NSF EPSCoR E-RISE: BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC)
Center Director:
Ruanbao Zhou, Ph.D., Department of Biology and Microbiology
Contact Information:
Vision
SDSU is leading an National Science Foundation-awarded $7 million project (2024-2028 with a renewable $4.5 million for three more years) titled BioNitrogen Economy Research Center. This project enables South Dakota to grow as a national leader in applied research on solar-powered, oxic biological nitrogen fixation and developing novel bionitrogen industries.
Mission
The BioNitrogen Economy Research Center is integrating research activities with workforce training and STEM education to accelerate the development of bionitrogen economies. The BioNitrogen Economy Research Center research is facilitating a transition from the fossil fuel-driven chemo-nitrogen economy to a solar-powered bionitrogen economy in which many bioproducts can eventually be produced by genetically engineered dinitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and novel dinitrogen-fixing crops, using abundant sunlight, atmospheric dinitrogen gas (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Project Description
To help pioneer a new nitrogen bioeconomy, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from South Dakota State University, Oglala Lakota College, South Dakota Mines and the University of South Dakota, along with Houdek, an industry partner, has established the BioNitrogen Economy Research Center, leveraging artificial intelligence/machine learning to build jurisdictional research capacity in biological nitrogen fixation and its practical applications. The BioNitrogen Economy Research Center will build sustainable capacity to leverage abundant atmospheric N2 gas to create commercially viable, solar-powered bionitrogen industries. This will be achieved by (1) study of N2-fixing bugs and plant symbioses in natural ecosystems, (2) comparative multiomics study of a uniquely sunlight-powered, oxic N2-fixation, (3) biological nitrogen fixation-driven biomanufacturing and (4) exploring the reconstruction of N2-fixing cyanobacteria and plants as a bridge toward creating many novel N2-fixing crops.
Please use the script below when the work is fully supported by BNERC:
"This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation under NSF EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement No.2416911. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSF."
Please use the script below when the work is partially supported by BNERC:
"This material is based upon work supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under NSF EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement No.2416911. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this are those of the authors(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the NSF."
A shorter version when there is a space limitation:
"This material is based upon work supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation under NSF EPSCoR Cooperative Agreement No.2416911."
