REU Site: Research experience through collaborative teams in bioprocessing for conversion of waste into products of value

REU 网站：通过生物加工合作团队将废物转化为有价值的产品的研究经验

• 批准号: 2050742
• 负责人: Brendan Higgins
• 金额: $ 39.11万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2050742&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: REU; Site; Research; experience; through

Closing the loop on biological wastes is a critical global challenge given the expectation that the Earth will support roughly 9 billion people by 2050. Biological wastes are rich resources that contain a range of nutrients as well as water. Many of the molecules found in bio-waste can be transformed into products of value to society – fertilizers, protein, energy, clean water, medicine, and advanced biomaterials. This project promotes scientific progress and advances the health, prosperity, and welfare of the nation, consistent with the NSF’s mission. It does this by engaging cohorts of budding researchers into research projects aimed at converting biological waste materials back into products of value. At the same time, it trains student participants on how to conduct research and, of equal importance, how to communicate that work to the broader community. Participant students will be recruited from populations that are underrepresented in technical fields, as well as populations who currently lack access to research opportunities. The outcome will be a better-trained, diverse scientific workforce, which will help deliver solutions that benefit both people and the environment.The objective of this project is to establish a new REU site that integrates undergraduate students in team-based research projects focused on converting biological wastes into products of value. The proposed REU site will provide a 10-week summer research experience for ten students each year, over a 3 year period. REU students will be paired with faculty teams working in four different areas: 1) use of fish waste for sustainable aquaponics vegetable production, 2) upgrading wastewater nutrients into zooplankton fish feed, 3) transforming cellulose into sensors for infectious disease detection, and 4) conversion of lignin into adhesives and carbon fiber. As the most abundant biopolymers on Earth, cellulose and lignin are widely available in a range of waste biomass resources. REU student participants will not only gain research experience through this project, they will also receive training on teamwork and communication best practices through a suite of professional development opportunities. These efforts will yield two major outcomes: 1) a cohort of young researchers, many from underrepresented groups, who have strong understanding of interdisciplinary team-based research, and 2) publications showcasing the work of these students to the broader research community.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Engineering Education and Centers (Directorate for Engineering), and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

考虑到预计到2050年地球将供养大约90亿人口，关闭生物废物的循环是一项重大的全球挑战。生物废物是丰富的资源，含有一系列营养物质和水。在生物废物中发现的许多分子可以转化为对社会有价值的产品——肥料、蛋白质、能源、清洁水、药品和先进的生物材料。该项目与美国国家科学基金会的使命一致，促进了科学进步，促进了国家的健康、繁荣和福利。它通过让一批崭露头角的研究人员参与旨在将生物废料重新转化为有价值产品的研究项目来做到这一点。与此同时，它还培训学生如何进行研究，同样重要的是，如何将研究成果传达给更广泛的社区。参与的学生将从技术领域代表性不足的人群以及目前缺乏获得研究机会的人群中招募。结果将是一支训练有素、多样化的科学队伍，这将有助于提供既有利于人类又有利于环境的解决方案。该项目的目标是建立一个新的REU站点，将本科生整合到以团队为基础的研究项目中，重点是将生物废物转化为有价值的产品。拟议中的REU网站将在3年的时间里，每年为10名学生提供为期10周的暑期研究经历。REU的学生将与教师团队在四个不同领域合作：1)利用鱼类废物进行可持续的鱼菜共生生产，2)将废水营养物质转化为浮游动物饲料，3)将纤维素转化为传染病检测的传感器，以及4)将木质素转化为粘合剂和碳纤维。纤维素和木质素是地球上最丰富的生物聚合物，广泛存在于各种废弃生物质资源中。参与REU项目的学生不仅可以获得研究经验，还可以通过一系列专业发展机会获得团队合作和沟通最佳实践方面的培训。这些努力将产生两个主要结果：1)一批年轻的研究人员，其中许多来自代表性不足的群体，他们对跨学科团队研究有很强的理解；2)向更广泛的研究界展示这些学生的工作的出版物。该项目由工程教育和中心部（工程理事会）以及促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。