Work in the biosciences drew Charles Stewart home to Iowa from San Diego - and home to Iowa State University. His position as an associate scientist in the Office of Biotechnology at Iowa State University offered Charles a step up in his career, and family ties in Des Moines help him and his wife balance work/life demands as they raise their first child. He says they love the friendly environment and reasonable cost of living.

His facility provides students and faculty access to state-of-the-art equipment, which helps them advance their research and work across disciplines. His work also contributes to ongoing efforts to develop biorenewable chemicals.

Charles wears two hats in his role at Iowa State. He manages the Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography Facility on campus, which aims to provide students, staff and faculty with the instrumentation and technology necessary to understand the 3D structure of proteins. Secondly, he conducts research on the structure and function of a set of enzymes used by plants to defend themselves against pathogens.

"The development and use of proteins as catalysts to make chemicals in a sustainable way is a central goal of the emerging biorenewable industry," says Charles. "Ten years from now, I would like to look back and see that my work has contributed to the development of technologies and companies that are not only good for the environment but also for Iowa's economy."

Charles sees a bright future for bioscience in Iowa - developing new methods of early detection of diseases in plants and animals, creating biorenewable resources, and helping attract and retain smart, young, energetic talent from Iowa and around the nation.

Charles is one of the 97,000 Iowa State University alumni living in Iowa and contributing to the economic health of the state.