Microbes, Materials, and the Engineered Environment

One of the main barriers to practical application of knowledge gained through microbiological research is a lack of true collaboration between the microbiological community and those in other technical disciplines, including materials scientists, engineers, chemists, and plant/infrastructure managers. Similarly, researchers in materials sciences, physics and interfacial science seldom seek to actively collaborate with those in microbiological research. While transdisciplinary collaboration has been most successful in the area of medicine, it has been far less so within industry. This lack of collaboration has been further complicated by the sometimes differing objectives of industry and academia, and the unique technical languages associated with various disciplines that can hinder effective communication and innovation.

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), for example, is a global challenge to engineered systems that drives enormous costs resulting from maintenance and production losses and the mitigation of accompanying safety, environmental and health threats to society. Although past and present efforts have contributed to exploring and underlining the relevance of MIC, important knowledge remains fragmented and mostly isolated, both in academic contexts and within industrial practices. Indeed, the relevant progress of studies on microbial interaction with materials of the last ten years has yet to be implemented in recognized industry best practices and standardized methods. This is of particular concern in the light of the urgent issues of climate change and sustainability [1].

A recent analysis of publications on MIC by Hashemi et al (2018) demonstrated this extensive lack of collaboration between various sectors [2]. Research on the topic of MIC was published in multiple journals by discipline, and only in rare cases were overlaps were observed. This suggests that materials scientists, engineers, chemists, physicists, and microbiologists infrequently work collaboratively on a topic like MIC. Another important finding was that publications rarely attempted to consider relevant "real life" industry parameters when interpreting and applying the results of laboratory experiments.

Outside of the medical world, similar situations exist within various areas of biodeterioration, where practical solutions could be discovered simply by improving the opportunity for collaboration between microbiology and other sciences or technical disciplines. The motivation for this book series, "Microbes, Materials, and the Engineered Environment," is thus to provide a platform for illustrating collaborative efforts that include the physical sciences and microbiology.

This book series deals with the interactions of microorganisms with materials and the engineered environment, covering both problematic microbes causing biodeteriation, biodegradation, microbiologically influenced corrosion, and biofouling, and the positive effects of microbes such as for bioremediation, upcycling of materials, and energy production e.g., in power cells, biofuels synthesis, etc. The series brings a novel and unique transdisciplinary view to these diverse subjects to help bridge the communication gaps that exist between technical disciplines and between academia and industry.

The series encourages joint efforts between authors/editors from different disciplines, particularly microbiology with physical sciences and engineering, where transdisciplinary perspectives on solving the problem are explored. Collaborations between technical societies, academic and commercial researchers, standards development bodies, and industry sectors are also encouraged, along with case studies to illustrate microbiological solutions to practical engineering and societal problems.