The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (#2, #12, #13, and #15) related to food security and environmental sustainability are critical priorities for protecting global well-being now and in the future. In response, the field of sustainable and regenerative agriculture is rapidly evolving, focusing on improving crop yield and efficiency without relying heavily on synthetic fertilizers that exacerbate the environment. The Gilbertson Group aims to contribute to these efforts.
Our lab is dedicated to developing innovative strategies to enhance soil health, optimize nutrient utilization, and promote crop growth. A primary aspect of this research involves the development of sustainable materials to maximize nutrient delivery efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. To gain comprehensive understanding of soil nutrient dynamics, our lab (1) develops models to track nutrient transport in soils and identify opportunities for intervention, and (2) performs experiments ranging from in the lab to the greenhouse. These studies shed light on the cycling of key nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, at the nexus of soil, water, and crops. The research also explores our developed solutions to addresses the broader context of climate change. Together, our research strives to cultivate a more resilient and productive agricultural system that aligns with the global sustainability goals.
Representative Publications
Dunn, P. J., Pourzahedi, L., Theis, T. L., & Gilbertson, L. M. (2023). Thinking in systems: sustainable design of nano-enabled agriculture informed by life cycle assessment. In Nano-Enabled Sustainable and Precision Agriculture (pp. 461-491). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91233-4.00019-3
Gilbertson, L. M., Pourzahedi, L., Laughton, S., Gao, X., Zimmerman, J. B., Theis, T. L., ... & Lowry, G. V. (2020). Guiding the design space for nanotechnology to advance sustainable crop production. Nature nanotechnology, 15(9), 801-810. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-020-0706-5
Lowry, G. V., Avellan, A., & Gilbertson, L. M. (2019). Opportunities and challenges for nanotechnology in the agri-tech revolution. Nature nanotechnology, 14(6), 517-522. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0461-7
Yin, J., Wang, Y., & Gilbertson, L. M. (2018). Opportunities to advance sustainable design of nano-enabled agriculture identified through a literature review. Environmental Science: Nano, 5(1), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EN00766C
Urso, J. H., & Gilbertson, L. M. (2018). Atom conversion efficiency: a new sustainability metric applied to nitrogen and phosphorus use in agriculture. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 6(4), 4453-4463. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b03600
Pourzahedi, L., Pandorf, M., Ravikumar, D., Zimmerman, J. B., Seager, T. P., Theis, T. L., ... & Lowry, G. V. (2018). Life cycle considerations of nano-enabled agrochemicals: are today's tools up to the task?. Environmental Science: Nano, 5(5), 1057-1069. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7EN01166K
Funded Projects
National Science Foundation, CBET No. 2133423, ECO-CBET: Sustainability from the Bottom Up: A Holistic Solution to Balancing the N-Cycle, 9/1/2021 – 8/31/2025, Gilbertson PI, Co-PI: Emily Elliott (Geoscience, Pitt), Steve Little (Chemical Eng., Pitt).
University of Pittsburgh Momentum Funds, Seeding Grant, Chemistries for Targeted Delivery of Agrochemicals: Development and Feasibility Testing 5/1/2020 – 4/31/2022, Gilbertson PI.