NRT-INFEWS: Integrated Urban Solutions for Food, Energy, and Water Management

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By 2030, 60% of the world's population will live in cities requiring the supply of large amounts of food, water, and energy (FEW) from locations currently far from urban centers. The complex and intimate connection between food, energy, and water is becoming increasingly central in socioeconomic and urban planning decisions. Unfortunately, there exists a void in the workforce and leadership with broad technical, economic, and social perspectives on such complex societal problems. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will combine research, education, and communication training to educate future leaders who can deliver innovative solutions to achieve sustainable supply of food, energy, and water to growing urban centers under the pressure of global climate change. The project anticipates training 110 MS or PhD students, including 33 funded trainees, from engineering, physical and life sciences, social sciences, public affairs, and public health. This program will provide graduate students with classroom and hands-on training with a focus on urban systems. Three new FEW graduate courses and a Business and Entrepreneurship Seminar Series will be developed using project-based and peer-to-peer methodology. Hands on training will consist of academic research and institutionalized non-academic graduate internships with domestic partners. Three main interdisciplinary research thrusts will be pursued: (1) FEW wastes reduction and up-scaling, (2) urban sustainability, and (3) integrated solutions for FEW systems management in Los Angeles. The research effort will result in a comprehensive scientific and technological portfolio addressing high priority needs including (1) decaying food sensors and behavioral science to reduce food waste, (2) novel polymeric gels for enhancing soil hydration, (3) integrated technology solutions for urban agriculture, water treatment, biofuel production, and zero-net energy buildings, and (4) system-level understanding of UCLA and LA as testbeds to provide practical ideas and actionable recommendations to stakeholders. Moreover, trainees will gain experience in the art of communicating science and technology by (1) developing the social media series FEW and Far Between, (2) organizing the UCLA Sustainability Day, and (3) through the Urban FEWSing© outreach activity, in which they will interact with the general public at urban farms and food deserts in LA. This approach will align the focus of UCLA and local industrial and community partners on delivering innovation in FEWS, in line with campus and city wide initiatives. This program will impact UCLA and the broader community beyond its funded period, as the UCLA Institute of Environment and Sustainability will adopt the new graduate courses for a newly approved Ph.D. program and UCLA Extension will offer the courses online.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.