NRT-INFEWS: Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty

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About 35% of homes in the Navajo Nation are not connected to central power or drinking water systems. To address this issue, the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Arizona, in partnership with Diné College and Navajo Technical University, will develop a diverse STEM workforce with intercultural awareness and multidisciplinary knowledge/skills for high priority research in sustainable food, energy, and water systems (FEWS). Such systems are appropriate in many remote regions of the world. By partnering with Diné College and Navajo Technical University, the project will directly engage underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Trainees will major in traditional disciplines while completing the program, which consists of internships, a FEWS-themed minor, professional development, and immersion in indigenous communities. Trainees will participate in the design and construction of pilot-scale capstone projects in dispersed water purification and greenhouse system design in underserved areas of the Navajo Nation. The projects will produce learning models for FEWS infrastructure development in areas that cannot be served from central facilities. The traineeship will provide stipends for 12 MS and 14 PhD students from several related science and engineering disciplines. Eleven students not funded by NSF will complete the program (6 MS and 5 PhD). It is anticipated that an additional 40 students will complete the FEWS minor and about 400 students will be impacted through participation in enriched courses cross-listed in multiple departments. The traineeship centers on the development of novel, sustainable solutions for off-grid production of safe drinking water and controlled environment agriculture systems. Research will focus on innovative photovoltaics, holographics, sensors and controls, desalination of brackish water, brine treatment and disposal, and materials and systems resiliency. Food-energy-water systems will be integrated with cultural norms, working collaboratively with indigenous communities using a coupled natural human systems approach to design/build culturally acceptable technology. The research program will employ (1) the use of semi-transparent organic photovoltaic materials sheets as greenhouse cover to provide light of sufficient intensity and quality to achieve substantial, high-quality crop yields while powering off-grid controlled environment agriculture systems, and (2) solar-driven nanofiltration devices operated with algal bioreactors to produce potable and irrigation water using a treatment strategy tailored to the use of the water. In both areas, the program will draw on indigenous knowledge of land and water practices to make these technical innovations acceptable for widespread public use.The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.