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| | Phenospex | Paul N McMahon | |
Small Business
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Bioenergy
| US Agent for Phenospex which provides:
High-throughput phenotyping sensors, data management and image analysis |
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| | Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) | Andrew M. Kiss | |
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
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Other Energy Technologies
| SSRL has a strong and well documented background in X-ray spectroscopy and imaging capabilities. Spectroscopy techniques can be performed at a wide range of energies spanning from soft X-rays, which can target elements such as calcium and sulfur, up to much harder X-rays where our 100-pixel solid state Ge detector array can be utilized. The ability to run at a wide range of X-ray energies using multiple beamlines provides the ability to run elemental and chemical speciation on almost the entire periodic table at a single facility. In addition to spectroscopy, scanning and full-field imaging techniques at SSRL span a wide range of length scales from nanometers to millimeters. The transmission X-ray microscope (TXM) is one of a few full-field synchrotron-based nano-scale TXMs in the US. The TXM is capable of a resolution of roughly 30 nm, tomographic capabilities to provide 3D reconstructions, and energy tunability so that spectroscopic information can be combined with the 3D datasets. Moving to a slightly larger length scale, a rapid microtomography system has been developed, providing submicron-scale in situ 3D imaging with millimeter field of view. This full-field imaging technique is capable of subminute tomographies and can operate with monochromatic light for spectroscopic information or utilize the full bend magnet spectrum and use white light. Finally, scanning techniques can image samples that are tens of millimeters in size, providing a large area map of the elemental and chemical information. This imaging and spectroscopy expertise developed at SSRL is extremely valuable for studying complex systems at a wide range of length scales while at a single location. |
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| | Advanced Biological Marketing, Inc | Molly Cadle-Davidson | |
Small Business
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Other Energy Technologies
| •ABM, Inc was founded in 2000 to bring valuable microbial products, formulated fungi and bacteria, to farmers. This has grown to include internal R&D focusing on selecting and developing microbial strains providing significant agronomic value to farmers.
•Fungi like Trichoderma and bacteria like Bradyrhizobium and Bacillus can act endophytically (inside the plant) and synergistically with plants to improve photosynthetic efficiency/capacity, increase plant root and shoot growth, provide stress resistance, and increase yields.
•Increased root and shoot biomass is made possible by increasing the carbon available for growth. This is accomplished through photosynthesis which extracts CO2 from the atmosphere and converts it into energy and structure for plant growth.
•Microbials trigger increases in photosynthesis and plant performance in existing plant varieties. These traits are plant improvement challenges and, to date, little progress has been made in improving photosynthetic efficiency. Even if this were not the case, breeding efforts take at least 10 years in even the fastest of examples (e.g. Wheat).
•Not all strains of a microbial species can leverage the full potential of a plant’s genome. ABM has specifically selected for these traits.
•ABM, Inc has microbial products on the market now that can provide 50% increases in CO2 extracted from the air over the untreated control.
•ABM, Inc focusses primarily on annual crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. Annual plants cycle some the CO2 they extract from the air back into the air every year. The C translocated to the roots, however, is largely converted to organic matter in the soil.
•ABM’s microbials trigger bigger and deeper roots which means that in a given season, more C is moved to the roots and stays in the soil than in an untreated annual plant. This reduces the slope of the carbon emissions curve over time (Keeling curve): more C stays in the roots/soil every season, even in treated annual plants.
