** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** SUSTAINABLE BIOECONOMY THROUGH BIOBASED PRODUCTS THAT DIVERTS WOODY BIOMASS AND OTHER AGRO-WASTES TO BENEFICIAL USES IS HIGHLY DESIRABLE. ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES ARE NEEDED TO FURTHER VALORIZE SUCH PRODUCTS WHILE HELPING MITIGATE CLIMATE CHANGE AND/OR REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS. UPCYCLING AGRO-WASTES WILL BE PROFITABLE FOR BOTH UPSTREAM INDUSTRIES (FARMERS AND POULTRY PRODUCERS) AND DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRIES. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO INTEGRATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES THAT DEMONSTRATE REPURPOSING OF AGRO-WASTE DERIVED BIOCHARS FOR NET-ZERO BUILT ENVIRONMENT, THROUGH ENGINEERING OF BIOCHARS THAT ENABLE HIGH BINDER REPLACEMENT LEVEL AND UNPRECEDENTED LEVEL OF CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN ASPHALT PAVEMENT. BY LEVERAGING THE POROUS CHARACTERISTICS OF BIOCHARS, ONE CAN FURTHER EMPLOY BIOCHAR AS A FUNCTIONAL ADDITIVE TO REDUCE VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) EMISSION AND ENABLE SELF-HEALING OF PAVEMENT. WE HAVE PRELIMINARILY DEMONSTRATED THE FEASIBILITY OF THIS UPCYCLING STRATEGY OF WHEAT-STRAW-DERIVED BIOCHAR IN THE LABORATORY. THIS WORK WILL ADVANCE THE CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE ON SURFACE ENGINEERING AND BIOCHAR/HEALANT/ASPHALT INTERACTIONS TO OPTIMIZE RELEVANT INTERFACES IN THE ASPHALT MIXTURE AND MAXIMIZE THE VALUE OF RENEWABLE FEEDSTOCKS OF INTEREST. TECHNO-ECONOMIC-ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT ANALYSIS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO QUANTIFY THE LIFE-CYCLE BENEFITS FOR UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM INDUSTRIES OF THE ENGINEERED BIOCHARS. THIS PROJECT IS LED BY WSU, IN COLLABORATION WITH CSU-CHICO AND UGA. WE WILL WORK EXTENSIVELY WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO ADDRESS THEIR CONSIDERATIONS FOR OVERALL PROFITABILITY AND ADDRESS END-USER REQUIREMENTS, AND BUILD COMMUNITY RAPPORT. WE WILL CONDUCT OUTREACH ACTIVITIES, WORK WITH DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION PROGRAMS AT THE THREE UNIVERSITIES, INCORPORATE THE DEVELOPED KNOWLEDGE INTO CURRICULUM AND WEBINARS, AND DEPLOY PILOT PAVEMENTS ON TRIBAL LANDS.