IRES: Track I: Exploring Biobased Plastics and Materials through Collaborative Research in Japan

第一部分：随着全球对塑料垃圾对环境影响的担忧不断加剧，迫切需要新的解决方案来提供可持续材料，以及具有全球视野的科学家和工程师来提供这些材料。IRES Track I项目寻求开发这样的解决方案，同时探索生物基塑料和材料的新领域，并培训下一代创新的问题解决者。通过拟议的计划，来自亚利桑那州立大学(ASU)和纳瓦霍工业大学(NTU)的美国研究生和本科生将前往日本京都工业大学(KIT)生物基材料系并参与其实践研究项目。该项目每年夏季为期10周，将为3名研究生和6名本科生参与者提供培训机会；或在为期3年的项目期间，分别为9名和18名参与者提供培训机会。学生将被嵌入KIT教员的实验室，与他们和他们的学生密切合作。通过让学生参与一系列有意义的研究体验，该项目旨在激发和/或进一步培养他们对生物技术、材料科学和可持续发展的兴趣，同时加强他们对STEM学科的高级学习和职业生涯的热情。通过与南大的伙伴关系，以及认真的整体招生战略，该项目还将为来自代表性不足群体的学生提供重要的STEM研究机会。除了有影响力的研究经验，还将提供参观工业遗址和政府研究设施的机会，以提高学生的专业准备和他们对该领域未来职业机会的了解。学生参与者还将参加一系列独特的文化活动。最终，通过在拥有世界一流教师和研究设施的大学以及拥有无与伦比的文化设施的城市提供这一项目，该项目还将有助于加强学生作为全球科学界成员的认同感，同时向他们灌输合作的重要性，为复杂的全球问题提供解决方案。通过加强生物塑料的生产，该项目的成果有望减少对不可再生石油和天然气的依赖，在许多情况下，还有可能通过消耗大气中的温室气体二氧化碳对碳循环产生积极影响。第2部分：通过该计划提供的具体项目的目标跨越了生物基塑料和材料生产面临的相关研究挑战的连续统一体，包括从上游转化到聚合物合成和材料开发，从结果产品的表征到最终的生物降解。该项目的学生将在以下一个或多个领域接受全面培训：i)应用微生物学和生物工艺工程，以增加各种生物衍生单体的可用性；ii)聚合物化学和工程，用于从生物衍生单体生产新型生物塑料；iii)从不同来源(如竹子和丝绸)设计新型纤维和材料，并用于各种应用；iv)用于生物医学应用的新型功能化生物材料的合成和表征；v)开发新的分析技术，用于高通量筛选新型单体和生物基材和塑料的纳米结构表征；vi)研究生物塑料降解的可持续方法。该项目还将为学校教职员工之间的直接接触提供大量机会，使其成为促进机构之间长期、多学科研究合作的有效平台。归根结底，增强生物塑料生产承诺减少对不可再生石油和天然气的依赖，同时通过消耗大气二氧化碳对碳循环产生积极影响。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Part 1: As global concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic waste continue to grow, new solutions for providing sustainable materials are desperately needed, along with globally-minded scientists and engineers to deliver them. This IRES Track I project seeks to develop such solutions while exploring new frontiers of biobased plastics and materials and training the next generation of innovative problem solvers. Through the proposed program, U.S. graduate and undergraduate students from at Arizona State University (ASU) and Navajo Technical University (NTU) will travel to and participate in hands-on research projects in the Department of Biobased Materials at Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT) in Kyoto, Japan. For 10 weeks each Summer, this project will provide training opportunities for 3 graduate and 6 undergraduate student participants; or 9 and 18 total participants, respectively, over the duration of the 3-year project. Students will be embedded into the labs of KIT faculty, collaborating and working closely with them and their students. By engaging students in a series of meaningful research experiences, this project seeks to spark and/or further cultivate their interest in biotechnology, materials science, and sustainability, while strengthening their enthusiasm for advanced studies and careers in STEM disciplines. Through partnership with NTU, along with a conscientious overall recruitment strategy, this project will also provide important STEM research opportunities for students from under-represented groups. In addition to impactful research experiences, tours of industrial sites and government research facilities will be offered to improve the professional preparation of students and their understanding of future career opportunities in this field. Student participants will also take part in a series of unique cultural activities. Ultimately, by offering this project internationally at a university with world-class faculty and research facilities and in a city with unparalleled cultural amenities, this program will also help to strengthen student identities as members of a global scientific community, while impressing upon them the importance of collaboration for providing solutions to complex global problems. By enhancing the production of bioplastics, outcomes of this project offer the promise to reduce dependence on non-renewable oil and natural gas as well as, in many cases, the potential to positively impact the carbon cycle by consuming atmospheric CO2, a greenhouse gas. Part 2: The goals of the specific projects to be offered via this program span the continuum of relevant research challenges facing the production of biobased plastics and materials, including from upstream conversion, to polymer synthesis and materials development, to characterization of the resulting products, to their ultimate biodegradation. Students in the program will receive comprehensive training in one or more the following areas: i) applied microbiology and bioprocess engineering to enhance the availability of diverse, bio-derived monomers; ii) polymer chemistry and engineering for producing new bioplastics from bio-derived monomers; iii) engineering of novel fibers and materials from diverse sources (e.g., bamboo and silk) and for various applications; iv) synthesis and characterization of novel, functionalized biomaterials for biomedical applications; v) development of new analytical techniques for high-throughput screening of novel monomers and nanostructural characterization of biobased materials and plastics; and vi) investigation of sustainable methods for bioplastic degradation. This program will also provide numerous opportunities for direct engagement between faculty members across schools, enabling it to serve as an effective platform for fostering long-term, multi-disciplinary research collaborations between institutions. Ultimately, enhanced bioplastics production offers the promise to reduce dependence on non-renewable oil and natural gas while positively impacting the carbon cycle by consuming atmospheric CO2.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.