Non Technical Summary
The Food and Feed Innovation and Analytics Facility at West Virginia University serves as a hub for conducting cutting-edge research in food and agricultural sciences. The WVU Food and Feed Facility has a history of supporting the food and agricultural community within the state of West Virginia and its surroundings with service activities related to nutritional analysis, microbial examination, shelf-life studies, nutrition labels, etc. Although the WVU Food and Feed Facility is located in the newly constructed Agricultural Sciences Building, the current state of our equipment poses significant limitations on the lab's capacity to meet the evolving demands of scientific exploration and innovation. Therefore, the overall goal of this funding request is to support the modernization of the Food and Feed Innovation and Analytics Facility at WVU by replacing outdated, obsolete, and misfunctioning laboratory infrastructure and equipment. This funding request is critical to ensure our continued ability to conduct impactful research and contribute to the advancement of the food and agricultural sectors. This request aligns with NIFA's Research Facilities Act Program (RFAP) current RFA, which provides financial assistance for "...modernization, renovation, or remodeling of agricultural research facilities to conduct research in the fields of food and agricultural sciences...". In addition, this request aligns with USDA's FY 2022 -2026 Strategic Goals 2 and 4 to "ensure America's agricultural system is equitable, resilient, and prosperous" and to "provide all Americans safe, nutritious food" as well as the "7 U.S.C 3101: Purposes of agricultural research, extension, and education".

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
501	2239	1000	100%

Knowledge Area
501 - New and Improved Food Processing Technologies;

Subject Of Investigation
2239 - Flavoring and beverage plants, general/other;

Field Of Science
1000 - Biochemistry and biophysics;

Goals / Objectives
This project will allowmodernization, renovation, or remodeling of agricultural research facilities to conduct research in the fields of food and agricultural sciences.

Project Methods
Facility planningModernization and renovationEquipment purchasing andsetupIntegrating Facility into existing and new classesDemonstrations for industry partners and Extension agents