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

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.