Rice, soybean and lithium-ion battery researchers receive bonus grants from Arkansas Research Alliance

Four researchers with the University of Arkansas System were awarded bonus grants by the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) for projects to develop innovative applications of rice, soybeans and lithium-ion batteries.

The additional funding comes after ARA announced its Impact Grant awards including a record 25 grants totaling $1.86 million presented to researchers across Arkansas in April.

The four bonus grants were $20,250 each. Each project has an Arkansas industry collaborator which provides additional funds to the project. The industry partners include the Anheuser-Busch Foundation, Riceland Foods, Rice Capital Inc., and U.S. Vanadium.

“ARA is deeply committed to providing assistance to science that makes a significant contribution to industries essential to Arkansas,” said Bryan J. Barnhouse, ARA president and CEO. “When we saw an opportunity to extend the grants program to additional competitive projects, we were delighted to take it.”

Samira Feyzi, an assistant professor of food science, was awarded for her project titled “Improved Protein Extraction Technology using a Novel Green System for Production of High Quality and Sustainable Soy Protein Isolate from Arkansas Soybeans.”

Riceland Foods is the industry partner of this grant project. Feyzi specializes in protein chemistry and analysis as a member of the food science department with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Scott Lafontaine, an assistant professor of food chemistry in the food science department with Bumpers College and the experiment station, was awarded for his project titled “Optimizing Rice Extract for Brewing Efficiency and Economic Growth in Arkansas.” The Anheuser-Busch Foundation is the industry partner for this grant project.

Mahfuzur Rahman, an assistant professor and grain processing engineer in the food science department for the experiment station and Bumpers College, was awarded for his project titled “Create an Arkansas-grown rice protein brand in the plant protein market.” Rice Capital Inc. is the industry partner for this grant project.

Noureen Siraj an assistant professor of chemistry for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, was awarded for her project titled “Nano V2O5-PNDC composite cathode for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries.” U.S. Vanadium is the industry partner for this project.