Keck Graduate Institute is a sub-awardee of the five-year, $5M grant received by the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) to lead the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Innovative Recycling and Circular Economy (CIRCLE) through their Global Centers program. CIRCLE is an international partnership with funding agencies in the U.S., Canada, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom to address pressing environmental issues through collaboration and innovative research. 

KGI will provide instrumental support to JCVI Professor Tae Seok Moon as he leads the global CIRCLE effort. KGI professors Saurav Datta and Gargi Ghosh are key personnel for CIRCLE in the United States and will leverage their bioprocessing expertise to serve as program evaluators and KGI alumna Anna Capria (MSGDA '23) played an instrumental role in bringing KGI into the initiative and leads integral parts of the project.

“This grant amplifies KGI’s research enterprise and highlights our role as a member of the global scientific community,” said Associate Vice Provost of Research, Innovation and Partnerships Loren Martin.

“Addressing global challenges like waste and pollution requires an interdisciplinary approach, and we are honored to be doing our part to drive forward the climate solutions of the future.”

CIRCLE is one of the six new NSF Global Centers focused on advancing bioeconomy research to solve global challenges. It includes more than 40 academic principal investigators from 18 academic institutions and 16 companies across six nations. This international team of researchers will utilize a multidisciplinary approach to develop solutions to current waste problems and address human health and climate challenges, including air pollution, plastic waste disposal, and chemical production.

This Center is jointly supported by the NSF, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the National Research Foundation of Korea, and UK Research and Innovation through NSF award #2435184.

Source: Globe Newswire