INFEWS Awards

INFEWS—Through INFEWS (Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems), the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will support new awards for an initial investment in fiscal years (FY) 2016 and 2017 of more than $40 million.The awards will foster collaboration among research communities and accelerate discovery and innovation at the nexus of food, energy and water systems.

NRT-INFEWS—The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The NRT program seeks proposals that ensure that graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers.The NRT program includes two tracks: the Traineeship Track and the Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Track.

2016 and 2017 US-Funded INFEWS Projects

FEWS—Modeling (Track 1):

• Increasing regional to global-scale resilience in Food-Energy-Water systems through coordinated management,technology and institutions led by Jennifer Adam, Washington State University
• Monitoring and managing food, energy, and water systems under stress: California led by Steve Davis, University of California, Irvine
• A Modeling Framework to Understand the coupling of Food, Energy, and Water in the Teleconnected Corn and Cotton Belts led by Xin-Zhong Liang, University of Maryland
• Mesoscale Data Fusion to Map and Model the U.S. Food, Energy, and Water (FEW) System led by Benjamin Ruddell, Northern Arizona University
• Understanding multi-scale resilience options for vulnerable regions led by Benjamin Zaitchik, Johns Hopkins University
• Reducing the Environmental Impacts of FEW Systems In and Around Cities led by Arpad Horvath, University of California, Berkeley
• Impacts of Deglobalization on the Sustainability of Regional Food, Energy, Water Systems led by Elena Irwin, Ohio State University
• Scarcity Amid Abundance: Understanding Trade-offs in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus in the Willamette River Basin led by Chad Higgins, Oregon State University
• Towards Resilient Food-Energy-Water Systems in Response to Drought Impacts and Socioeconomic Shocks led by Hatim Geli, New Mexico State University
• Advancing FEW System Resilience in the Corn Belt by Integrated Technology-Environment-Economics Modeling of Nutrient Cycling led by Ximing Cai, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

FEWS—Visualization and Decision Support for Cyber-Human-Physical Systems at the FEW Nexus (Track 2):

• The sustainability-productivity tradeoff: Water supply vulnerabilities and adaptation opportunities in California’s coupled agricultural and energy sectors led by Gregory Characklis, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Flexible Model Compositions and Visual Representations for Planning and Policy Decisions at the Sub-regional level of the food-energy-water nexus led by Ross Maciejewski, Arizona State University

FEWS—Research to Enable Innovative System Solutions (Track 3):

• Social-ecological-technological solutions to waste reuse in food, energy, and water systems (ReFEWS) led by Lilian Alessa, University of Idaho
• Managing Energy, Water, and Information Flows for Sustainability across the Advanced Food Ecosystem led by Callie Babbitt, Rochester Institute of Technology
• Advancing Technologies and Improving Communication of Urine-Derived Fertilizers for Food Production within a Risk-Based Framework led by Nancy Love, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Rethinking Dams: Innovative hydropower solutions to achieve sustainable food and energy production, and sustainable communities led by Emilio Moran, Michigan State University
• Solar-Powered Integrated Greenhouse (SPRING) Systems Using Wavelength Selective Photovoltaics for Complete Solar Utilization led by Brendan O’Connor, North Carolina State University
• Reducing Household Food, Energy and Water Consumption: A Quantitative Analysis of Interventions and Impacts of Conservation led by David Watkins, Michigan Technological University

FEWS—Education and Workforce Development (Track 4):

• The INFEWS-ER: a Virtual Resource Center Enabling Graduate Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems led by Luis Rodriguez, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Immersive Educational Game Simulations to Enhance Understanding of Corn-Water-Ethanol-Beef System Nexus led by Jeyamkondan Subbiah, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

FEWS—NRT-Funded Projects

• Integrated Urban Solutions for Food, Energy, and Water Management led by Laurent Pilon, University of California-Los Angeles
• Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty led by Karletta Chief, University of Arizona
• STEM Training for Actionable Research and Global Impact led by Alice Agogino, University of California-Berkeley

FEWS REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Projects:

• N/P/H2O: MATERIALS INNOVATION AT THE INTERSECTION OF FOOD-ENERGY-WATER SYSTEMS (MII-FEWS) led by Timothy Long, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

UNS Projects:

• U.S.-China: Integrated Systems Modeling of Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus for Urban Sustainability led by Ming Xu, University of Michigan Ann Arbor