Engaged Opportunity Grants
Soil Factory Innovation Network
Designing and testing a system for turning human waste into soil for urban agriculture
This project is supporting the vision of a “circular economy,” where resources are recycled instead of contributing to pollution. With guidance from the faculty leads, Cornell University Sustainable Design (CUSD), the university’s largest and most diverse student project team, is prototyping a unit that will turn human waste into nutrient-rich soil for urban agriculture.
With the grant, the team is purchasing the materials to design, fabricate and analyze the unit. The project is part of a larger “Soil Factory Innovation Network,” including a soil-based business in Ithaca and a nonprofit in Kenya that are also tackling the same issue.
Topics: Economic Vitality and Entrepreneurship; Energy, Environment and Sustainability; Food and Agriculture
The Team
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Rebecca Nelson, School of Integrative Plant Science - Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Johannes Lehmann, School of Integrative Plant Science - Soil and Crop Sciences Section
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Community partner: Poverty and Health Integrated Solutions
Engaged Opportunity Grants
Supporting a wide range of community-engaged learning projects, from student leadership programs and partnership building to events and conference travel. Open to all faculty and staff.