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To help pioneer a new green economy derived from sunlight and inorganic N2 and CO2, a diverse team of South Dakota researchers will establish the BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC), leveraging AI/ML to build jurisdictional research capacity in biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and its practical applications. As an agricultural state with a large Native American population (16%), SD is uniquely positioned to develop sustainable BNF research infrastructure by partnering academic institutions with industry to support development and commercialization of new technologies, develop the needed workforce, and promote economic growth in the region while increasing participation and representation of Native Americans in the state STEM enterprise. BNERC will build sustainable capacity to leverage abundant atmospheric N2 gas & solar energy to create a commercially viable, solar-powered BioNitrogen Economy. This will be achieved by (1) study of N-fixing cyanobacteria and plant symbioses in natural ecosystems, (2) comparative multi-omics of N-fixation, (3) BNF-driven biomanufacturing, and (4) explore plant grafting and genetically reconstructing N-fixing cyanobacteria as a bridge toward create N2-fixing crops. Social impact will be evaluated through evaluation of the awareness, acceptability, and economic effects of these technologies.
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
Bioinformatics Workshop – Part 1
Data Science in Bioinformatics: From Basics to KBase Workflows
October 9, 2025
The Challenge
The Challenge
Modern agriculture and industry rely on the fossil fuel–driven Haber-Bosch process to convert atmospheric nitrogen into usable forms, but this process is energy-intensive, emits greenhouse gases, and contributes to environmental degradation. Although nitrogen gas is abundant in Earth’s atmosphere, its biological conversion into ammonia through natural nitrogen fixation has been underutilized due to limited understanding of the mechanisms, especially under oxygen-rich conditions. South Dakota also faces the broader challenge of building research capacity and developing a skilled workforce in STEM to address these issues.
The Solution
The Solution
The BioNitrogen Economy Research Center (BNERC) will establish a statewide, transdisciplinary research network to pioneer a sustainable “bio-nitrogen economy.” By leveraging machine learning, comparative multi-omics, and synthetic biology, the center will study cyanobacteria in natural ecosystems, decode the mechanisms of solar-powered nitrogen fixation, bio-manufacture fuels and value-added products, and engineer nitrogen-fixing traits into crops. Alongside these scientific goals, BNERC will train a diverse new workforce in bio-manufacturing, engage K–12 students, and strengthen partnerships between academic institutions, industry, and Native American communities to make South Dakota a national leader in sustainable nitrogen research and innovation.
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
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