K-State Current - April 28, 2021

K-State Current is a weekly news update for the Kansas Board of Regents to apprise the Regents on a few of the many successes and achievements made by K-State faculty, staff and students.

K-State News

Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Bontrager to retire in September

After more than 37 years in higher education, Cindy Bontrager is retiring as vice president and chief operations officer for university operations on Sept. 24. Bontrager supervises all facilities planning and maintenance, risk and compliance, police and public safety, environmental health and safety, parking and the administrative support center in her current role.

"Vice President Bontrager has been a dedicated servant to higher education in the state of Kansas and her alma mater, Kansas State University," said Richard B. Myers, university president. "She has always exhibited the positive, can-do attitude that exemplifies a true K-Stater. Under her leadership, the face of our Manhattan campus has been truly transformed."

Bontrager served in K-State's budget office from January 1989 to April 1998, returning in July 2003. After a brief assignment at the Kansas Department of Insurance, she was at the Kansas Board of Regents from July 1998 to July 2003. She was named K-State's interim vice president for administration and finance in October of 2012 and assumed the role on permanent status in 2014. The unit was reorganized in 2019 and she assumed her current role.

During her tenure as vice president, Bontrager oversaw a tremendous building boom on campus and led efforts to significantly upgrade critical infrastructure. This includes an expansion of the Manhattan campus chill plant and the steam pipe distribution system and a major renovation of the electrical systems in existing campus buildings. Major building projects included the College of Business Building, Engineering Building Phase IV Addition, Student Union renovation, Wefald Hall, the Berney Family Welcome Center, Seaton Hall expansion, the Morris Family Multicultural Center and renovation of Hale Library.

"My experience at K-State has truly been priceless," Bontrager said. "Working with students, faculty and staff who are passionate and care about this university has been very rewarding. There is still much to do, but I'm leaving the university in very good hands. I'm looking forward to new adventures in my life with family and friends, but I will always look back fondly at my time at Kansas State."

Bontrager holds bachelor's degrees in both business management and political science from Kansas State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

Details on a replacement search will be announced at a later date in K-State Today.

K-State Faculty Highlights

Engineering professors receive funding for DOE water infrastructure project

The U.S. Department of Energy has announced awards totaling $27.5 million for 16 water infrastructure projects, including one at Kansas State University led by Prathap Parameswaran, associate professor and Fornelli engineering professorship designee in the civil engineering department.

The projects, operating in 13 states, have the potential to reduce carbon emissions and water-treatment costs while improving water quality and equity of distribution nationwide. Each team will work to bring new water and wastewater-treatment technologies from the applied research and development stage to commercial readiness.

Parameswaran's project, "Integrated Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor Electro-assisted Fermentation Platform for Total Resource Recovery from Diverse Wastewaters," has been funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy for nearly $2 million over the next three years.

Co-principal investigator is Stacy Hutchinson, associate dean of the Office of Research and Graduate Programs in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering and professor in the Carl and Melinda Helwig Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at K-State. They will be joined by collaborators from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Kansas and CDM Smith, a Boston construction and engineering firm.

The proposed anaerobic membrane bioreactor platform will demonstrate total resource recovery from swine wastewater to produce valuable chemicals, fertilizers and water for reuse. This will be achieved through a combination of anaerobic fermentation with simultaneous separation of the organic acids within the bioreactor and separate sequestration of ammonia-N and phosphate-P through ion exchange and coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation, respectively.

"Side-stream co-fermentation of the bioreactor solids will further enhance energy and chemical recovery from the platform, thereby enabling very low net energy requirements for the anaerobic membrane bioreactor-microbial electrolysis cell platform," Parameswaran said. "Treated wastewater permeate will be polished in constructed wetlands prior to indirect reuse or discharge."

The proposed platform is expected to create an entirely new market spectrum within public wastewater utilities, livestock operations and food industries by transforming them into revenue-generating centers or biorefineries, he said.

