Advancing the Bioeconomy, Serving Society
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 serve as the “front door” to biorenewables 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 whole value chains, research and demonstration of processing systems and conversion technologies, and scaling technologies toward 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
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 been selected for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative (EEI), securing $340,000 in non-dilutive funding to accelerate the commercialization of its Autothermal Pyrolysis technology developed at Iowa State University (ISU).
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.
Faces of Discovery: Dr. Mark Mba Wright
Dr. Mark Mba Wright, professor of mechanical engineering and associate director of the Bioeconomy Institute, leads research that spans a wide range of technologies. His team works on everything from biomanufactured aviation fuels to synthetic fibers made from environmentally friendly resources to electrochemical systems that use renewable energy.
VanLoocke Leads Public-Private Partnership to Advance 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.
New NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program Focused on Bioeconomy
ISU faculty will train graduate students in the biological sciences, focusing on both basic biological research and more applied aspects of biology that build the bioeconomy.
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 in nearly a decade.