program (2000-), Department of Microbiology, University of Viçosa, Brazil (2004-), Federal and Rural Federal Universities of Pernambuco, Recife-PE, Brazil (2005-). Supervisor or co-supervisor of about one hundred experimental thesis of Degree, Master, PhD and Post-Doc in different courses of both UNIGE and USP. He is author and coauthor of more than 300 scientific publications in international journals.