IRES: Track I: Exploring Biobased Plastics and Materials through Collaborative Research in Japan

IRES：第一轨道：通过日本的合作研究探索生物基塑料和材料

• 批准号: 1952507
• 负责人: David Nielsen
• 金额: $ 29.99万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1952507&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRES; Track; Exploring; Biobased; Plastics

Part 1: As global concerns over the environmental impacts of plastic waste continue to grow, new solutions for providing sustainable materials are desperately needed, along with globally-minded scientists and engineers to deliver them. This IRES Track I project seeks to develop such solutions while exploring new frontiers of biobased plastics and materials and training the next generation of innovative problem solvers. Through the proposed program, U.S. graduate and undergraduate students from at Arizona State University (ASU) and Navajo Technical University (NTU) will travel to and participate in hands-on research projects in the Department of Biobased Materials at Kyoto Institute of Technology (KIT) in Kyoto, Japan. For 10 weeks each Summer, this project will provide training opportunities for 3 graduate and 6 undergraduate student participants; or 9 and 18 total participants, respectively, over the duration of the 3-year project. Students will be embedded into the labs of KIT faculty, collaborating and working closely with them and their students. By engaging students in a series of meaningful research experiences, this project seeks to spark and/or further cultivate their interest in biotechnology, materials science, and sustainability, while strengthening their enthusiasm for advanced studies and careers in STEM disciplines. Through partnership with NTU, along with a conscientious overall recruitment strategy, this project will also provide important STEM research opportunities for students from under-represented groups. In addition to impactful research experiences, tours of industrial sites and government research facilities will be offered to improve the professional preparation of students and their understanding of future career opportunities in this field. Student participants will also take part in a series of unique cultural activities. Ultimately, by offering this project internationally at a university with world-class faculty and research facilities and in a city with unparalleled cultural amenities, this program will also help to strengthen student identities as members of a global scientific community, while impressing upon them the importance of collaboration for providing solutions to complex global problems. By enhancing the production of bioplastics, outcomes of this project offer the promise to reduce dependence on non-renewable oil and natural gas as well as, in many cases, the potential to positively impact the carbon cycle by consuming atmospheric CO2, a greenhouse gas. Part 2: The goals of the specific projects to be offered via this program span the continuum of relevant research challenges facing the production of biobased plastics and materials, including from upstream conversion, to polymer synthesis and materials development, to characterization of the resulting products, to their ultimate biodegradation. Students in the program will receive comprehensive training in one or more the following areas: i) applied microbiology and bioprocess engineering to enhance the availability of diverse, bio-derived monomers; ii) polymer chemistry and engineering for producing new bioplastics from bio-derived monomers; iii) engineering of novel fibers and materials from diverse sources (e.g., bamboo and silk) and for various applications; iv) synthesis and characterization of novel, functionalized biomaterials for biomedical applications; v) development of new analytical techniques for high-throughput screening of novel monomers and nanostructural characterization of biobased materials and plastics; and vi) investigation of sustainable methods for bioplastic degradation. This program will also provide numerous opportunities for direct engagement between faculty members across schools, enabling it to serve as an effective platform for fostering long-term, multi-disciplinary research collaborations between institutions. Ultimately, enhanced bioplastics production offers the promise to reduce dependence on non-renewable oil and natural gas while positively impacting the carbon cycle by consuming atmospheric CO2.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.

第1部分：随着全球对塑料废物的环境影响的关注，迫切需要提供可持续材料的新解决方案，以及全球有思想的科学家和工程师来交付它们。 IRES Track I项目旨在开发此类解决方案，同时探索生物基塑料和材料的新领域，并培训下一代创新的问题解决者。 通过拟议的计划，来自亚利桑那州立大学（ASU）和纳瓦霍技术大学（NTU）的美国研究生和本科生将前往日本京都京都技术学院（KIT）生物基材料部的动手研究项目。 每个夏天10周，该项目将为3名研究生和6名本科生参与者提供培训机会；在3年项目期间，分别为9和18个参与者。 学生将被嵌入到Kit教师的实验室中，并与他们及其学生紧密合作。 通过让学生参与一系列有意义的研究经验，该项目试图激发和/或进一步培养他们对生物技术，材料科学和可持续性的兴趣，同时增强了他们对STEM学科的高级研究和职业的热情。 通过与NTU的合作伙伴关系，以及认真的整体招聘策略，该项目还将为来自代表性不足的群体的学生提供重要的STEM研究机会。 除了有影响力的研究经验外，还将提供对工业网站和政府研究设施的参观，以改善学生的专业准备及其对这一领域未来职业机会的理解。学生参与者还将参加一系列独特的文化活动。 最终，通过在一所拥有世界一流的教职员工和研究设施的大学以及具有无与伦比的文化设施的城市的大学中为该项目提供该项目，该计划还将有助于加强作为全球科学界的学生身份，同时给他们留下深刻的印象，同时为他们提供协作为解决复杂全球问题提供解决方案的重要性。 通过增强生物塑料的生产，该项目的结果提供了有望减少对不可再生油和天然气的依赖，在许多情况下，通过消耗大气二氧化碳（一种温室气体），有可能对碳循环产生积极影响。 第2部分：通过此计划提供的特定项目的目标涵盖了生产生物基塑料和材料所面临的相关研究的连续性，包括从上游转换到聚合物合成和材料开发，再到所得产品的表征，到其最终生物降解。 该计划中的学生将在以下领域接受全面的培训：i）应用微生物学和生物处理工程，以增强多样化的生物衍生单体的可用性； ii）聚合物化学和工程，用于从生物衍生的单体产生新的生物塑料； iii）来自不同来源（例如竹子和丝绸）的新型纤维和材料的工程以及各种应用； iv）用于生物医学应用的新型生物材料的合成和表征； v）开发新的分析技术，用于对新单体的高通量筛选以及生物基材料和塑料的纳米结构表征；和vi）研究可持续塑性降解方法的研究。 该计划还将为跨学校的教职员工之间的直接参与提供许多机会，从而使其成为促进机构之间长期，多学科研究合作的有效平台。 最终，增强的生物塑料生产提供了有望减少对不可再生的石油和天然气的依赖，同时通过消费大气CO。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来通过评估来获得支持的。