Grand Challenges for Engineering: Manage the nitrogen cycle
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| Audience/Grade: | High School Junior -Continuing Education 11-Continuing Education |
| Discipline(s): |
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering Chemical, Biochemical, Biomolecular Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Community - Discussion Forum/Mailing List/Newsletter |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
Organization:National Academy of Engineering |
| Description: | One of the Grand Challenges in Engineering identified by the National Academy of Engineering. The website has a description of the challenge, along with video clips that highlight specific problem areas. "Engineers can help restore balance to the nitrogen cycle with better fertilization technologies and by capturing and recycling waste. It doesn’t offer as catchy a label as “global warming,” but human-induced changes in the global nitrogen cycle pose engineering challenges just as critical as coping with the environmental consequences of burning fossil fuels for energy. Why is the nitrogen cycle important? The nitrogen cycle reflects a more intimate side of energy needs, via its central role in the production of food. It is one of the places where the chemistry of the Earth and life come together, as plants extract nitrogen from their environment, including the air, to make food. Controlling the impact of agriculture on the global cycle of nitrogen is a growing challenge for sustainable development. Nitrogen is an essential component of amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and of nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA), and consequently is needed by all living things. Fortunately, the planet’s supply of nitrogen is inexhaustible — it is the main element in the air, making up nearly four-fifths of the atmosphere in the form of nitrogen molecules, each composed of two nitrogen atoms. Unfortunately, that nitrogen is not readily available for use by living organisms, as the molecules do not easily enter into chemical reactions. In nature, breaking up nitrogen requires energy on the scale of lightning strikes, or the specialized chemical abilities of certain types of microbes." Image caption: Engineers are finding new ways to deliver nitrogen to plants in more sustainable ways. Here farmers use Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment to precisely apply fertilizer to areas that need it, limiting nitrogen runoff. |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | fertilizer nitrogen cycle sustainable agriculture |
| Is Component of: |
Grand Challenges for Engineering |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(e) Identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems (h) Understand global, economic, environmental, and societal context |
| Use of Resource: |
I have included these grand challenge resources as assignments in my freshman design and analysis class. |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Medium |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | August 2008 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9132.aspx |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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