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.

鉴于人们期望到2050年地球将支持大约90亿人民，因此关闭生物废物的循环是一项关键的全球挑战。生物废物是丰富的资源，其中包含一系列营养和水。在生物废物中发现的许多分子可以转化为有价值的对社会有价值的产品 - 肥料，蛋白质，能量，清洁水，药物和晚期生物材料。该项目促进了科学进步，并促进了国家的健康，繁荣和福利，这与NSF的使命一致。它通过将萌芽的研究人员参与旨在将生物废料转换回有价值产品的研究项目来实现这一目标。同时，它培训学生参与者如何进行研究以及同等重要的方式如何将其与更广泛的社区交流。参与者的学生将从在技术领域的人群中以及目前无法获得研究机会的人群中招募。结果将是一个训练有素，多样化的科学劳动力，这将有助于提供有益于人和环境的解决方案。该项目的目的是建立一个将本科生集成到基于团队的研究项目中的新REU网站，这些研究项目旨在将生物学废物转化为价值产品。拟议的REU网站将在3年的时间内为10名学生提供10周的夏季研究经验。 REU学生将与在四个不同领域工作的教师团队配对：1）将鱼类废物用于可持续的水培植物生产，2）将废水营养升级为浮游动物鱼饲料，3）将纤维素转化为传感器以进行感染性疾病检测，4）将木质素转化为粘合蛋白转化为粘合剂和碳纤维。作为地球上最丰富的生物聚合物，纤维素和木质素在一系列废物生物量资源中广泛使用。 REU学生参与者不仅将通过该项目获得研究经验，还将通过一系列专业发展机会获得有关团队合作和交流最佳实践的培训。 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法定使命，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响标准通过评估被认为是宝贵的支持。