CAREER: Challenging the Structure-Function Relationship of Nitrifiers and Nitrification in Activated Sludge Using Molecular Biology and Mechanistic Modeling Tools

0238858此外，这项国家科学基金会职业计划的主要研究目标是降低活性污泥系统中成功硝化所需的泥龄。主要教育目标是将生物处理系统的建模与在辛辛那提大学教授的现有分子生物学课程相结合，并在水环境联合会技术博览会和会议上举办关于分子生物学和建模工具的会前讲习班。这项研究和教育计划扩大了首席调查员(PI)正在进行的努力，通过挑战以下假设，开发和展示新的方法来弥合工程师和生态学家之间的差距，即硝化微生物多样性的增加降低了悬浮生长活性污泥系统中硝化所需的泥龄，并将这些技术转让给实践者。成功地弥合基于功能的工程和基于结构的微生物学之间的差距是一个基本的交叉挑战，在分子生物学工具的结果可以与环境工程实践充分结合之前，必须解决这一挑战。基于他的跨学科教育，包括生物科学学位(B.A.)除了环境工程(学士、硕士、博士)，PI是唯一有资格迎接这一挑战的人。该研究所在优化硝化作用和将最先进的研究技术融入本科和研究生课程方面采取的多学科方法符合辛辛那提大学的机构目标和土木工程和环境工程系的五年计划。PI通过加州大学工程学院罗威工程女性中心的女性科学与工程(WISE)计划，在他的实验室支持女性和少数族裔研究人员方面有着很强的历史。他目前的七名学生中有四名是女性，三名是少数民族。建议中描述的CLSM将通过在主(非医学)校园提供第一个CLSM设施，大大加强UC的研究和教学基础设施。拟议的WEFTEC会前研讨会是将分子生物学工具从学术界转移到环境工程从业者的第一次努力。

0238858 Oerther The primary research goal of this NSF CAREER proposal is to reduce required sludge ages for successful nitrification in activated sludge systems. The primary educational goals are to integrate modeling of biological treatment systems with existing molecular biology courses taught at the University of Cincinnati and to conduct a preconference workshop on molecular biology and modeling tools at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC). This research and education plan expands the ongoing efforts of the Principal Investigator (PI) to develop and demonstrate novel approaches to bridge the gap between engineers and ecologists by challenging the hypothesis that, increased diversity among nitrifying microorganisms reduces required sludge ages for nitrification in suspended growth activated sludge systems with mechanistic models and to transfer these technologies to practitioners.Intellectual Merit. Successfully bridging the gap between function-based engineering and structure-based microbiology represents a fundamental crosscutting challenge that must be addressed before the results of molecular biology tools can be fully integrated with environmental engineering practice. Based upon his interdisciplinary education, including degrees in the biological sciences (B.A.) as well as environmental engineering (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.), the PI is uniquely qualified to meet this challenge. The PI's multidisciplinary approach to the optimization of nitrification and the integration of state-of-the-art research techniques into the undergraduate and graduate curricula fit with the institutional goals of the University of Cincinnati and the five-year plan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.Broader Impacts. The PI has a strong history of supporting women and minority researchers in his laboratory through the Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) program, Rowe Center for Women in Engineering of the College of Engineering at UC. Four of his current seven students are women and three are minority. The CLSM described in the proposal will dramatically enhance the research and teaching infrastructure of UC by providing the first CLSM facility on the main (non-medical) campus. The proposed WEFTEC pre-conference workshop represents a first effort to transfer molecular biology tools from academia to environmental engineering practitioners.