**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THE SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION OF MUSHROOMS, A NUTRITIOUS FOOD SOURCE WITH ESSENTIAL VITAMINS, PROTEINS AND MINERALS, COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY, HUMAN HEALTH, AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY. NOTABLY, THE NUMBER OF SMALL-SCALE MUSHROOM FARMERS DECREASED BY 63% NATIONALLY FROM 2017 TO 2019. A NEED ALSO EXISTS TO DEVELOP SMART AND EFFICIENT WAYS OF GROWING MUSHROOMS THAT REDUCES LABOR AND BENEFITS SMALL-SCALE MUSHROOM FARMERS. ACCORDINGLY, THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO USE INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT) TECHNOLOGY AND BIG-DATA ANALYSIS TO ACCURATELY MEASURE AND CONTROL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS DURING MUSHROOM PRODUCTION AND TO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE PROCESS EFFICIENCY THROUGH AUTOMATION, THEREFORE REDUCING LABOR. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO: 1) DEVELOP A SMART, IOT-BASED GROWTH CHAMBER; 2) DEVELOP A MECHANIZED, AUTOMATIC SUBSTRATE-PROCESSING SYSTEM; 3) IMPROVE MUSHROOM PRODUCTION VIA RESOURCE AND ENERGY CALCULATIONS; AND 4) INTEGRATE SYSTEMS DEVELOPED IN OBJECTIVES 1-3 INTO THREE SHIPPING CONTAINERS. WE WILL DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE AN EFFICIENT AND AUTOMATED SUBSTRATE PREPARATION PROCESS TO PRODUCE DIFFERENT MUSHROOMS. ENABLED BY REAL-TIME IOT-BASED DATA COLLECTION AND MACHINE LEARNING AND OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHMS, THE NEW PROCESS WILL CONTINUOUSLY GENERATE DENSIFIED SUBSTRATE WITH IMPROVED FRESH-AIR CIRCULATION DURING FUNGAL COLONIZATION OF THE SUBSTRATE, YIELDING MUSHROOMS IN 25 DAYS COMPARED TO THE TRADITIONAL 50 DAYS. WE WILL EVALUATE BOTH MASS AND ENERGY BALANCES FOR THE NEW PROCESS AND COMPARE WITH EXISTING PROCESSES TO DEMONSTRATE EFFICIENCY AND ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENTS USING IOT DATA. THE PROPOSED MUSHROOM PRODUCTION METHODS WILL BENEFIT SMALL-SCALE MUSHROOM GROWERS AND WILL ENABLE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FOOD SECURITY WITHIN OUR SOCIETY.