Project Grant 20207041032907

IN LIGHT OF CALIFORNIA'S GOAL OF GOING CARBON NEUTRAL BY 2045, RESEARCH RELATED TO RENEWABLE ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE WILL BECOME MORE IMPORTANT. THE OVERARCHING GOAL OF ACQUISITION OF A GC-TCD (GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY-THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY DETECTOR) IS TO INTEGRATE THE ENGINEERING SCIENCE PROGRAM WITH NATURAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS (GEOLOGY, BIOLOGY, PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY) FOR 1) DEVELOPING TRANSFORMATIVE MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PROGRAMS THAT FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE-DERIVED GASES (E.G. RENEWABLE FUEL GASES, GREENHOUSE GASES), 2) ENHANCING STUDENT TRAINING CAPABILITIES AT CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY-BAKERSFIELD (CSUB), AND 3) PROMOTING EXTENSION ACTIVITIES IN THE NATION'S LEADING AGRICULTURAL COUNTY, KERN COUNTY. THERE ARE FOUR SUPPORTING OBJECTIVES ALIGNED WITH THE PROGRAM AREA GOALS: 1) THE SHARED-USE GC-TCD WILL GREATLY IMPROVE THE ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES BY FILLING THE TECHNICAL GAP OF PERMANENT GAS ANALYSIS; 2) GC-TCD WILL STRENGTHEN THE QUALITY OF FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH AND APPLIED RESEARCH IN BOTH ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND NATURAL SCIENCE PROGRAMS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS; 3) GC-TCD WILL BE USED FOR RESEARCH TRAINING OF STEM STUDENTS TO GAIN HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN THE PROPOSED PROJECTS. THESE PROJECTS WILL INVOLVE WOMEN AND UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES AT CSUB, A HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTION, AND 4) GC-TCD WILL HELP THE EXTENSION AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN CSUB AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION KERN COUNTY ON AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS. MOREOVER, THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECTS SUCH AS THE EFFECT OF AGRICULTURAL-WASTE-DERIVED SOIL AMENDMENT ON GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND ENHANCED RENEWABLE ENERGY AND RESOURCE RECOVERY FROM ORCHARD ARE ALIGNED WITH THE THEMES OF AGRICULTURAL CLIMATE ADAPTION, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL INTENSIFICATION, AND VALUE-ADDED INNOVATIONS IN THE USDA REE BLUEPRINT.