The 2D BEST vision is to enhance South Dakota’s bioscience and engineering infrastructure to enable researchers, educators, industry and all South Dakotans to be globally competitive. The mission is to build competitive, collaborative research and education capacity focused on nanoscale, conformal, two dimensional coatings that both promote and inhibit biofilm growth on materials with agricultural, biomedical and industrial applications. Two thrust areas focusing on (1) Rationally designed 2D coatings to protect metal surfaces from biocorrosion and (2) Modification of soybean roots with designer attachment proteins to enhance colonization by desirable bacteria will be pursued by the center. Large amounts of data are generated worldwide through millions of dollars of research; however, much of it is inaccessible. The third research thrust on the 2D-BEST project aims to provide researchers in South Dakota with the resources to mine available data for useful biofilm-material relationships. Other overarching goals on the project include preparing a diverse core of competitive STEM researchers, post-docs, graduate students, and undergraduate students for careers or higher education in bioscience and material science areas. This includes enhancing the ability of K-12 teachers to deliver STEM (biofilm- and 2D material-relevant) curriculum to rural and Native American populations in South Dakota. Read More.....