Products generated will range from organic acids for use as food preservatives and bioplastics manufacturing, ammonia-N as feedstock for the fertilizer industry or direct farm use as slow-release fertilizer, tailored phosphorus fertilizers for appropriate soil types, stabilized biosolids for sustainable land application and finally, water for indirect reuse or discharge.

"This is the type of project that can have a huge impact on operations at the university and in Manhattan," Hutchinson said. "We worked with the Kansas State University Innovation Partners to present letters of collaboration in support of this effort and are very appreciative of the response we received from commercialization partners Intuitech Inc., the Veterinary and Biological Research Center, the city of Manhattan and the K-State Swine Research Unit; as well as stakeholder/end users the Manhattan Brewing Company, One Egg Group LLC, and a trail- and snack-mix distribution center."

Parameswaran noted the proposed research will be a major advancement in moving K-State toward becoming a research leader in the key strategic area of global food, health and biosecurity through achievement of sustainable and total resource recovery from livestock wastewater for local and global benefits.

"This also aligns well with the College of Engineering goal of creative innovative research platforms for the future prosperity of Kansas and national economic well-being," he said.

Capabilities and client base grows for food industry, entrepreneur resource - Food Innovation Accelerator Bryan Severns, manager of food programs and services, uses the new Simplex AS-1 semi-automatic filler to jar homemade chocolate sauce.

The Food Innovation Accelerator, or FIA, is cooking up success at Kansas State University Olathe's campus.

In 2020, the FIA expanded its capabilities and saw its clientele triple.

The FIA is a physical resource for food-based entrepreneurs and the food product and ingredient industry. The FIA consists of accelerator consists of five unique kitchens, industry standard equipment and is backed by K-State's more than 150 years of food science and food processing knowledge. Clients can use its resources to start a new product line; scale up production; test the quality, nutrition and microbial content of their food; and receive consulting about regulatory and food safety issues.

It is operated by Bryan Severns, manager of food programs and services, who is a trained chef and food safety expert.

A Simplex AS-1 semi-automatic filler was recently added to the kitchen to expand food packaging capabilities. The machine fills containers up to 32 oz. in size with a pre-set level of beverages, honey, sauces, creams, pastes, pickle relish or fresh salsa using a "hot fill" canning process — the industry standard process for bottling foods. The filler's piston stroke and canister size can be adjusted to change the speed at which product is pushed through the nozzle and the amount of product that is released into a container.

A 6 oz. jar can be filled in 6 seconds at the slowest setting.

"The ability to fill containers efficiently, cleanly and consistently is a real game changer for our space," Severns said. "It enables our clients to do more and opens us up to new clientele who need to quickly and safely bottle their products. We have clients who are looking at making tea and bottling honey, barbecue sauces, salsas and chocolate sauce. Now they'll be able to do that easier, faster and more hygienically."

The year also saw increased business as clientele tripled in 2020 to 18.

Severns attributes the growth to several factors, including entrepreneurs deciding to scale up and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The pandemic accelerated things," Severns said. "For some of my clients, they were working from home, had some savings built up and decided to pursue the idea they had been thinking about for a while because the timing was right. For others, it was easy to pivot their business to a different model, such as dropping off food rather than setting up a pop-up stand at a location."

With the user growth comes improvements to the facility, such as the Simplex filler and others that support current and future businesses.

Severns makes improvements to the space by listening to his clients about their needs and watching them work to see what challenges they run into while making products. Sometimes these are equipment based. Past solutions have involved adding a second 20 qt. mixer and a wood topped table so that dough making was easier and doughs could be kneaded on a nonstick surface versus the stainless-steel tabletops. Others involved setting up a grease bin by the loading dock to make grease disposable possible and upgrading the kitchens' electrical and plumbing infrastructure.

While Severns continues to expand the accelerator's functionality for its clients, he said the goal is to see them become successful enough that they are able to "graduate" into their own location or work with a copacker who can put their products on store shelves.

Two clients recently made that jump.

