Magan Vaughn

Research Title: 2026 IDEA MACHINE: EAGER: Accelerated carbon mineralization sequestration in cation rick rock formations via microbial augmentation and stimulation

Funding Agency: NSF
The burning of fossil fuels releases gases including carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Therefore, it is important that ways to capture carbon dioxide is developed. One such solution is the conversion of carbon dioxide to a solid form through calcium and magnesium mineralization. This current project focuses on using microbes which if they produce two enzymes, urease and carbonic anhydrase, can help accelerate this mineralization. By characterizing native flora from rock samples using metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, biostimulation and bioaugmentation this phenomenon can be explored.