•Utilizing highly selected microbials in this way sets up a crop production improvement cycle: more CO2 is extracted from the air and is C converted into energy and biomass (roots and shoots) for the plant; more C is translocated to the roots and converted to soil organic matter; soil organic content is increased; plants and microbes are better able to thrive owing to the improved soil; plants are able to extract more CO2 from the air and translocate it to the roots, and so on. |
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| | Department of Geography, University of Tennessee | Robert A. Washington-Allen | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| I received my BS in Zoology from the Ohio State University and I received my MS in Range Science and my PhD from Utah State University in Ecology. I was a research and development scientist in remote sensng for 10 years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, afterwards an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Virginia, and then an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University in the Dept. of Ecosystem Science & Management where I am now an adjunct Prof. I am now an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee in the Dept. of Geography. I am interested in the research, teaching, and application of passive and active ground, airborne, and satellite-based remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to problems in landscape ecology, physical geography including synecology/biogeography, environmental monitoring, ecological restoration for developing solutions to restoring or maintaining the sustainability of landscapes and their peoples. I use ground-based remote sensing technologies that include Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Terrestrial Laser Scanners (TLS) for estimating above-and belowground biomass in dryland ecosystems. |
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| | State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry | Timothy Volk | |
Academic
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Bioenergy
| SUNY ESF has conducted research on willow biomass crops as a perennial feedstock for bioenergy for 30 years and is a leader in the field on this topic. We have expertise in a wide range of issues related to crop production and management, assessment of environmental impacts, harvesting and logistics and conversion of material to bioenergy, biofuels and bioproducts. Recently we have completed some of the most comprehensive measurements of below ground biomass in these systems both across sites of different ages and among sites and cultivars. Results show there is more biomass stored below ground in these systems than previously expected. This data has been used to update the LCA of these systems and shows that willow systems can sequester C while producing a renewable source of biomass. We have collections of hundreds of different willow cultivars from breeding and selection work and access to research and commercial scale willow crops. In addition, SUNY ESF have faculty with expertise in soil science and who have worked on root nutrient uptake in forests for many years. |
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| | Oak Ridge National Laboratory | UDAYA KALLURI | |
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
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Bioenergy
| We are a team of researchers in the Plant Systems Biology group at Oak Ridge National Lab, with expertise in studying genetics, genomics, physiology, developmental and evolutionary principles underlying complex phenotypes in DOE-relevant plant species. Research expertise involves transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, molecular genetics, spectroscopy, imaging and bioinformatics approaches to study plant models ranging from perennial dicots and monocots (Populus, Eucalyptus, Agave, Switchgrass, and Brachypodium), to annuals (Arabidopsis) and Sphagnum mosses. Our current research portfolio includes projects centering on topics of bioenergy research, carbon fixation, allocation and cycling, responses to climate change, and plant-microbe interaction.
Relevant Group Highlights:
Lead role in DOE BESC center to improve Populus as a bioenergy feedback crop. Established three common garden field sites with over 1000 natural variants of Populus trichocarpa. Extensive collection of phenotypic (cell wall chemistry, development, physiology, metabolism) and genotypic data (resequenced) and demonstrated GWAS, SNP co-correlation and genomics analyses expertise. Populus genome project. |
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| | UC San Diego - Collaborative Mass Spectrometry Innovation Center | Pieter Dorrestien | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| The effects of plant root tissue on soil carbon sequestration are mediated by specific chemistries at the soil-root interface, which are in turn a product of complex interactions of plant metabolism with that of the endophyte, rhizosphere, and soil microbial communities. A first step towards understanding this spatially heterogeneous biosphere entails the characterization of these microbiomes as well as their shared metabolome.
Our lab is specialized in high resolution label-free tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) and untargeted environmental metabolomics. We have developed spatial sampling techniques and high-throughput liquid chromatography coupled MS/MS protocols to allow rapid analysis of diverse samples. Our spectral networking platform (gnps.ucsd.edu) allows the rapid interpretation and dereplication of massive chemical datasets, while emerging visualization and informatic techniques translate big data from these and other ‘omics techniques into hypothesis-generating knowledge. By utilizing multiple imaging modalities like magnetic resonance (MR) and optical imaging in conjunction with MS-based metabolomics and 16s microbiome analyses, our lab is mapping the chemical and microbial landscape of plant root environments in 3D. These maps of the largely uncharacterized chemical space will provide the roadmap for understanding the phenotypes of plant-microbe holobiont and their relation to soil composition. |
