WHAT IS AURPI?
The Auburn University Rural Partnership Institute (AURPI) is committed to developing and implementing new technologies to enhance the economic prosperity of rural Alabama. Focusing on technologies applicable to the production and processing sectors of the poultry and forestry industries.
Mission Statement
To bolster Alabama rural communities through technological and innovative advancements in the two most important ag industries in the state – poultry and forestry. We aim to elevate industry standards, increase productivity, and improve work environment in these two industries. Our goal is that this project will create additional economic opportunities in rural Alabama thereby contributing to the building of communities that are resilient and prosperous.
Who Makes Up Our Insitute?
Why is this important?
The poultry and forestry industries are the two largest economic drivers in Alabama, each contributing billions to the state’s economy. These industries thrive in rural areas, which are vital to their operations and growth. The Auburn University Rural Partnership Institute (AURPI) is dedicated to identifying and implementing cutting-edge technologies and training programs that will strengthen these industries and enrich the rural communities that support them.
Our team of experts spans diverse fields including operational excellence/ industrial and systems engineering, cybersecurity, biosystems engineering, forestry production, rural sociology, agricultural economics, poultry science, and biosensors. In collaboration with our valued industry partners from both poultry and forestry, we are committed to addressing challenges and developing solutions that will leave a lasting, positive impact on these communities.
To learn more about the specific goals of each subteam, visit our subteams page. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out through the contact information listed on our personnel page.
How can we do this?
• Facilitating stakeholder focus groups to understand challenges
• Performing a technology marketplace assessment to evaluate existing technologies and identify gaps
• Implementing findings from market intelligence to address challenges and prioritize issues
• Developing technologies to fill gaps identified in the market assessment
• Partnering with organizations to implement technologies, recording ROI and challenges
• Generating guides to help other organizations considering adoption of the technology
• Conducting vulnerability assessments for both producers and processors
• Evaluating vulnerabilities introduced by technologies outlined in focus areas 1 and 2
• Improving wastewater treatment performance through biological treatments
• Developing treatment systems for safe re-use of processing wastewater for irrigation
• Mitigating odor and pathogens from poultry wastewater and developing treatment methods for poultry DAF solids
• Evaluating the economic impacts of technologies used in poultry processing and forest product manufacturing
• Identifying new areas for economic development through case studies in key agricultural sectors
Call for Collaborative Research
The Auburn University Rural Partnership Institute (AURPI) is inviting faculty to collaborate with industry and community organizations to propose innovative solutions for enhancing the efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability of Alabama’s poultry and forestry industries. With a focus on improving rural livelihoods, projects may address technology advancements, cybersecurity, waste management, or other challenges facing rural Alabama. Selected projects will receive up to $50,000 in funding and are expected to begin in Summer or Fall 2025. Proposals are due by March 17, 2025.
Sponsored by:
