Catalyst Award: Plant and Rhizosphere Processes that Prevent Groundwater Contamination from Metals and Nitrates

Catalyst项目为历史上的黑人学院和大学提供支持，以建立教师的研究能力，加强科学、技术、工程和数学本科教育和研究。预计该奖项将进一步提高教师的研究能力，提高学院的研究和教学水平，并让本科生参与研究经验。北卡罗来纳农工大学的这个项目将为当前和新出现的农业和城市环境问题开发可持续的技术解决方案，以保护水资源和提高农业生产力。该项目将积极吸引代表性不足的学生参与跨学科研究，同时与当地高中社区建立牢固的关系。间歇性地将富含碳的食品加工废水应用于土壤进行处理，可以产生饱和和厌氧条件或好氧条件，并导致氧化还原敏感土壤天然金属或硝酸盐的动员。该项目的目标是评估富含碳的食品加工废水在土地施用过程中减少金属和硝酸盐向地下水动员的重要植物和根治菌过程。该项目将采用柱状研究来评估蒸散、根系刺激、植物吸收、氧合和植物固存。它利用土壤、水和植物样品的分析，以及土壤氧化还原电位、土壤水分和土壤微生物群落的测量。该研究确定了单个根瘤菌和植物过程在实验室尺度上对硝酸盐和金属动员的作用。研究结果对于开发基于植物的工程解决方案以减少土地处理系统问题具有重要意义。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。

Catalyst Projects provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to work towards establishing research capacity of faculty to strengthen science, technology, engineering and mathematics undergraduate education and research. It is expected that the award will further the faculty member's research capability, improve research and teaching at the institution, and involve undergraduate students in research experiences. This project at North Carolina A&T University will develop sustainable technological solutions to current and emerging agricultural and urban environmental problems to protect water resources and increase agricultural productivity. The project will actively engage underrepresented students in interdisciplinary research, while building a strong relationship with the local high school community.The intermittent application of carbon-rich food processing wastewater to soil for treatment can create saturated and anaerobic conditions or aerobic conditions and lead to mobilization of redox-sensitive soil native metals or nitrate. The goal of the project is to evaluate plant and rhizobial processes important to reduce mobilization of metal and nitrate to groundwater during land application of carbon-rich food processing wastewater. This project will use column studies to evaluate evapotranspiration, rhizostimulation, plant uptake, oxygenation and phytosequestration. It utilizes analysis of soil, water and plant samples, and measurement of soil oxidation-reduction potential, soil moisture and soil microbial communities. The research identifies the role of individual rhizobial and plant-processes towards nitrate and metal mobilization in laboratory scales. The research results are important for development of plant-based engineering solutions to reduce land treatment system problems.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.