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| | Texas A&M AgriLife Research | Jorge da Silva | |
Academic
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Bioenergy
| Plant Breeder, with 29 years of experience in sugarcane genetic breeding research, a Ph.D. degree in Plant Genetic Breeding from Cornell University, in Ithaca (NY), USA and an M.S. degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding from USP – Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil, Piracicaba (ESALQ) and a B.S. in Agronomy from UFRuRJ -Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1987 Jorge joined CTC (Centro de Tecnologia Copersucar) in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, as sugarcane genetic breeder. In 1990 CTC sent him to Cornell University, in Ithaca (NY), USA for a Ph.D. degree in Plant Genetic Breeding, which he obtained in 1993, when he returned to CTC. He remained in CTC until 2001, when he was offered the position of Associate Professor and leader of the sugarcane program at the Texas A&M University, Weslaco Center. Jorge stayed at Texas A&M University until 2009, when he accepted the executive position of Sugarcane Breeding Director at Syngenta Crop Protection, in Brazil, to seek most advanced technologies and increase accuracy and speed breeding, including integrated product portfolio in breeding targets, seeking novel approaches to improve breeding. There, Jorge identified and promoted partnership with universities and private sector, involving sugarcane germplasm, genetic breeding, biotechnology and genomics. He also stimulated inter regional interactions with state universities and research agencies to develop Syngenta’s Global Sugarcane Research Program. In 2010 the Texas A&M System brought Jorge back to Texas as a Professor, Governor’s Office Superiority Hiring, Bioenergy Program, when he was appointed Associate Center Director until 2011. Given his experience at the corporate environment, in 2011 Jorge left the Associate Center Director position to dedicate his time to the leadership of the Bioenergy Research Program and the interaction with the private sector, involving lead companies such as Chevron Technology Ventures, BP Biofuels, Ceres and the Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers. |
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| | University of Wisconsin | Scott Sanders | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| Scott is a Mechanical Engineering Professor at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in optical gas detection. He believes he knows how he could detect N2O continuously over the 10m2 field area listed in this FOA. He would like to team up with a group that is preparing a concept paper for this FOA. |
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| | Kansas State University | Krishna Jagadish SV | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| EXPERTISE: We have multi-disciplinary expertise in wheat and sorghum improvement, with specialists in ecophysiology, breeding, genomics, and precision agriculture. We have experience across a range of agroecologies (highly productive to heat and drought stressed), and experimental systems at multiple scales:
- Controlled environment growth chambers
- Managed stress field environment (i.e. heat tents and rainout shelters)
- Large scale multi-environment field trials
We have ongoing projects developing high-throughput phenotyping for ecophysiological traits using ground and aerial platforms. KSU houses a large and diverse collection of wheat and sorghum accessions and mapping populations. Currently we are exploring and introducing novel plant traits from diverse accessions and wild relatives to improve:
- Rooting morphology and anatomy for efficient nutrient uptake
- Improved microbial association
- Productive use of water and increased carbon sequestration.
PROJECT VISION: We aim to develop (1) a robust field-based high-throughput phenotyping platform for quantifying below-ground root architecture and biomass, (2) reliable proxies from above-ground crop parameters, (3) genetic ideotypes for rooting architecture, and (4) novel germplasm for below-ground traits. We will take a holistic approach to the wheat-sorghum cropping system in the Great Plains, improving carbon sequestration through novel root traits.
TEAMING INTERESTS: We look forward to teaming with experts in sensor engineering, root development, below-ground modeling, and root-microbe interactions. |
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| | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory | Eoin Brodie | |
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
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Bioenergy
| Sensing and simulating soil and vegetation, chemical and physical properties from the micrometer to the field scale: Our advanced imaging technologies, including the ALS, can determine elemental content, speciation and localization from the nm-mm scales. Our Molecular Foundry and Detector Engineering groups develop large-scale networks of compact (mm-scale) sensing/data acquisition systems built on custom CMOS platforms with post-processed sensors for physical (temperature, humidity etc) and biochemical variables. At the cm-m scale we have geophysical methods for dynamic imaging of soil and plant root traits that provide architectural, morphological, physiological dynamics during whole plant ontogeny non-invasively. Our expertise in neutron technology and high power lasers coupled to optical fibers enables new approaches for field portable diagnostics that can provide spatial distributions of soil carbon etc, allowing fast, repeatable depth-profiling over time. From the meter-site scale, above and below-ground sensing using hydro-geophysical techniques and multispectral sensors have been coupled using new data inversion approaches to incorporate streaming field data. We are developing explicit, numerically robust simulations of coupled root, microbial, and abiotic processes that affect soil C and nutrient cycling and plant interactions.
