Under a microscope: a Glimpse at Innovative Research Coming from Utah Universities.

• Author: Springer, Alex
• Position: Techknowledge

Over the past few years, Utah has become home to a large variety of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) industries, many of which have been conceived and developed by local, tech-savvy entrepreneurs. A significant force behind this attraction is Utah's academic community, which continues to occupy a substantial place on the forefront of technological advancement. While it's easy to get wrapped up in the fields of robotics and space exploration, there are also some exciting things happening in the microscopic world of nanotechnology and biological engineering--much of which is taking place at Utah's research universities.

Utah State University

Dr. Ronald Sims, head of Utah State University's Biological Engineering Department, has partnered with WesTech, a Salt Lake City engineering company, to create new and innovative ways to turn municipal waste water into environmentally friendly resources. "The organic chemicals that contaminate waste water represent molecules that we want to use in bioengineering and make bioproducts that will replace petroleum products," Sims says.

Not only will these bioproducts be more environmentally friendly, but they will also be versatile enough to take into space. "We just had a Ph.D. student finish his research and get hired by NASA. They're going to use this student's knowledge of synthetic biology to create bioplastics that can be used with a 3D printer to manufacture biodegradable and reusable items on the manned missions to Mars," Sims says.

Another development within USU's Biological Engineering Department involves a collaboration with the university's Department of Agriculture that could lead to some significant advancements in the world's hunger crisis. Through a pilot program with Caine Dairy Farm in Wellsville, Sims is hoping to use the university's existing work with growing and harvesting algae to create a sustainable food source for the farm's cattle.

"We're taking the waste produced by the dairy to grow algae on a kind of bio-reactor," he says. "We're then extracting protein from the algae and using it as a substitute for soy protein, which is getting expensive. This spring, we're going to start a project where we feed that protein to the cattle."

Not only are Sims and his students creating new and safe ways to recycle waste products into sustainable resources, but they are also generating graduates who are highly skilled and marketable in their respective fields. "We're developing...