Collaborators

	Ohio Agricultural Research And Development Center (OSU-OARDC) is the agbiosciences research arm of OSU. It is the largest agbioscience research center in the U.S. supporting over 250 scientists engaged in more than 400 research projects. OARDC maintains a 2,000 acre campus in Wooster, Ohio that has extensive research facilities including: greenhouse complexes; modern laboratories; and dedicated research field plots. OARDC is also home to the Molecular and Cellular Imaging Center that provides state-of-the-art microscopy, high throughput genetic sequencing, bioinformatics services, and experienced staff in all of these areas.
	Goodyear Tire has a long history of following sustainability practices and working hard to be a responsible neighbor in every community in which we operate.As we believe sustainability is a journey, we are constantly evolving as we improve our overall performance and strive to lead the industry to benefit our associates, our customers, our shareholders, our suppliers, our communities and the environment.
	American Sustainable Rubber is pursuing large-scale domestic production of natural rubber through genetic modificaiton of dandelion roots,. Success in this venture will reduce U.S.dependence on overseas rubber suppliers, through which we are exposed to geopolitical risks as well as environmental factors such as blight, plague, and drought. We relish the prospect of creating a profitable, useful, and environmentally-conscious business model that fills an economic and social need.
	Research in the Oregon State University Department of Crop and Soil Science (CSS) focuses on agricultural and natural resource issues with emphasis on encouraging and enhancing the sustainable production of agricultural crops and protection of soil and water resources locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. CSS conducts basic and applied research in two broad areas: –   Management of plant resources through genetics, biotechnology, plant breeding, seed science, weed science, and physiology. The goal is to ensure adequate food supplies and other renewable crop resources from sustainable agricultural systems that conserve and protect environmental quality. –   Soil and water resource management through soil biology, chemistry, physics, and genesis of forest, agricultural, and urban soils. The objective is maintenance and improvement of soil and water quality and recommending resource allocation among competing uses. CSS has extensive experience with growing TKS under field and greenhouse conditions for both root/rubber production and seed. The CSS is actively involved in selecting for high yielding, vigorous TKS lines that will result in commercially viable varieties, developing agronomic systems forgrowing TKS, and approaches to harvesting both root and seed.
	The University of Nebraska’s Panhandle Research and Extension Center (PHREC), located near Scottsbluff, Nebraska, houses 13 faculty of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). The location is representative of the semi-arid Central High Plains Ecoregion. The Center was established to support local agriculture including the dry bean, sugarbeet, potato, sunflower, and field pea industries of Nebraska. Faculty at the PHREC include experts in the fields of Soil Science, Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Weed Science, Entomology, Irrigation Systems Engineering, and Dryland Cropping Systems. Research resources include over 6,000 sq ft of laboratory space, multiple growth chamber, 4,000 sq ft of greenhouse space, access to over 200 acres in irrigated crop land, and farming equipment suitable for small plot and field scale research. Irrigation resources represent the diversity of the region and include subsurface drip, overhead sprinklers, and furrow systems
	The University of Akron Polymer Program has a distinguished history of research and innovation. For the past half century, the UA Polymer Program has identified, responded to, and overcame many technical challenges to help the plastics and rubber industry research scientific maturity and commercial success. This program houses a range and depth of technical competencies unprecedented in this field allowing it to skillfully respond to emerging technical concepts and challenges, rapidly translating new ideas to technologies that can be disseminated into society. The polymer, rubber and elastomer research program at UA maintains over $10 million in molecular analysis and structural dynamic characterization equipment housed in 250,000 square feet of research buildings. UA has the largest program with the most extensive coverage of research activities in the United States.