The CEB was founded in 1986 with a $1 million grant from the US Department of Education to provide seed money for UT and ORNL to establish a center through which scientists could find new ways to use the emerging field of biotechnology to solve environmental problems. Dr. Gary Sayler was the founding director.
For nearly two decades, CEB served as the technical arm of UT’s Waste Management Research and Education Institute and became linked to the Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment when WMREI was merged with other existing research organizations to form the ISSE.
The CEB has a proven national and international research record. By combining electronics and bioengineered organisms, the center enables UT and ORNL scientists to develop technologies that offer real-time, on-site monitoring of hazardous materials. A basic thrust of the center is to move research results into commercial applications more quickly. The CEB was one of the five Knoxville Research Centers of Excellence designated in 2001 by President Wade Gilley.