Plant and microbial molecular biology, physiology and synthetic biology: We have extensive capabilities in the isolation, characterization and manipulation of plant-associated microorganisms, with a focus on those that regulate root development and nutrient acquisition, and soil organic matter formation. We develop controlled rhizotron systems for their manipulation and characterization. We have expertise in plant, fungal, microbial and meta- genomics and deep expertise and extensive analytical and computational facilities (NERSC) for metabolomics investigation of plant-microbe interactions. We have extensive experience in plant metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, have developed approaches to optimize plant cell walls, root systems, and pathways of secondary metabolites, and have expertise in the molecular signaling mechanisms, cell wall properties, and transporters that control interactions between plants, arbuscular mycorrhizae, and plant-growth promoting bacteria. This includes expertise in VOC biosynthesis, metabolism, and transport within plants at multiple spatial and temporal scales. |
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| | Texas A&M AgriLife Research | John Jifon | |
Academic
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Bioenergy
| Our research team focuses on ecophysiological controls of carbon uptake and partitioning into labile and non-labile fractions in roots of diverse high biomass perennial grasses. The major species of interest are energy canes (Saccharum spp.), high-fiber sugarcanes and wild relatives such as Miscanes, Miscanthus spp. and S. spontaneum hybrids. Regional field investigations using multifunctional feedstocks are looking at root and shoot traits associated with efficient resource (water, nutrients, carbon dioxide) uptake and utilization under different agroecological management systems. We have developed high-throughput near-infrared spectroscopy protocols for phenotyping cell wall biomass fractions (cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, ash) and soil carbon sequestration under different resource scenarios. These investigations will help identify suitable site-feedstock combinations that can maximize belowground C sequestration in target locations. The regional field plots will also serve as real world test sites for ground truthing estimates of soil carbon sequestration obtained with non-destructive imaging techniques such as ground penetrating radar and others. |
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| | University of Utah | Ling Zang | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| Nanofiber Chip Sensors for Root Gas Monitoring
We, University of Utah and Vaporsens, have developed broad range of nanofibers through self-assembly of functional organic molecules (building blocks). Small amount of nanofibers (only 6 micro-grams used) can be deposited onto interdigitated electrodes to make 2x2 mm size chips that are suited for placement in the proximity of roots for gas sensing (both above and underground). Upon surface adsorption of gas species, the electrical conductivity of nanofiber will be changed, and this can be detected simply by measuring the current change. The fully autonomous nanofiber chips will deliver lower limits of detection and faster response times at a lower cost than other commercially available detectors. The whole detection system (wireless communicated) will be small, flexible, and consume minimal power.
The high detection sensitivity is due to the large surface area of nanofibers and the three-dimensional continuous porosity formed from the nanofibers when deposited on the electrodes, wherein the intertwined nanofibers form a porous “super net” structure that helps capture gas molecules through diffusion. The sensing selectivity will be achieved by two-fold approach: first, the building block molecules will be modified with different side groups that can bind strongly to a specific class of chemical compounds (oxides vs. amines), providing primary distinction between gas analytes. Then, different nanofibers will be incorporated into an array to enable differential sensing (computational pattern recognition) by combining the sensor response profiles of all the nanofibers. We have already developed a sensor array system that can hold 16 nanofibers.
We currently have nanofibers that already demonstrate sensitive response to N2O, which is crucial for monitoring the fertilizer efficiency of root. To develop nanofibers for CO2 sensing, we will design the building block molecules with the side groups containing –NH2, which will bind to CO2 strongly and selectively through the hydrogen bonding interaction as evidenced from literature. Such surface adsorption will be further enhanced with the spatial confinement of the mesoscopic porosity of nanofibers net.
The proposed R&D will be carried out through the ongoing tight collaboration between Ling Zang lab at University of Utah (on nanofibers fabrication and characterization) and Vaporsens (on sensor chips, device integration). |
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| | Kansas State University | Krishna Jagadish SV | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| EXPERTISE: We have multi-disciplinary expertise in wheat and sorghum improvement, with specialists in ecophysiology, breeding, genomics, and precision agriculture. We have experience across a range of agroecologies (highly productive to heat and drought stressed), and experimental systems at multiple scales:
- Controlled environment growth chambers
- Managed stress field environment (i.e. heat tents and rain-out shelters)
- Large scale multi-environment field trials
We have ongoing projects developing high-throughput phenotyping for eco-physiological traits using ground and aerial platforms. KSU houses a large and diverse collection of wheat and sorghum accessions and mapping populations. Currently we are exploring and introducing novel plant traits from diverse accessions and wild relatives to improve:
- Rooting morphology and anatomy for efficient nutrient uptake
- Improved microbial association
- Productive use of water and increased carbon sequestration.