Three Bears Bakery and BBQ opened a store in Lenexa. It began using the Food Innovation Accelerator to scale up its goods for farmers' markets. Three Bears is owned and operated by a husband and wife who make low-carb, diabetic-friendly, artisan baked goods. Their entire product line is keto-friendly and includes breads, cakes, pies and barbecue sauce.

KC Biscuit Company produces and distributes frozen biscuit dough to Hen House and Fresh Out Foods grocery stores under the Perfect Square brand name. The biscuits are made with real butter and buttermilk.

Learn more about the Food Innovation Accelerator and its clientele at olathe.k-state.edu/fia.

K-State Student News

Net Positive Studio receives awards at prestigious DOE Solar Decathlon Build Challenge Students in Kansas State University's Net Positive Studio designed and assembled this zero energy home in St. John. The highly energy-efficient home uses only about one-fourth of the energy consumed by a typical new home.

A Kansas State University fifth-year architecture studio is taking top honors for designing a zero energy home in St. John.

The K-State Net Positive Studio earned recognition in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2020 Build Challenge, which is a collegiate competition where teams design and build high-performance, low-carbon homes powered by renewable energy.

The College of Architecture, Planning & Design student studio ranked in three contests: second place in the market potential category, third place in the architecture category and third place in the affordability and financial feasibility category.

"It was a good showing for the team, who represented the studio's work on affordable, net zero housing that actually started in 2018 and included architecture students from three different academic years," said Michael Gibson, associate professor of architecture and creator and leader of the Net Positive Studio.

K-State was one of nine university teams from the U.S., Canada, Europe and South America taking part in the Solar Decathlon Build Challenge. The competition was originally set to take place in Washington, D.C., last summer but was delayed because of the pandemic and became a virtual event in April 2021. Teams were recognized on how they blended architectural and engineering excellence with innovation.

"We were in very strong company with the other Build Challenge teams — all of which had to navigate the challenges of COVID-19 to get their projects completed," Gibson said.

For the competition, students in the Net Positive Studio built a zero energy home that is being completed in St. John. Take a virtual tour of the K-State zero energy home.

The K-State home was designed, prefabricated and assembled by the fifth-year architecture studio led by Gibson in 2019-2021. The Net Positive Studio worked with Stafford County Economic Development to come up with a design for affordable, energy-efficient rental housing to be built in St. John.

The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home includes a solar power system; passive design features such as passive solar, natural ventilation and daylight; high-performance vinyl windows, provided by Interstate Glass Co. from Junction City; and other features that make it highly energy efficient. Using only about one-fourth of the energy consumed by a typical new home, the net zero home's utility costs will be offset on an annual basis by its solar panels.

The mission of the Net Positive Studio is to model how sustainable housing is within reach for Kansas communities of all sizes, Gibson said. The studio is currently working with Manhattan Area Habitat for Humanity on a home for Ogden and will be working with new nonprofit partners in the coming years to design and build more affordable net zero homes.

Read more about the Net Positive Studio in the 2020 issue of Seek magazine.

K-State senior awarded national scholarship from Associated General Contractors of America

Matt Forbus, Kansas State University senior in construction science and management from Wichita, has been awarded a scholarship from the Associated General Contractors, or AGC, of America’s Education and Research Foundation.

Forbus will receive the foundation’s Board of Certified Safety Professionals Scholarship in the amount of $2,500, which is renewable for up to three years. Recipients must want to have a career in the construction industry and be enrolled as full-time students.

Of the 117 AGC of America national scholarship recipients, Forbus has been chosen as one of just four to receive special recognition and be spotlighted at the AGC National Convention in September. AGC of America’s film crew will be traveling to Manhattan in early May to film him for the production video.

Andrew Sneed, instructor in K-State’s GE Johnson Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science, is Forbus' adviser.

The AGC Education and Research Foundation, founded in 1968, supports the future of the construction industry through its robust scholarship program and innovative projects by offering undergraduate and graduate-level scholarships to students enrolled in ABET- or ACCE-accredited construction management or construction-related engineering programs.

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