PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (April 25, 2023) — Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has been awarded a grant of $580,000 a year for three years to fund the development and implementation of the Prairie View A&M Algae Center of Excellence for Climate Resilient Food-Energy-Water Systems – a robust algae cultivation and biotechnology education and research program at the University.

The funding, provided by the Texas-based Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation (CGMF), will support Phase 1 of the project, which includes:

  • The conception and design of the required new research and development algae production facilities; and the utilization of experience and contacts within federal, state, and private sector funding sources to propose Phase 2.
  • The development of multi-million-dollar proposals to submit to relevant agencies and the private sector to integrate algae to wastewater nutrient remediation, CO2 capture, soil carbon storage, aquaculture feeds, and the creation of renewable energy, including methane and biofuels.
  • The implementation of a six-week academic course (full lecture and lab course) at PVAMU, starting Summer 2023, aimed at upper division/graduate-level students and focused on all aspects of algae – their ecological role in soils, fresh water, and oceans; engineering designs for research and scale-up; and downstream product creation and marketing.

Phase 2 of the project, beginning in 2024, will be a five-year implementation and operation of funded proposals submitted in Phase 1, with the goal of achieving more than $5 million in

Ali Fares, Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Water Security, College of Agriculture and Human Sciences

grants funded by federal and state agencies, private foundations, and private individuals.

“This funding is significant for PVAMU as it propels our mission, as a land-grant university, to advance research, learning, and service focused on addressing pertinent social, economic, and environmental issues,” said PVAMU Vice President of Research & Innovation Magesh Rajan, Ph.D., P.E., MBA. “The program will prepare and empower our students to become the next generation of scientists and professionals dedicated to creating healthier, more sustainable and equitable communities.”

The funded biotechnology research aligns well with the research priorities of the Cooperative Agricultural Research Center (CARC) within PVAMU’s College of Agriculture and Human Sciences (CAHS), and links the University’s tri-partite land grant missions, research with teaching (student development), and extension.

PVAMU’s Ali Fares, Ph.D., Endowed Professor of Water Security in CAHS, will serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) on the project and will work in collaboration with The Algae Foundation, Global Algae, and researchers at Texas A&M University, the University of California San Diego, and the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“The timing of the Prairie View A&M Algae Center of Excellence for Climate Resilient Food-Energy-Water Systems initiative couldn’t be better,” said Dr. Fares. This program “will strengthen the position of PVAMU as a lead institution in helping Texans deal with climate change and supporting a sustainable and resilient Texas economy.”

By Leigh Badrigian