Award Data

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a synthetic chemical which does not occur naturally in the environment,it has been used in many commercial applications. A number of scientific findings since the late 1990's have elevated PFOAs to the category of great environmental concern beacuse of its persistence, and the potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Effective environmental and health pr ...

Processing of vegetable oils is complicated by the need to remove free fatty acids. Washing with caustic is a viable process but is inefficient because fatty acids and caustic form soaps which cause emulsions. These emulsions cause a yield loss of 1-1.5% or 160-240 Million lb/yr of soybean oil alone. The purpose of this project is to improve yields and energy efficiency in vegetable oil processing ...

Lettuce is a major vegetable crop grown in the United States with a farm gate value in 2003 of $2 billion. For crops such as lettuce, the vegetative leaves of the plant are the harvested material. Because lettuce must be harvested before it flowers, premature flowering, or bolting, reduces crop quality and yield, and therefore is a leading cause of profit loss to farmers. Lettuce cultivars with en ...

Small businesses are the bedrock of the American economy. To bring economic development to rural America, these regions must have more effective tools for attracting and retaining the businesses that will provide the jobs and investment these communities need to thrive. The proposal seeks to apply an existing technology, Geographic Information Systems, on a proven platform, DecisionTree, in an inn ...

Recreation trails are a key component of the social, economic and health of rural communities. People with mobility impairments are often excluded from trails, shared-use paths, parks and other public areas where barriers are erected to prevent access by motorized trail vehicles (MTVs), to control livestock or wildlife, as an access point in a fenced area, or for a variety of other reasons. Many p ...

Rapid, exploratory diagnostics are needed for the identification of bacteria in complex food and water samples. This project focuses on development of a novel, rapid system for molecular identification of bacteria.

The waste of unprocessed vegetable matter from normal harvesting can be used to create feeds for livestock and the pulp can be used to produce methanol for fuel. We feel that we should use all resources to their fullest potential. To create a refined machine that will allow the field processing of current waste products into viable feed and fuel products.

Noxious, invasive weeds cause billions of dollars per year in damage to the environment. Progress in invasive weed control has been retarded by lack of commercially feasible diet to support mass production of specialist insects that control major noxious weeds. Such damage could be reduced by natural enemies of noxious weeds, but a means to mass produce the insects is not available for economical, ...

An ideal wood preservative is stable in wood, biodegrades in soil, is non-corrosive, and if the wood is burned, either inadvertently or for disposal, does not produce toxic fumes or ash. Boron is a broad spectrum preservative with good efficacy against fungi and most insects. However, boron preservatives are not stable in wood due to their high solubility in water. A boron-based compound with func ...

Extensive worldwide reservoirs of rabies virus (RV) in wildlife and stray dogs continue to pose a serious risk of lethal infection of humans and cause a high economic burden. Immunization of wildlife and stray dogs with live vaccines is the only effective method to control and eventually eliminate rabies in carnivore species worldwide. In this application we propose to select canine adenovirus typ ...