NSF Award
2416911
The BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC) will build state-wide research capacity focused on biological nitrogen fixation and its practical applications. Most of the nitrogen in our modern society is derived from fossil fuels via chemical synthesis, which causes environmental degradation. The BNERC seeks to develop personnel, technologies, and infrastructure pioneering in South Dakota. These developments will replace the chemo-nitrogen economy with a sustainable bio-nitrogen economy by using solar-powered cyanobacteria to convert atmospheric dinitrogen gas into ammonia. To accomplish this, South Dakota State University, Oglala Lakota College, the University of South Dakota, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and Houdek (industry) will partner in four synergistic research areas. The team will study nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in natural ecosystems; explore the mechanisms of solar-powered, oxic nitrogen-fixation using machine-learning driven comparative multi-omics; (3) bio-manufacture fuels and value-added products using nitrogen, and (4) engineer nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria as a step toward developing nitrogen-fixing crops. BNERC will employ a vertically integrated strategy to boost K-12 students' interest in nitrogen fixation and train a new South Dakota workforce in nitrogen-driven bio-manufacturing. Exchange visits among the BNERC partners and industry engagement in the project has potential to enrich the education of the student participants. <br/><br/>Dinitrogen (N2) gas is ≈2,000-fold more abundant than CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere. However, the practical application of biologically converting N2 gas into bioavailable forms such as ammonia has been little exploited due to a historically “chemo-nitrogen” economy based on hydrocarbons and the Haber-Bosch process. To pioneer a green economy derived from sunlight, N2 and CO2, a transdisciplinary team of South Dakota researchers will leverage data science and establish the BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC) to build jurisdictional research capacity in biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and its practical applications. As an agricultural state with a large Native American population, South Dakota is uniquely positioned to develop sustainable BNF research infrastructure by partnering academic institutions with industry to develop the workforce and promote economic growth in the region while increasing participation and representation of Native Americans in the state STEM enterprise. BNERC’s vision is to make South Dakota a national leader in use-inspired, machine learning-driven research in BNF. This will be accomplished by incubating four research areas and developing a diverse BNF workforce. A critical research goal of the project is to obtain an ML-driven systematic understanding of genomics and mechanisms associated with oxic N2-fixation in cyanobacteria and enable application in sustainable agriculture and industries. BNERC envisions a transition from the current fossil fuel-based chemo-nitrogen economy to a greener economic system in which bioproducts (N-rich and C-rich) are produced mainly by N2-fixing cyanobacteria and/or genetically engineered crops. This transition will alleviate the environmental issues resulting from our hydrocarbon-based economy and reliance on synthetic N2-fixation to support agriculture. This project is funded by the NSF EPSCoR Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE) Research Infrastructure Improvement Program. The E-RISE RII program supports the development and implementation of sustainable broad networks of individuals, institutions, and organizations that will transform the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research capacity and competitiveness in a jurisdiction within a field of research aligned with the jurisdiction's science and technology priorities.<br/><br/>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.
