Donnie Decker grew up on a family farm in eastern
South Dakota. As a farm kid, he loved rural life, but his love of science formed
his career path. Today he teaches high school math and science in the picturesque
ranching town of Newell, SD.
“Having grown up on a family farm, I really enjoy teaching
in a rural town with such a focus on agriculture,” says Decker. “My students
think very practically, so I am excited when I find ways to incorporate local
concepts into my curriculum. This can be difficult when also trying to meet the
content standards which is why I was excited to join the RET program at Mines."
In the fall of 2021 Decker joined a Research Experience
for Teachers (RET) program in the Karen M. Swindler Department of
Chemical and Biological Engineering at South Dakota Mines where he began
working in the Composite and
Nanocomposite Advanced Manufacturing - Biomaterials (CNAM Bio) Center. Decker soon
found that at CNAM-Bio he could bring together his love of science and agriculture.
Researchers at CNAM-Bio are making significant
advancements in developing safe and clean ways for farmers to convert agricultural
waste like corn stalks into valuable products. Tanvi Govil is a Ph.D. student
with CNAM-BIO. Her research helped open a pathway to transform corn stalks into
a commercially valuable biodegradable bioplastic while eliminating costly
pretreatments. CNAM-Bio is led by David Salem, Ph.D., a professor and director
of the Composites and Polymer Engineering Laboratory (CAPE) at Mines, with Rajesh
Sani, Ph.D., professor of chemical and biological engineering, as co-principal
investigator on the project. Sani and Salem are now working with Govil to
expand the research to produce other value-added, environmentally friendly bioplastics
and biofertilizers using their advanced technology. This work has a huge
economic potential as the global
plastic market alone was valued at $435 billion in 2020.
“With the accelerating push towards sustainable
production, bio-based manufacturing is poised to overtake petroleum-based
production of chemicals in the next two or three decades, and South Dakota is
exceptionally well-positioned to become a global leader and major beneficiary
in the new industrial landscape dominated by bioproducts,” says Salem.
This past fall, Decker worked alongside Govil, learning
the mechanisms microbes use to degrade plant biomass and how this technology
could be implemented in South Dakota to turn agricultural waste into a new
source of revenue for farmers and ranchers today. For Decker, this hits home.
The research could greatly benefit his own family. His parents run the Steve
and Beth Decker family farm in Spink County, SD.
“When I learned what Dr. Sani, Dr. Salem and Tanvi
were doing with their research and understood what it could mean to my family,
I was thrilled,” says Decker. “I also saw a complex science topic that my
students could relate to. Farming, education and sustainability are all very
important to me, and I saw this research as a way to bring them all together.”
Decker collected corn stalks, corn silage and
soybean plants from his father’s farm and brought them back to the lab at Mines
where they are being analyzed and enriched for possible future use. There is
even a chance Decker could find a previously undiscovered microbe species, which
he could name after his family farm.
Eager to help find scientific breakthroughs that
hold promising commercialization potential, the Decker family invited Sani and
Govil to visit their Spink County farm. The researchers were delighted to
accept, given the major focus of their own work is on helping South Dakota
farmers by finding new uses for massive amounts of leftover corn stalks
generated each year across rural America.
“This partnership was built on mutual trust and
respect between the Decker's and the CNAM-Bio team. It did not develop all at
once, but through the research experiments of Donnie Decker with the team and
personal meetings with the Decker family. We’re very fortunate to make this
kind of connection,” says Sani.
Researchers are planning to increase connections
with producers in rural America in the coming year with more visits to farms
and ranches.
“I’m happy Mines researchers made time to come and
hear from the producers firsthand and see what their challenges and issues are
and where they may be able to help,” says Scott Decker, a neighboring farmer
near the Steve and Beth Decker family farm.
Researchers on the CNAM-Bio team are optimistic that
these connections and their work can yield real results that boost the
viability of the state’s number one industry, agriculture.
“Visits like this will continue to strengthen the
bond between farmers and Mines researchers and help find practical and helpful
answers that will improve the competitiveness of our country's agricultural
industry,” Govil says.
The research in CNAM-Bio at Mines is funded by the
South Dakota Governor’s Office and corporate collaborators and is directed at providing
a pipeline of innovation for scale-up and commercial level demonstration at the
new POET
Bioproducts Institute in Brookings.