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Grants4Ag: Space biology exploration at Biosphere 2
Background

How do we grow more food with less? Less land, less water, and less inputs all under the stressful conditions of a changing climate. So many innovations, both applied and fundamental, have come from research into space and space exploration and maybe the solutions to the challenges facing agriculture will come from beyond our terrestrial home. Bayer Crop Science is excited to partner with the University of Arizona’s Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) at Biosphere 2 to push the boundaries of agriculture research in the controlled environment. 

 

Space Analog for the Moon and Mars (SAM) is a hermetically sealed habitat located at the renowned University of Arizona Biosphere 2. SAM provides a unique, powerful environment in which to conduct a multitude of studies including mechanical and plant-based life support, plant biology and food cultivar research, and human-in-the-loop microbiome studies. 

 

SAM integrates the Biosphere 2 prototype Test Module greenhouse (TM) with an adjacent crew quarters with workshop, kitchen, common area, and private sleeping accommodations. The TM provides hydroponic and soil-based grow environments, controlled lighting, humidity, heating and cooling. A mechanical CO2 scrubber and bioregenerative life support system work in concert to provide clean air and water.  

 

For more information about SAM: https://samb2.space/ 

 

We will be awarding multiple unrestricted grants to researchers. There are no reporting requirements and applicants retain ownership of any IP developed. These grants are well-suited for principal investigators as well as postdocs and grad students, and are one of our primary ways for identifying research partners for larger-scale, long-term collaborations.

What we're looking for

We are seeking proposals to conduct fundamental plant science research in the ultra-controlled environment of the SAM at Biosphere2 facility at the University of Arizona. Awardees will develop a more detailed experiment plan with the SAM team.

Solutions of interest include:
  • Plant physiology and genetics related to resiliency under extreme conditions (e.g. light intensity, circadian rhythms, temperature, CO2)
  • The effect of volatile organic compounds on plant growth and development
  • Plant processes to transform regolith into soil (e.g. root exudates or root-microbe interactions)
  • Development of new phenotyping tools for an ultra-controlled environment system for the main topics (plant resiliency, VOCs, soil transformation)
Our must-have requirements are:
  • Proposals will outline experiments to be conducted at the University of Arizona SAM facility.
What's out of scope:
  • Experiments outside of the plant sciences
What we can offer you
Benefits:
Sponsored Research
The funding will be available to be used towards research costs at the SAM @Biosphere2 habitat research facility at University of Arizona (in the form of a facility credit), typically ranging from $10,000 to $20,000. Researchers are responsible for their own travel costs (and experiment costs that exceed the facility credit).
Tools and Technologies
Access to Bayer resources such as chemical libraries, DNA sequences and screening techniques may be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Expertise
Each award recipient will be partnered with a Bayer scientist who will provide guidance and feedback on the project.
Who we are

Bayer’s vision of #HealthForAll, #HungerForNone drives our need to strengthen innovation capabilities in all areas of agriculture. We know we can’t accomplish this alone, so we're always interested to hear about novel, early-stage scientific innovations that can contribute to feeding the world without starving the planet. You have our commitment to take a look, match with our R&D priorities and provide you timely feedback.

 Learn more
Reviewers
PT
Phil Taylor
Director of Open Innovation & Outreach
SM
Simon Maechling
Innovation Scout
DR
Dan Ruzicka
Innovation Sourcing Lead - Biotech Breeding
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