Bioeconomy Institute
The Iowa State University Bioeconomy Institute is a first-in-the-nation institute dedicated to advancing the bioeconomy while serving society. Established in 2007, we advance and coordinate biorenewables research, education, and engagement at Iowa State University. We provide resources and services for over 130 faculty and staff across the university. We engage with over 50 industry partners. Our strengths include transdisciplinary collaboration across entire value chains, research and demonstration of processing systems and conversion technologies, and scaling technologies toward the commercialization of biobased products and associated services. We are located in the Biorenewables Research Laboratory, where we host state-of-the-art analytical facilities and instrumentation.
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Bioeconomy Institute Highlights
$15M to Fuel Rural Growth Through Biomanufacturing
RuralSTAMINA – Ascending Rural communities through Sustainable, Transformative, Advanced Manufacturing INnovations and Alliances – is focused on creating new value-added products through the discovery and commercialization of innovations in biomass conversion and biomanufacturing.
New Slow-release Fertilizer Startup
Founded by Bioeconomy Institute principal scientist Dr. Santanu Bakshi and entrepreneur Kyle Anderson, Reform Bio is developing new technology that could help keep nitrogen fertilizers on farm fields out of waterways. Their technology is a stable, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer that feeds crops across an entire growing season.
SILPH Database
Did you know that some of the data collected through Bioeconomy Institute projects is publicly available? SILPH (Scientific Information Launching Perennial Horizons) is a database hosted by the Bioeconomy Institute for sharing, documenting, and preserving data from agroecosystem and processing systems research.
VanLoocke Leads Public-Private Partnership for Carbon Markets
Bioeconomy Institute's Dr. Andy VanLoocke and team built and publicly released a dataset integrating results from more than 250 peer-reviewed studies on the effects of tillage on yield and soil carbon. They are working to provide greater certainty for developing carbon markets.
Rise Energy Selected for DARPA Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative
Rise Energy, a company founded by Bioeconomy Institute staff members Ryan Smith, Tannon Daugaard, and Jordan Funkhouser, has secured $340,000 to accelerate the commercialization of its Autothermal Pyrolysis technology developed at Iowa State University (ISU).
Prairie Strips Rapidly Improve Multiple Soil Health Measures
Important to farmers, a new study by Bioeconomy Institute affiliates Drs. Cole Dutter and Marshall McDaniel documents how prairie strips improve eight of 12 key soil health measures, including soil aggregate stability and microbial biomass, in nearly a decade.