MSU BioEconomy Research

Thanks to a $1.09 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, plus matching funds from Michigan State University (MSU), several bio-based MSU research projects will be fast-tracked for commercial development over the next three years.

During last summer’s drought in Michigan – the worst in the last half-century – Michigan State University researchers nearly doubled corn production on state test farms using a process that inserts soil water-saving membranes below plant root zones.

How plants handle stress in space and what astronauts can learn from them is the subject of a new study at Michigan State University.

Federica Brandizzi, MSU plant biologist, will use a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to shed light on how plants and humans can adapt to handle the stress of long-term space missions.

“I’ve always been fascinated with NASA and space exploration,” Brandizzi said. “Knowing that my research could contribute to the potential of a future with sustainable life in space makes my work quite rewarding.”

AgBioResearch (formerly known as the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station) encompasses the work of more than 300 scientists in six colleges at MSU: Agriculture and Natural Resources, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Natural Science, Social Science and Veterinary Medicine. Collectively, AgBioResearch and MSU Extension represent research and programs that serve hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents and have more than a billion dollar impact on the state each year.

Soybeans are starting to play a major role in reducing the world's carbon footprint, providing improved environmental performance and replacing finite, non-renewable resources such as oil.

And this is where Ramani Narayan comes in.

The Michigan State University professor is taking the versatile legume and turning it into a variety of biobased products, including paper coatings, adhesives, rigid and flexible urethane foams for insulation, and rubber products for use in tires and other automobile parts.