SBAR includes seven partner institutions including private industry and major research universities, as well as over 200 researchers, post docs, graduate students, undergraduate students and staff. Dr. Kimberly Ogden, Professor of Chemical Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at the University of Arizona, leads the SBAR project. Partner institutions are listed below.
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (UArizona) is a global leader known for its excellence in research and is the state’s premier land-grant institution. UArizona is the lead institution for the SBAR project, which was funded to develop a systems approach for feedstock development, production, and delivery in the Southwest United States. UArizona leads the project’s Feedstock Development and Production team and the Education team. UArizona’s research efforts contribute to the project’s feedstock development and production, conversion, and sustainability investigations, while also implementing Extension and Outreach components.
Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
The Bridgestone Group is the world’s largest manufacturer of tire and rubber products, with hundreds of facilities across the world. Bridgestone’s guayule Bio Processing Research facility and Agro Operation are in Arizona, and their research efforts contribute to the project’s feedstock development and production component. Bridgestone researchers also contribute to the project’s characterization and co-products component, which evaluates value-added products for guayule resin.
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is known globally for its unique expertise in topics related to earth, energy and the environment. Mines is a leading institution conducting world-class research in alternative and traditional energy sources, advanced materials and manufacturing, society’s infrastructure and discovery, and the sustainable use of Earth’s natural resources. Mines’ SBAR research efforts contribute to the project’s sustainability investigations.
Colorado State University
Inspired by its land-grant heritage, Colorado State University (CSU) is committed to excellence and holds exclusive statewide authority for programs in agriculture, forestry, natural resources and veterinary medicine. CSU leads the project’s System Performance and Sustainability team, and CSU’s research efforts contribute to the project’s sustainability investigations.
Guar Resources
Guar Resources strives to educate growers and producers about the value of guar cultivation and processing in the United States, and seeks to increase guar markets in the United States through improving seed, growing methods, and processing techniques. Guar Resources contributes to the project’s feedstock development, feedstock production, characterizations and co-products, and sustainability investigations.
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU) and Characterizations and Co-Products is the state’s land-grant university, serving the educational needs of a diverse population through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension education and public service. NMSU leads the project’s Extension team and Characterizations and Co-Products team. NMSU’s research efforts contribute to the project’s feedstock development and production, conversion, logistics, and sustainability investigations, while also implementing Extension and Outreach components.
USDA – Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency, focusing on solutions to agriculture problems that affect the country. Researchers located at the Western Regional Research Center and at the Arid Land Agricultural Research Center are working with the SBAR Teams on the feedstock development and production, and the characterizations and co-products investigations.