PROJECT VISION: We aim to develop (1) a robust field-based high-throughput phenotyping platform for quantifying below-ground root architecture and biomass, (2) reliable proxies from above-ground crop parameters, (3) genetic ideotypes for rooting architecture, and (4) novel germplasm for below-ground traits. We will take a holistic approach to the wheat-sorghum cropping system in the Great Plains, improving carbon sequestration through novel root traits.
TEAMING INTERESTS: We look forward to teaming with experts in sensor engineering, root development, below-ground modeling, and root-microbe interactions. |
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| | Auburn University | Bryan A. Chin | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| We are currently working with soil scientists and physicists at the USDA ARS National Soil Dynamics Laboratory (NSDL) in Auburn, Alabama to improve the sensitivity, detection limit, and geolocation capabilities of a mobile gamma-ray spectroscopy system for in situ measurement of the composition of soils [1]. The identity and quantity of material present in the soil is determined from the characteristic gamma-rays induced by fast (14 MeV) neutrons interacting with the atomic nuclei of the soil elements. The various neutron interactions with matter produce: 1) inelastic neutron scattering (e.g. C, Si, O); 2) elastic neutron scattering (principally H); 3) thermal neutron capture (e.g. N, P); and 4) delayed gamma (e.g. K, Ca, Na). The mobile system has been successfully demonstrated in pastures, croplands and forest settings as well as for near surface monitoring of underground CO2 seepage during geological carbon sequestration [2].
In the present configuration, the system is designed to principally measure the carbon content within a roughly hemisherical region where the bulk of the gamma originates in the upper 10-30 cm of the soil. A related technique, associated particle imaging (API), could be used to further enhance the spatial resolution of our system for imaging the distribution of carbon, nitrogen, etc. to characterize below-ground plant growth. With API, neutrons generated by the electronic neutron generator are registered or “tagged” with alpha particles so that the origin of the resulting gamma-rays may be determined and mapped for 2D and 3D imaging.
[1] G. Yakubova, L. Wielopolski, A. Kavetskiy, H.A. Torbert, and S.A. Prior, Soil Sci. 179, 529 (2014).DOI: 10.1097/SS.0000000000000099
[2] L. Wielopolski and S. Mitra, Environ. Earth Sci. 60, 307 (2010).DOI: 10.1007/s12665-009-0397-6 |
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| | Matrix Sensors Inc. | Steve Yamamoto | |
Small Business
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Other Energy Technologies
| Matrix Sensors is developing a gas sensor platform technology initially aimed at indoor air quality, explosive limits detection, and Internet of Things that may be applicable to agricultural sensing. As a result of our unique, solid-state, non-optical sensing mechanism, our device is tiny (1 cm^3), has low power requirements (~50mW), and has longer times between calibrations than incumbent optical IR sensors. Our sensor is instant-on and mechanically durable. We have early demos for carbon dioxide and methane, but could address other analytes as necessary. Due to the low power, size, and cost of the sensor, we enable persistent and granular sensing. We would be interested in teaming with experts in this field of use who understand how to leverage our unique sensor for agricultural purposes. |
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| | PARC, a Xerox Company | Dr. David Schwartz | |
Large Business
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Other Energy Technologies
| PARC is interested in developing solutions for root mass imaging and quantification and soil sensing. PARC has broad capabilities in sensing, imaging, and analysis that can be applied to this effort. These include fiber-based optical sensing of physical and chemical parameters, hyperspectral imaging, RF imaging, large-area flexible XRAY and acoustic detectors, metamaterials design, simulation, and implementation, printed sensors, printed and flexible electronics, wireless sensor networks, data processing and simulation, and prototype integration and testing. PARC is seeking partners with complementary capabilities, for example in agriculture, plant physiology, soil chemistry. Access to cultivation or test plots is also desired. |
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| | Baylor University | Zack Valdez | |
Academic
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Bioenergy
| Our lab is involved in:
Biogeochemistry and Sustainability of Biomass Cropping and Biofuel Production Systems
We are studying the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in switchgrass agroecosystems on various different soil types (Alfisol, Inceptisol, Entisol) under a range of fertilizer regimes and harvesting frequencies. Our approach uses nuclear magnetic resonance and near infrared spectroscopy as tools for screening the biochemical composition of biomass and will also evaluate and develop molecular proxies for soil organic matter recalcitrance. The research has implications for greenhouse gas management and the biofuel/agriculture industries.
