[Biohackers] intro

[Hol Gaskill]

Hi folks,

Just joined the list, primarily as a lurker.  I am perpetually spread thin on project bandwidth but want to be in touch with the bio community in order to collaborate where there are areas of overlap.  My background is in engineering - civil and environmental engineering in school, now doing alot of pavement, geotechnical, and drainage/dewatering design.  In my own time I've taken a big technical interest in process control, mainly in hydroponics, environmental control (like HVAC), and beer brewing.  All the electronic and mechanical stuff is self-taught so there's been alot of trial and error on my path, but maybe not an order of magnitude more than if I had learned it in school.

I am interested in adding biological elements into designs, and so far have just been shooting from the hip with mixed results.  Some applications of interest to me are algae biofuel processors, automatic plant/animal/fungus environmental homeostasis systems, compact grey/blackwater treatment units, closed-loop irrigation with specialized bacterial bioreactor elements, and anything having to do with microbial action to beneficiate rock/sand/spacedust.

I could be of assistance on the DIY PCR project as there is some technical overlap on temperature control and driving peltier elements.  Also would be interested in developing hardware and control systems for economical mass production of select organisms.

Looking forward to hacking with y'all!
Hol