University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina Aiken has its only off campus research facility located at ARC:Hydrogen. In a partnership between the University, the Economic Development Partnership of Aiken and Edgefield Counties, and the Savannah River National Laboratory, exciting research is underway to develop a new method for detecting hydrogen produced by bacteria.
A team of researchers led by Dr. Garriet Smith, professor of microbiology at USC Aiken, has been screening various bacteria for its ability to produce hydrogen. Hydrogen is a clean burning fuel which could reduce carbon emissions, reduce the rate of global warming, and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. USC Aiken has dedicated a full-time researcher to this project and the team includes a microbiologist from Savannah River National Laboratory and other researchers and scientists.
Presently, the team is screening bacteria that can both reduce waste and produce hydrogen, thus using the isolates to do double duty.