January 8, 2020
Gregory V. Lowry
Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Carnegie Mellon University "Lowering the Environmental Footprint of Agriculture using Efficient and Environmentally Responsive Nano-agrochemicals"
4:10 PM, 5326 Stevenson Center Refreshments served at 3:45
Abstract
Engineered nanomaterials have the potential to revolutionize agrochemical efficacy and vastly improve use efficiency. Nanomaterial properties, including charge, size, and coating hydrophobicity can be engineered to promote efficient uptake and translocation of engineered nanomaterials in plants. We assessed the importance of each of these variables on the uptake and translocation of engineered nanomaterials in plants after foliar and root exposures. Spatially resolved synchrotron X-ray imaging tools demonstrated that coating hydrophobicity controls both route and extent of nanoparticle uptake across the plant leaf cuticle for foliar applied nanomaterials. A relatively more hydrophobic coating afforded nearly 100% uptake through the leaf cuticle due to hydrophobic interactions. Spatially resolved metal transport in leaf cross sections indicate that coating identity also impacts the ease of transport through leaf mesophyll into the plant vasculature. NP size up to 50nm did not influence NP uptake through the cuticle, but size did influence their leaf-to-root transport. For NP<50nm, approximately 20% of the foliar applied Au NPs were exuded from roots into the rhizosphere soil. Finally, we have developed a temperature-responsive star polymer that can release active ingredients in vivo under heat stress. Overall, the body of evidence indicates great potential for manipulating nanomaterial properties for beneficial applications in agriculture and for increasing agrochemical utilization efficiency and sustainability of food production.
Bio
Greg Lowry is the Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the Deputy Director of the NSF/EPA Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEINT). His research aims to safely harness the unique properties of engineered nanomaterials for making crop agriculture and water treatment more resilient and sustainable. Recent work aims at understanding how a nanomaterial’s properties and environmental conditions influence their fate in soils, nanomaterial-plant interactions, nutrient uptake efficiency, and crop disease management. He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles (H index=70) and one book. He served on the board of directors of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and on the US EPA Science Advisory Board (Environmental Engineering committee). He is a Board-Certified Environmental Engineer (BCEEM), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was a member of the National Academy of Science Committee on Science Breakthroughs 2030: A Strategy for Food and Agricultural Research. Dr. Lowry holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, an M.S. from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and a Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.