NSF Convergence Accelerator Track J Phase 2: Dairy NutriSols - Catalyzing technology adoption to promote food and nutrition security

Population growth and humanitarian crises are increasing rates of food and nutrition insecurity across the globe. Milk is a nutrient dense powerhouse that can be transformed into myriad products to address this critical challenge. Current dairy production practices are rate limited and suffer from traditional, inefficient processing methods.

Through this Phase 2 Convergence Accelerator, the Dairy NutriSols consortium will catalyze the adoption of pioneering software and advanced manufacturing technologies to increase production capacity of high-quality nutritious dairy products and ingredients. Specifically, Dairy NutriSols will accelerate industry adoption of automated artificial intelligence, chemometric software, pulsed electric field and extruder technologies, and integrate sustainable upcycling practices.

These innovations can be adopted across various food manufacturing sectors and promise to promote novel, shelf-stable, nutrient-dense, and accessible products for people throughout the human life cycle, from infants to seniors.

The multi-disciplinary Dairy NutriSols consortium will leverage their convergence science expertise to modernize dairy processing. Additionally, Dairy NutriSols will inspire and educate the next generation of workers to strengthen a resilient domestic food manufacturing sector. The Dairy NutriSols consortium utilizes use-inspired practices to demonstrate and deploy innovative, practical, and sustainable solutions for the dairy industry that produce high-quality products at a larger scale and lower cost.

Project objectives include: (1) development of chemometric software for real-time monitoring of dairy proteins throughout a processing facility, (2) integration of pulsed electric field technology to improve protein spray drying efficiency, (3) enhanced ingredient functionality and new product development through extrusion technology, (4) upcycling of by-products to reduce waste, and (5) workforce technical skill training to generate enthusiasm for youth and create professional development opportunities for adults who are currently working or want to obtain positions in the dairy manufacturing industry. Before the end of Phase 2, milestones will expand to include prototype adoption by additional dairy process stakeholders to improve rates of domestic and global nutrition security.

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.