Full Center Proposal (Phase I) for an I/UCRC for Bioprocessing Research and Development
0832549 South Dakota School of Mines; David Dixon 0832554 University of Hawaii; Scott Turn 0832505 South Dakota State University; William Gibbons 0832498 North Carolina State University; Steven Peretti 0832522 Kansas State University; Mary Rezac 0832520 State University of New York, Stony Brook; Devinder Mahajan
This proposal request seeks funding to establish a multi-university Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Bioprocessing Research and Development (CBRD). The proposed center is comprised of six universities, and is focused to make transformative discoveries to enable the lignocellulosic and fats and oil based bio-industries meet the challenges set forth by the US President, federal and state agencies and the American public. The research proposed is highly consistent with the USDA and DOE roadmaps and well integrated with the Sun Grant centers. The topic is timely and very crucial to the US, with strong academic and industry interest. The proposed research is highly interactive and multi-institutional, and has strong potential to be transformative through new discoveries. Universities participating in the proposed center have identified six initial research foci, and each of these focus areas will be addressed through numerous research projects. Additionally, the focus of the proposed center will be on activities that support and extend recent advances made by industrial partners.
CBRD is positioned to make transformative discoveries that enable the lignocellulosic and oil and fats based bio-industries to meet the challenge of declining petroleum supply. The wide range of institutions and projects proposed present numerous mechanisms for broader impact. The proposed center will serve as an educational environment, to fill the workforce pipeline with engineers and scientists needed to make use of these opportunities. This center will also provide a network of information flow to the public sector: involve K-12 outreach activities and involvement from minority participation throughout the country. It Is anticipated that the center will have direct participation from tribal colleges and historically black colleges and universities. Technology transfer is well addressed in the center plan.
CBERD’s mission was to conduct collaborative research focused on delivering technology solutions that enable widespread commercialization of biomass-derived fuels and products. While accomplishing this goal CBERD assisted government and industry in achieving the National priority goal of augmenting our petroleum-based economy with renewable energy, chemicals and biomaterials. At the CBERD SDSM&T site research focused on: 1) discovering ways to rationally design membranes for separation of inhibitors and value-added products, 2) exploring the physics and chemistry of how ionic fluids work so as to develop economic separation systems, 3) engineering new thermostable enzymes for improved lignocellulose conversion to petrochemical replacement chemicals, 4) developing innovative systems to cultivate algae and 5) finding new commercial avenues for the co-products from bioethanol production by developing novel bio-composites. All of these innovations where focused to improve the economics of bioprocessing, helping to achieve the biorefinery vision and economic competitiveness. These projects provided significant opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to receive industry specific training. This training in experimental methods and instrumentation along with a deep understanding of the science and technology of bioprocessing prepared the next generation of bioprocessing engineers and scientists. The specific results of this work are found in thesis, dissertations, conference presentations and publications and journal publications which can be accessed through the Internet.
