The President’s Research Excellence Program (PRE) Catalyst grants support cross- and interdisciplinary teams to pursue large-scale, high-impact research that addresses emerging or existing national and international societal challenges. This year's grants address aging, cancer, and energy and sustainability research.
In the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), several faculty members serve as co-investigators on the projects receiving grant funding, and Professor Katrina Cornish leads one project.
Project's involving FABE faculty members are described below:
Industrial food processing waste valorization using electro-fermentation
Lead PI: Katrina Cornish (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering)
Co-investigators: Beenish Saba (College of Engineering), Ann Christy (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering) and Thaddeus Ezeji (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences)
The proposed electro-fermentation process will convert industrial food processing waste into valuable products. This carbon capture and waste valorization technology will lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce industrial food waste and provide a model which may be applicable to household waste.
Artificial Metalloenzymes for the Sustainable Production of Renewable Fuels: Conversion of Solar Energy and Plant Waste to Hydrogen and Ethylene by Microorganisms
Lead PI: Justin North (College of Arts and Sciences)
Co-investigators: Patrice Hamel and Hannah Shafaat (College of Arts and Sciences), Ajay Shah (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and College of Engineering)
This project will engineer industrially scalable biological systems for the renewable conversion of sunlight, CO2 and agricultural biomass into hydrogen and ethylene by photosynthetic algae and bacteria. Hydrogen and ethylene are commodity chemicals and emerging fossil fuel replacements for energy.
Ohio State has invested nearly $4.3 million to 48 teams of Ohio State investigators through the PRE program since its inception in 2021.