An award is being made to South Dakota School of Mines and Technology to enable the acquisition of the BioLector XTM microbioreactor system. This system can grow and monitor up to 48 tiny microbial cultures at the same time. It measures important factors like how much the microbes are growing, how much oxygen is in the mix, the pH level, and how the cells are responding, all without needing to stop the process. What makes this system special is that it can copy the conditions used in large-scale industrial fermentation—like stirring, air flow, and how nutrients are delivered—but at a very small scale. This helps researchers test and improve processes using less material. It also collects detailed, continuous data that older lab methods, like shake flasks or small bioreactors, can’t provide. This new equipment will expand research in the region and be shared by students, teachers, and researchers at local universities, Tribal colleges, and schools focused on undergraduate education. It will also support science education and training through classes, research projects, workshops, and programs for younger students and interns. The BioLector XTM will accelerate scientific discovery and enable data-driven modeling across multiple research domains in microbiology, biochemical engineering, systems biology, environmental biotechnology, agriculture, and synthetic biology. The project will empower researchers to rapidly optimize microbial processes used in producing sustainable bi