Projects

Carbon Management Initiative FY23–FY27 TUNE

A winner of the Colorado State University Thematic Units of Excellence (TUNE) Program.

"We're transforming CSU into a hub for climate innovation in carbon management, a vision we call 'Carbon Solutions University.'" — Dr. Rich Conant

The initiative is funded up to $800,000 over four years and organized around five efforts:

  • Carbon Management Education — building on CSU's existing Carbon Management degree track and Graduate Carbon Certificate.
  • Carbon Terminology Database — a standardized reference for carbon management terminology. (Coming soon)
  • Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Skunkworks — prototyping and testing new CDR methods, and promoting CDR research across CSU labs.
  • Policy Analysis Working Group — student-driven analysis of carbon management policy. (Coming soon)
  • Carbon Solutions Network — connecting CSU researchers, industry, and policymakers. (In the works)

Rare Sugars in Soil Biology

Funded by a $1 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, a multidisciplinary CSU team — spanning chemistry, ecosystem science, and microbiology — is studying rare sugars fundamental to soil and microbial metabolism, with implications for disease research and food-industry applications.

Bio-CDR: Durable Carbon Removal via Engineered Biopolymers

We're developing a plant-based platform for durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR): engineering crops to biosynthesize decomposition-resistant materials, like certain biopolymers, directly in plant tissue. Grown as cover crops and incorporated into soil through normal practice, these materials form a chemically durable carbon pool distinct from conventional soil organic matter, opening the door to a new class of measurable, verifiable CO₂ removal.

Progress to date:

  • Demonstrated in planta biosynthesis of a decomposition-resistant biopolymer
  • Built an extraction and analytical characterization workflow for the resulting material

Supported by a philanthropic gift from the Grantham Foundation, with more than $2 million invested in this R&D over six years.