Collaborative Research: NRT-INFEWS: Systems Thinking Training for Research ON Geography-based Coastal Food Energy Water Systems (STRONG-CFEWS)

世界上40%的人口居住在距离海岸100公里的范围内，这些环境对当地和全球经济至关重要。在世界上最大的出口国中国，全国一半以上的人口生活在工业化的海岸线上。美国沿海县的人口密度最高，占美国人口的39%。在人口如此稠密的地区，与生产和使用食物、能源和水有关的人类活动与氮污染等影响有关，这些污染降低了沿海水域的质量。这种退化影响到珊瑚礁生态系统、渔业以及人们的经济生计和健康。补给需要创新的系统思维，并更好地考虑陆地和沿海环境中食物、能源和水系统的整合方式。系统思维考虑整个系统，包括工程基础设施、环境和社会文化方面，而不是孤立部分的组装。整合社会文化动态和社区利益相关者的有意义的参与是这一方法的基础。这项授予南佛罗里达大学(USF)和维尔京群岛大学(UVI)的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将开发一个社区参与的系统思维培训和研究计划。科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)研究生将设计创新的整体解决方案(例如，技术、组织)，以更好地管理沿海地区复杂且相互关联的食品、能源和水系统。该项目将培训109名研究生，其中包括23名受资助的美国联邦大学工程和应用人类学博士级实习生，以及6名来自历史上的黑人大学合作伙伴弗吉尼亚州坦帕、美属维尔京群岛、巴巴多斯和伯利兹的海洋和环境科学硕士实习生。该奖项将培养学生创建解决复杂问题的创新系统的能力，并将作为培训以STEM为重点的劳动力的典范。支持该培训计划的研究重点是在特定地理环境下设计食品-能源-水系统的杠杆点(技术、政策和组织)，以提高整个系统在不同规模上的可持续性。NRT将通过以下方式推进研究生培训：1)一个革命性的研究培训框架，指导学生从系统的角度对食品-能量-水系统之间的相互作用进行概念化描述，并定义他们的研究问题；2)基于背景的跨学科培训方法，包括新开发的联合授课课程、在美国和国际上进行的多学科实地培训和研究经验，以及与当地从业者和社区组织的牢固合作关系；以及3)我们项目在跨学科、21世纪以及研究生本地和全球能力技能方面的学习成果，以及在食品、能源和水安全资源管理方面的有效研究。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革意义的STEM研究生教育培训模式。Traineesship Track致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合培训模式，在高度优先的跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该项目由Louis Stokes少数群体参与联盟(LSAMP)计划共同资助。LSAMP项目支持全面、循证和持续的方法，以扩大STEM中历史上代表性不足的种族和民族的学生的参与。

With 40% of the world's population residing within 100 kilometers of a coast, these environments are critical to local and global economies. In China, the world's largest exporter, more than half of the country's population lives along its industrialized coastlines. Population densities in the United States are highest in coastal counties, representing 39% of the U.S. population. In such densely populated areas, human activity related to the generation and use of food, energy and water has been linked to impacts such as nitrogen pollution that degrades the quality of coastal waters. This degradation affects reef ecosystems, fisheries, and people's economic livelihoods and health. Replenishment requires innovative systems thinking and better consideration of the way food, energy, and water systems are integrated in terrestrial and coastal environments. Systems thinking considers the whole system including engineered infrastructure, the environment, and sociocultural aspects, rather than an assembly of isolated parts. Integrating sociocultural dynamics and meaningful engagement of community stakeholders is fundamental to this approach. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) will develop a community-engaged training and research program in systems thinking. Graduate Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) students will design innovative, holistic solutions (e.g., technological, organizational) to better manage complex and interconnected food, energy, and water systems in coastal locations. The project will train 109 graduate students, including 23 funded PhD-level trainees from engineering and applied anthropology at USF and 6 MS-level trainees from marine and environmental sciences from the Historically Black University partner, UVI in four locations: Tampa, Florida, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados and Belize. This award will prepare students to create innovative systems to address complex problems and will serve as a model for training a STEM-focused workforce.The research supporting this training program focuses on the leverage points (technological, policy, and organizational) in designing food-energy-water systems in a specific geographic context to improve the sustainability of the overall system across different scales. This NRT will advance graduate training through: 1) a transformative research training framework guiding students to conceptualize the interactions between food-energy-water systems and define their research questions from a systems perspective; 2) a context based interdisciplinary training approach including newly developed co-taught courses, multi-discipline field-based training and research experiences that take place in the U.S. and internationally, and strong partnerships with local practitioners and community-grounded organizations; and 3) learning outcomes of our program in terms of interdisciplinary, 21st century, and local and global competency skills of graduate students and impactful research in the management of resources for food, energy, and water security. 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.This project is co-funded by the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. The LSAMP program supports comprehensive, evidence-based, and sustained approaches to broadening participation of students from racial and ethnic groups historically underrepresented in STEM.