Battelle Memorial Institute
Who it subcontracts to
No subawards reported under its lunar awards.
Who it works for
THE OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAM ARE TO: 1. CHARACTERIZE MINERAL, EXTRACELLULAR POLYMERIC SUBSTANCES (EPS), AND KINETICS OF EXTRACTION TRANSFORMATIONS AT THE NANOSCALE AND MOLECULAR LEVELS. 2. IDENTIFY AND MODEL THE METABOLIC PATHWAYS AND PROCESSES USED BY MICROORGANISMS TO ABSORB, CONCENTRATE, AND TRANSFORM METALS AND RARE EARTH ELEMENTS (REES) FROM MINERAL SUBSTRATES. 3. DEVELOP MECHANICALLY ROBUST STRUCTURES THAT INCORPORATE AND USE LIVING COMPONENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RECYCLABILITY. ACHIEVING THESE OBJECTIVES WILL SHED LIGHT ON HOW MICROORGANISMS SURVIVE AND METABOLIZE UNDER SEVERE XERIC CONDITIONS AND PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO POTENTIAL METABOLIC ACTIVITIES IN EVEN MORE EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS, SUCH AS MARS AND THE MOON. IT ALSO PROVIDES IMPETUS TO UNDERSTAND AND DEVELOP SMART AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS THAT CAN REACT TO ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULI. BEYOND THIS, WE LOOK TOWARD UTILIZING ENGINEERED OR ADAPTED BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS TO MODIFY LANDSCAPES, EXTRACT VALUABLE MINERALS, AND IMPLEMENT THEM IN FABRICATION PROCESSES SUCH AS ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THESE WILL ULTIMATELY BE USED FOR THE FABRICATION OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL ENGINEERED LIVING MATERIALS. THE PERFORMANCE TEAM CONSISTS OF MATERIALS SCIENTISTS, MICROBIOLOGISTS, CHEMISTS, AND ENGINEERS FROM FOUR PERFORMANCE SITES: " UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IRVINE (UCI, DAVID KISAILUS, DK) " JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY (JHU, JOCELYNE DIRUGGIERO, JD) " NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (NWU, NATHAN GIANNESCHI, NG) " PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY (PNNL, JINHUI TAO, JT, AND MARGARET CHEUNG, MC). THE TEAM COMBINES EXPERTISE IN SEVERAL FIELDS THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR THE SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT: " DK, THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI) OF THIS PROJECT, AND JD WILL LEAD THE EXPERIMENTAL ASPECT OF SYNTHESIS OF MINERAL SUBSTRATES AND THEIR SUBSEQUENT CULTURING IN HIGH THROUGHPUT, LIGHTED BIOREACTORS. " DK AND JT WILL INVESTIGATE INORGANIC (MINERAL AND ELEMENTAL) MODIFICATIONS. " NG WILL LEAD THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ORGANIC BIOFILMS. " JT AND MC WILL LEAD THE EXPERIMENTAL AND MODELING EFFORTS TO UNDERSTAND ORGANIC-MINERAL INTERACTIONS, PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS, AND ORGANIC PHASE DEVELOPMENT. JD WILL CONDUCT METATRANSCRIPTOMIC ANALYSIS OF MICROORGANISMS AS WELL AS METAGENOMICS AND POTENTIAL MICROBIAL ISOLATION FOR POTENTIAL PHYLOGENETIC INFORMATION. " DK WILL WORK WITH NG AND JD TO SYNTHESIZE COMPOSITE STRUCTURES WITH FUNCTIONALITY VIA ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING. THE PROJECT WILL BE ENHANCED THROUGH COLLABORATIONS WITH, AND SPECIFIC CHARACTERIZATION AND TESTING EXPERTISE PROVIDED BY, AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY (AFRL) AT WRIGHT PATTERSON; ADVANCED LIGHT SOURCE, BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY, AND ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL CHARACTERIZATION. BEYOND THIS, PARTNERSHIPS WITH ACADEMIC PARTNERS (UC BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY, ETC.) AND INDUSTRIAL PARTNERS (BOEING, GLIDEWELL DENTAL) WILL ENABLE ADDITIONAL EVALUATION CAPABILITIES AS WELL AS POTENTIAL FOR MANUFACTURING RESOURCES FOR TRANSLATION. THREE RESEARCH THRUSTS WILL WORK IN CONCERT TO ACHIEVE THE OBJECTIVES: 1. INVESTIGATE MINERAL AND METAL BIO-TRANSFORMATIONS BY MICROORGANISMS USING TERRESTRIAL, LUNAR, AND SYNTHETIC SUBSTRATES. 2. IDENTIFY AND MODEL ADAPTIVE BIO-TRANSFORMATION CAPABILITIES OF MICROORGANISMS ISOLATED FROM MINERAL-ENRICHED AND EXTREME SITES. 3. DEVELOP ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES TOWARD MECHANICALLY ROBUST STRUCTURES THAT INCORPORATE AND USE LIVING COMPONENTS FOR CONSTRUCTION AND RECYCLABILITY. MILESTONES: DERIVE THE KINETIC COEFFICIENT, EQUILIBRIUM CONCENTRATION, AND ENERGY BARRIER CHANGES OF MINERAL DISSOLUTION AND PHASE TRANSFORMATION IN THE PRESENCE OF DIFFERENT EPS, THEN EXTEND THE SIMILAR RESEARCH INTO THE MICROBE SYSTEM. QUANTIFY THE BINDING AFFINITY, BOND LIFETIME, AND ENERGY WELL SIZE AND MAKE COMPARISON BETWEEN EXPERIMENT AND SIMULATION. ESTABLISH THE CORRELATION BETWEEN COORDINATION, CHEMICAL SIGNATURES OF MICROBE/EPS, AND THE KINETICS, PATHWAYS FOR MINERAL DISSOLUTION, AND TRANSFORMATION.