Kerogen Preservation Mechanisms: Implications for Ancient Biogeochemical Cycles and the Recycling of Ancient Carbon Through Weathering
Much of the Texas coastal plain and Blackland prairie region have soils that are forming upon marine mudstones of Cretaceous age. Because of the fine clay particles comprising these sediments, and the relatively high biological productivity of the Cretaceous sea, these mudstones have a relatively high concentration (often > 1 weight %) of ancient organic carbon (kerogen). We are in the early stages of research on the mechanism(s), rate, and fate of kerogen transformation and loss during weathering and soil formation.
Mechanisms of Natural Organic Matter Interaction with Engineered Nanoparticles
It is widely recognized that NOM plays important roles in the fate and transport of organics and metals. However, the mechanisms and implications of nanoparticle interactions with natural organic matter are largely unknown. We are using molecular spectroscopy to study the interactions between humic and fulvic acids and the organic capping ligands on the nanoparticle surface. We work with collaborators with expertise in surface adsorption phenomena, and granular media filtration theory |
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| | signetron Inc | avideh zakhor | |
Small Business
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Other Energy Technologies
| Signetron's has over 20 years of experience in developing architectures, algorithms, and sensors for image processing and computer vision. Signetron has received multiple grants and contracts from ARPA-E in the past few years. One such project involves using a handheld device to visually document buildings for rapid energy audits. Another such project involves image sensor architecture and associated algorithms for automated biomass estimation of bio-fuels such as sorghum. |
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| | Texas A&M AgriLife Research | Julie Svetlik | |
Academic
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Bioenergy
| Texas A&M AgriLife Research has active research programs in:
• Bioenergy
• Corn
• Sorghum
• Crop Physiology
• Environmental Physics
• Landscape Processes & Mineralogy
• Plant Breeding
• Plant Genomics & Biotechnology
• Soil Chemistry & Fertility
• Soil Microbiology
• Agricultural Engineering
Specific capabilities of interest to plant root phenotyping for soil carbon sequestration include:
• Sorghum Group - composed of geneticists and breeders conducting cutting edge research in sorghum breeding and genomics. The program maintains one of the largest collections of sorghum germplasm in the world, including but not limited to elite sorghum parental lines, breeding populations, RIL populations, and diversity panels.
• Corn Group - elite lines, breeding populations, RILS, and diversity panels. One of the few US programs to focus on tropical and subtropical germplasm and perennial Zea adaptation to the US, where the greatest diversity of root and microbial association phenotypes would be expected to be found.
• Perennial C4 crops - Among the world’s most extensive expertise and genetic resources in perennial sorghum, perennial maize (Zea), perennial millet (Pennisetum), perennial sugarcane and energycane.
• Experts in gene discovery and characterization via QTL and other mapping approaches.
• Current work in plant architecture, specifically in leaves and roots.
• All equipment needed for planting, seed production, harvesting and phenotyping activities.
• Knowledge of soil properties that influence imaging and measurement of roots and sensor options for phenotyping.
• An interdisciplinary group actively studying the root biome.
• Engineering and analytical capabilities for sensor development and integration as well as image analysis and machine learning.
