Emerging Sustainability Solutions

Buildings and infrastructure contribute to approximately 39% of global carbon emissions, of which the extraction, manufacturing, and construction phase accounts for just under one third. We propose to advance the development of an algae insulation foam that not only reduces the embodied carbon emissions of buildings, but also contributes to lowering operational emissions due to improved thermal insulation.

Fast-growing cyanobacteria are emerging hosts for food and materials production as they do not rely on sugar-based feedstock that inevitably competes with crop production. Combining synthetic biology tools and bioreactor design, we are developing an automated evolution platform for cyanobacteria optimized for growth in harsh environments. Our platform has a vast number of potential applications, including a demonstrated ability to secrete various proteins and produce biocement.

Clean energy technology requires significant amounts of critical minerals, including lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, and rare earth elements, but traditional methods of extracting and purifying these elements are environmentally damaging and costly. We are designing proteins and bacteria that can selectively sense and accumulate these valuable elements from complex mixtures, to bring us closer to cleaner, bio-based approaches for acquiring these critical elements, while reducing the environmental impact of the process.  

One of the most pressing sustainability challenges today is reducing the growing impact of our plastic waste on the planet, particularly in our oceans. Plastic debris has an adverse effect on marine ecosystems through entanglement, ingestion of microplastics by animals, and leaching of toxic chemicals. We are developing a platform for converting non-compostable plastic waste into fully compostable bioplastic materials using engineered microbes to help alleviate this crisis.

Our oceans absorb 25% of carbon dioxide emissions on our planet, making them a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change. This absorption occurs in part through the natural process of “weathering,” in which silicate minerals like olivine dissolve into the ocean, raising its pH and allowing it to absorb more carbon. We are engineering microbial communities that can accelerate the dissolution of silicate minerals, which will enable industrial-scale processing of silicate minerals and create other uses for dense, carbon-negative biomass in unprocessed seawater.

Red tide, another name for an algal bloom, is caused by an increase in the population of toxic algae. Many red tides produce toxic chemicals that can cause health problems for both marine organisms and humans. We have developed a suite of tools for the rapid and inexpensive molecular sensing of environmental DNA from ocean samples. This modular system enables the on-site identification of any species of interest from ocean water within a fraction of the time compared to current laboratory-based methods. Based on next-generation CRISPR-based detection of DNA/RNA, our sensing technology will facilitate higher density data collection and immediate result acquisition to inform policy decisions and ecosystem monitoring as marine organisms undergo population transitions due to climate change.