RII Track-1: Building Capacity across Iowa to Meet Human Needs from Things that Grow

The vision of the "Building Capacity across Iowa to Meet Human Needs from Things that Grow" (“Chemurgy 2.0”) project is for Iowa to become an advanced biomanufacturing leader by adapting and modernizing the concept of “chemurgy” – i.e., applied chemistry with a focus on producing industrial products from agricultural material. The project will advance this vision by building and integrating research capacity in biosciences and advanced manufacturing, two key areas identified as important to the State of Iowa.

Chemurgy 2.0 will focus on the manufacturing of proteins, vaccines and therapeutics; the manufacturing of biochemicals and biofibers; 3D-printing and composite fabrication processes that utilize biochemicals and biofibers; and applications of data science and artificial intelligence. The development of plastics for additive manufacturing, fibers for flexible and rigid materials, and proteins for diagnostics and therapeutics will benefit society by providing bio-based and sustainable materials for health and consumer applications.

With this project, research infrastructure will be improved not only at Iowa research universities but also at predominantly undergraduate institutions in Iowa. Research experiences and educational opportunities will be provided for preservice teachers and for undergraduates from groups traditionally underrepresented – including first-generation and rural students.

Chemurgy 2.0 will be administered by Iowa State University in collaboration with the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, Dordt University, and Central College of Iowa.

The Chemurgy 2.0 research program will build capacity in meeting human needs from things that grow in three thematic areas: (1) Plastics for Additive Manufacturing (PAM), (2) Fibers for Flexible and Rigid materials (FFR), and (3) Proteins for Diagnostics and Therapeutics (PDT). The structure of each thematic area supports a “discover” – “optimize” – “scale-up-to manufacture” pipeline that forms an iterative and interconnected loop spanning from the discovery of bio-inspired building blocks to manufacturing applications.

PAM links the biomanufacturing of monomers to the Additive Manufacturing (AM) sector. FFR links biofibers to AM, textiles, and medical product manufacture. PDT focuses on larger bio-derived molecules, such as proteins and cell products, and connects them with diagnostics and therapeutics production.

Data science is a cross-cutting theme throughout all focal areas. Overall, Chemurgy 2.0 addresses three intersecting problems: biomanufacturing, which is under-developed in Iowa relative to other sectors; the critical physical and cyberinfrastructure needs for biomanufacutring that are currently lacking; and workforce capacity, which is severely constrained in the state.

Chemurgy 2.0 is expected to increase research infrastructure and workforce in the basic and applied science and engineering fields related to biomanufacturing and digital industrial technologies. Data-driven educational interventions and the implementation of outreach activities across the state will increase and diversify the Iowa biomanufacturing workforce.

Project-based communications with Iowa residents and beyond will build scientific literacy and understanding of Chemurgy 2.0’s role in achieving advanced biomanufacturing in Iowa.

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.