• Autonomous sensor platforms including unmanned aerial systems and ground-based phenotyping vehicles that are able to clear mature corn and many bioenergy crops. |
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| | University of Washington | Eric Seibel | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| Expertise and 12-years experience in prototype endoscopic instrumentation for remote access, visual inspection, and sampling for research and commercial purposes. A team has been assembled and prototype fabricated for the minimally invasive access to plant roots. Laser-based endoscopic imaging and diagnostics can be provided to these remote areas with current prototypes. |
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| | Sandia National Laboratories | Alyssa Christy | |
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
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None of the above
| Sandia National Laboratories has expertise in laboratory biological imaging at both the micro- and macro-scale that can address plant traits. We also have extensive expertise in laboratory and field-portable biological and chemical sensor technologies for environmental monitoring and biochemical and genomic analysis. More broadly, Sandia has expertise in functional modeling, high performance computing, and the analysis of large data sets. |
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| | International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) | Vincent Vadez | |
Non-Profit
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Other Energy Technologies
| ICRISAT has developed a lysimetric system (LysiField) to tackle the in-vivo functionality of root systems for water extraction, to assess plant water uptake throughout the entire crop cycle. Lysimeters are PVC tubes filled with soil. ICRISAT’s lysimetric facility has 2800 tubes of 1.2-m length / 20-cm diameter, and 1700 tubes with 2.0-m length / 25-cm diameter. These dimensions give the plants the soil depth and aerial spacing similar to field conditions. Water uptake is crucial during key stages (eg reproduction, grain filling), when small differences in water uptake lead to large yield differences. The lysimeter approach provides a bridge between field-based and laboratory-based research. It enables the collection of precise data on water consumption (quantities, timing) which are related to agronomic data (grain yield), and which provide information on traits that contribute to yield increase. It provides also an extremely robust assessment of transpiration efficiency (TE). http://www.icrisat.org/plant-physiology-root-research-methods/
From the lysimeter data we have learnt that root water extraction at key time is a consequence of shoot traits controlling water consumption. As part of that, root hydraulics could explain differences in how plant transpiration responds to increase in vapor pressure deficit (VPD). A platform (LeasyScan) was then developed to phenotype for these key drought-adaptive traits. The LeasyScan platform is using a “camera-to-plant” concept using 3D laser scanning (PlantEye®) that generate high resolution 3D point clouds from which several plant parameters, especially leaf area, are extracted. The platform contains approximately 4,500 experimental units (sector, ¼ m2 each) which are scanned every two hours, day and night. The platform has also a set of experimental units equipped with load cells (currently 50, then 1500 mid 2016) which allows a seamless assessment of plant water use, giving one data point per hour (see Vadez et al., 2015 – JXB 66(18), 5581-5593 doi: 10.1093/jxb/erv251 for more details). https://vimeo.com/115952322
In this call, these two platforms could be “linked” to other phenotyping efforts and generate rich complementary phenotypic information, on common sets of germplasm. For instance, water extraction capacity from the lysimeters could complement phenotyping for root traits at other locations, or shoot trait phenotyping could complement root phenotyping focusing on hydraulics characteristics. |
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| | ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science | Dr Nishant K Sinha | |
Academic
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Other Energy Technologies
| I have my M.SC and PhD in Agricultural Physics from Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), a premier institute in south Asia. During post-graduation, I have developed soil quality index for assessment of soil health under different management practices. I started my scientific career in year 2010 as scientist (Agricultural Physics) at ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, India.
My primary research goals are directed towards the understanding of rooting behaviors of agricultural crops under different management practices such as different levels of soil compaction, moisture regimes and tillages. Besides this I am also involved in calibration and validation of APSIM and STICS model for soybean and chickpea for Central India to quantify the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity and to investigate the mitigation strategies using crop simulation models. Apart from this, I have also worked on Index based quantification of soil quality under different management practices during post graduate research activities. Further, i have received best poster presentation award for “characterizing rooting behaviors of chickpea under tillage systems” during 3rd International agronomy congress (November 2012) held at Indian agricultural research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India. My future research plans include to study the root system architecture and to identify suitable root phenotype characteristics under changing climatic scenarios for better adaptability of crop under future climatic conditions. I am keen to work in area of 3-D root architecture and modelling nutrient acquisition by crops. |
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| | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Sanna Sevanto | |
Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC)
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Bioenergy
| Los Alamos National Laboratory possesses a cross-cutting set of capabilities that are being brought to bear on examination of plant performance and the root-microbe-soil system. Molecular signatures of plant and microbe activity are assessed through metagenomics, paired plant-soil microbe transcriptomics and proteomics, and linked with plant performance via neutron imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Capabilities in isotopic analysis (both natural abundance and stable isotope tracers) of C, N and O can be used to trace nutrient and water flux through the plant-microbe-soil system. Stable isotope probing can be paired with nucleic acid or lipid analysis to determine the dynamics of nutrient transfer through the microbial community. The influence of microbial communities on the soil-root interphase and water and nutrient uptake at cellular scale can be examined with neutron diffraction techniques. Depth discrete sampling of gasses (e.g. N2O) in the root zone provides spatial and temporal information on C and N cycling. Greenhouse and growth chambers provide a controlled environment for laboratory studies. |
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