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

0238858 厄瑟 这个NSF CAREER建议的主要研究目标是减少活性污泥系统中成功硝化所需的污泥年龄。主要的教育目标是将生物处理系统的建模与辛辛那提大学现有的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（WEFTEC）上举办一个关于分子生物学和建模工具的会前研讨会。这项研究和教育计划扩大了首席研究员（PI）正在进行的努力，开发和展示新的方法，通过挑战假设，即硝化微生物之间的多样性增加，减少了悬浮生长活性污泥系统中硝化所需的污泥年龄，并将这些技术转移给从业者，从而弥合工程师和生态学家之间的差距。知识产权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代表了一个基本的横切面的挑战，必须解决之前，分子生物学工具的结果可以完全集成与环境工程实践。基于他的跨学科教育，包括生物科学学位（BA）以及环境工程（B.S.，医学硕士，Ph.D.），PI是唯一有资格迎接这一挑战的人。PI的多学科方法来优化硝化作用，并将最先进的研究技术整合到本科和研究生课程中，这符合辛辛那提大学的机构目标和土木与环境工程系的五年计划。PI有一个强大的历史，支持妇女和少数民族研究人员在他的实验室通过妇女在科学和工程（WISE）计划，工程学院的工程妇女罗中心在UC。他目前的七名学生中有四名是女性，三名是少数民族。该提案中描述的CLSM将通过在主要（非医学）校园提供第一个CLSM设施，大大增强UC的研究和教学基础设施。拟议WEFTEC会前研讨会代表了第一次努力，从学术界转移分子生物学工具，环境工程从业人员。

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.