DEVELOPMENT OF INTEGRATED SCREENING, CULTIVAR OPTIMIZATION, AND VERIFICATION RESEARCH (DISCOVR). THE DISCOVR CONSORTIUM WILL HELP CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN HIGH-IMPACT LABORATORY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D) AND THE REALIZATION OF A ROBUST OUTDOOR ALGAE FARMING APPROACH THAT MEETS FEEDSTOCK PRODUCTION TARGETS, MEASURED AS BIOMASS PRODUCTION COST AND GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG) EMISSIONS REDUCTION. THE TEAM WILL DEMONSTRATE A COMPREHENSIVE SET OF TRANSLATABLE CROSS-CUTTING CULTIVATION APPROACHES, INCLUDING CULTIVARS AND OPERATIONS, THAT POSITIVELY IMPACT BIOMASS PRODUCTIVITY, QUALITY, CULTURE STABILITY AND OVERALL PROCESS CARBON EFFICIENCY, INTEGRATED WITH A SUSTAINABLE AND SCALABLE WATER MANAGEMENT STRATEGY. DISCOVR HAS THE FOLLOWING FIVE PROJECT TARGETS THAT ARE EXPERIMENTALLY DETERMINED: 1. CO2 UTILIZATION EFFICIENCY, 2. MEAN TIME BEFORE FAILURE, AND 3. ANNUAL BIOMASS PRODUCTIVITY. PROJECT GOAL: VERIFY AT LEAST 3 IMPROVEMENTS AS DEMONSTRATED IN AN INTEGRATED 100 M2 CULTIVATION TRIAL (COMPARED TO CONTROL IN 4.2 M2 PONDS), TO MEET THE FOLLOWING TARGETS, PER EACH TASK AS FOLLOWS: CUE = 70%; WATER REUSE EFFICIENCY = 90%; BIOMASS PRODUCTIVITY = 18 G/M2-D ANNUAL EXTRAPOLATED FROM AT LEAST ONE MONTH OF OUTDOOR DATA. (ALL DISCOVR PARTNERS)