CAREER: Challenging the Structure-Function Relationship of Nitrifiers and Nitrification in Activated Sludge Using Molecular Biology and Mechanistic Modeling Tools

University Of Cincinnati Main Campus, Cincinnati OH

Investigators

Abstract

0238858 Oerther The primary research goal of this NSF CAREER proposal is to reduce required sludge ages for successful nitrification in activated sludge systems. The primary educational goals are to integrate modeling of biological treatment systems with existing molecular biology courses taught at the University of Cincinnati and to conduct a preconference workshop on molecular biology and modeling tools at the Water Environment Federation Technical Exposition and Conference (WEFTEC). This research and education plan expands the ongoing efforts of the Principal Investigator (PI) to develop and demonstrate novel approaches to bridge the gap between engineers and ecologists by challenging the hypothesis that, increased diversity among nitrifying microorganisms reduces required sludge ages for nitrification in suspended growth activated sludge systems with mechanistic models and to transfer these technologies to practitioners. Intellectual Merit. Successfully bridging the gap between function-based engineering and structure-based microbiology represents a fundamental crosscutting challenge that must be addressed before the results of molecular biology tools can be fully integrated with environmental engineering practice. Based upon his interdisciplinary education, including degrees in the biological sciences (B.A.) as well as environmental engineering (B.S., M.S., Ph.D.), the PI is uniquely qualified to meet this challenge. The PI's multidisciplinary approach to the optimization of nitrification and the integration of state-of-the-art research techniques into the undergraduate and graduate curricula fit with the institutional goals of the University of Cincinnati and the five-year plan of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Broader Impacts. The PI has a strong history of supporting women and minority researchers in his laboratory through the Women In Science and Engineering (WISE) program, Rowe Center for Women in Engineering of the College of Engineering at UC. Four of his current seven students are women and three are minority. The CLSM described in the proposal will dramatically enhance the research and teaching infrastructure of UC by providing the first CLSM facility on the main (non-medical) campus. The proposed WEFTEC pre-conference workshop represents a first effort to transfer molecular biology tools from academia to environmental engineering practitioners.