Ross Thyer, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering (ChBE) at Rice, has received a $386,373 grant from the Bioindustrial Manufacturing and Design Ecosystem (BioMADE) to establish three different environmental bacteria as new platforms for sustainable biomanufacturing.
The research, titled “Genetic Toolkit for Non-Model Organisms,” aims to develop a suite of genetic tools for environmental bacteria identified as high-priority engineering targets for sustainable biomanufacturing of materials and commodity chemicals. The grant, one of 17 given nationally, was announced on Oct. 30 by the White House Office of Science and Technology.
One of the bacteria possesses biomineralization properties which can be used to make low-carbon cement products, and another forms iridescent crystalline biofilms which may be used as living optical materials.
Thyer’s co-researcher on the project is Caroline Ajo-Franklin, professor of biosciences and director of the Rice Synthetic Biology Institute.
The BioMADE grant, the first ever received by Rice faculty members, comes from the U.S. Department of Defense, and is supplemented by funds from the ChBE department and the Rice Office of Research, which are supporting the capabilities of the Genetic Design and Engineering Center at Rice.