International Phytotechnologies Scholars Program Conference in St. Louis, MO

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1010487Burken The hosting of the 6th International Phytotechnologies Conference in St. Louis Missouri by the International Phytotechnologies Society offers a unique opportunity for educational experiences directly relating to sustainable remediation and development, which was recently announced as EPA's initiative on green remediation stating that all site cleanups will consider 5 new factors: 1) Total Energy Use and Renewable Energy Use; 2) Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas Emissions; 3) Water Use and Impacts to Water Resources; 4) Materials Management and Waste Reduction; and 5) Land Management and Ecosystems Protection. No remediation is greener than phytoremediation and related technologies presented at the conference also cover green roofs, site redevelopment and storm water management. The conference put on by the International Phytotechnologies Society occurs this fall and this emerging national initiative could not be better timed, and we propose to utilize this opportunity in a unique educational program. The International Phytotechnologies Scholars Program for the first time. The Phyto Scholars program takes advantage of the opportunities provided at the conference venue. This program built out of previous support by BP to assist students to attend the previous Phytotechnologies conferences. In the Phyto Scholars Program, students will be invited to the conference and supported to attend. Their attendance will also be directly related to educational objectives they select. Many of these students will be presenting research, and others attending as part of the scholars program may be part of their first exposure to phytoremediation and related research topics. Many will be undergraduate students and early career graduate students attending their first international conference, and whose careers may be impacted by their exposure to technologies that will likely be in increasing demand. Each student will submit a self-generated learning goal and related objectives, using the attached template. Students will plan out the sessions and topics they will attend and integrate these topics to address their own objectives and career goals. By planning out the sessions and talks the Phyto Scholars will be attending, each will be encouraged to look into research articles from the presenters. In doing background research, scholars will better be able comprehend the cutting edge research presented at the conference and engage in meaningful discussions at the conference. Each Phyto Scholar in the program will also attend a scholars luncheon, where they will be seated with a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Phytoremediation. These established leaders in the field will be able to interact with the students and discuss the advancement of phytoremediation research through their careers and answers questions of the students. Following the conference, students will be asked to submit a short summary of their learning as part of the Phyto Scholars Program. The compiled summaries will be the deliverables from the Phyto Scholars Program. As the majority of the scholars will be from the continental US, the international aspects of International Phytotechnologies Scholars program will also be a unique experience for the students in the program. The conference has abstracts submitted by reseachers from 26 different countries. The conference also marks the return of the conference to US soil after the 5th international conference was held in Nanjing China in 2008. An estimated 100 students will be invited to participate and the costs noted in this proposal are best estimates, based on the most current data. Each student in the Phyto Scholars Program will have their lodging and registration covered through this effort, and each student will also be offered a travel support for travelling from domestic institutions. The Phyto Scholars Program is offered in coordination with the International Phytotechnologies Society. The society officers and conference planners will serve as the advisors for the scholars program, with no personal compensation. They will serve to recruit and select the students that will participate.