SRS RN: Track 2: Reimagining the Chemical Heartland: Closing the loop on the oil-plastics-recycling nexus to forge a resilient circular economy

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The vision of this SRS RN planning grant is to explore convergent research that develops a network to address the unique challenges faced by the “chemical heartland” on the US Gulf Coast and reimagine how the massive petrochemical infrastructure can be redeployed to foster a resilient, sustainable, and circular economy. The Gulf Coast of the US is the energy hub of the nation, comprising intricate networks that are critical to all aspects of the US society but that are also vulnerable to climate changes, market fluctuations, economic factors, geopolitical events, social disruptions, and other influencers that require the establishment of sustainable regional systems. The goal over the planning grant period will be to (1) map materials and energy flows across the Gulf Coast and (2) through a series of workshops and stakeholder interviews, identify fundamental scientific research priorities, technology development gaps, possible policy interventions, workforce development needs, and opportunities for private public partnerships that will allow the region to reinvent itself in the face of impending disruption. The extensive reach of the Texas A&M System will be leveraged to build partnerships across the Gulf Coast spanning academia, local government, industry, non-profits, community organizations, and industrial partners. The target of this planning exercise is the development of knowledge and collection of expertise that will allow for building a team to conduct convergent research and education leading to the establishment of a roadmap for reimagining the US Gulf Coast region as a global leader in the creation, processing, and recycling of novel plastics, infrastructure materials, and critical materials in a post-carbon economy. Understanding the problem, defining testable hypotheses, identifying areas where science and engineering research can have meaningful impact, charting a plan for facilitating translation of scientific innovation to real world applications, and connecting with stakeholders requires an interdisciplinary team. The proposers have assembled a planning team to convene regional stakeholders, refine the vision, and identify promising directions that can be pursued through defining and establishing a full- scale Sustainable Regional Systems Research Network effort. Examples of convergent research themes that will be explored include: (1) sustainability and circular economy; (2) Texas after the energy transition; (3) materials criticality; (4) resilience after Katrina and Harvey; (5) reimagining urban landscapes. Data and methods will be directed toward gaining detailed understanding of the current drivers, modeling will be advanced, and theories of change will be defined across workshops and through stakeholder interviews. The planning grant will set the stage for subsequent convergent studies to develop generalizable theories and outcomes that produce scalable strategies to be implemented to address anticipated future urbanization and urban-rural needs in ways that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable and equitable, with a focus on imagined 2050 scenarios. The Texas A&M System spans 11 universities and 8 state agencies and includes a Historically Black College and University, four Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and two emerging HSIs. The combined land-, sea-, and space-grant missions, tradition of serving large veteran populations, and presence in all 254 counties of Texas uniquely positions the proposing team to serve as the nodal group to bring together stakeholders and to define key knowledge gaps, frame testable hypotheses, and identify specific objectives to achieve the broader vision.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.