NRT-INFEWS: Agricultural Biotechnology in Our Evolving Food, Energy & Water Systems (AgBioFEWS)

NRT-INFEWS：农业生物技术在我们不断发展的食品、能源中的应用

• 批准号: 1828820
• 负责人: Fred Gould
• 金额: $ 299.79万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1828820&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NRT; INFEWS; Agricultural; Biotechnology; Our

Innovations in agricultural biotechnology may fulfill biotechnology's longstanding promise to help feed the world's growing population while preserving ecosystem integrity. Yet past experience suggests that paths from technological innovation to improved sustainability and productivity entail considerable complexity and uncertainty. Meeting challenges of improving food, energy and water (FEW) systems requires the integration of knowledge from a number of natural sciences as well as from social, political, and ethical domains. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to North Carolina State University will provide graduate students who are enrolled in diverse natural and social science masters and PhD programs with the interdisciplinary knowledge and approaches needed to help forge futures where agricultural biotechnology applications enhance FEW systems while minimizing unintended consequences. In all, the AgBioFEWS program will train at least sixty-two (62) masters and PhD students, including twenty-two (22) funded PhD students, from biological, agricultural, and social sciences. The traineeship program will partner with two historically black universities, offering internships to their students, and will establish a path for these students to join the NRT program. Continuous interaction with experts from industry, government, and non-profit agencies will expose students to diverse career paths. For a new generation of students to contribute to development and utilization of agricultural biotechnology in ways that enhance FEW systems, they must be able to integrate knowledge and uncertainties from diverse, sophisticated fields of study; understand how facts and values influence decision-making; and establish their trustworthiness through evidence-based engagement with diverse communities. Tapping into North Carolina State's extension network, AgBioFEWS trainees will begin their programs living together in a small farming community situated in an ecologically fragile landscape. They will receive hands-on learning from farmers, extension agents, conservationists, and other public stakeholders in rural North Carolina. This experience is also designed to build team cohesiveness. Subsequent coursework and activities will expand student perspectives on agricultural biotechnology and FEW systems to national and international scales. AgBioFEWS course offerings will be integrated into an established graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society and an emerging minor in Public Science. The courses will address techniques of genetic engineering, agriculture, policy analysis, science communication, and other topics needed to prepare students for careers in government, industry, international development, and academia. All AgBioFEWS trainees will participate in an interdisciplinary team project under the direction of 2-3 faculty members, and doctoral trainees are expected to incorporate interdisciplinary agricultural biotechnology and FEW systems into their dissertations. Major research efforts range from investigating the impact of current biotechnology products on FEW socio-ecological systems to the development of potential future products. 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 program 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 award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

农业生物技术的创新可能实现生物技术的长期承诺，即帮助养活世界不断增长的人口，同时保持生态系统的完整性。然而，过去的经验表明，从技术创新到提高可持续性和生产力的道路相当复杂和不确定。要应对改善粮食、能源和水系统的挑战，需要整合来自许多自然科学以及社会、政治和伦理领域的知识。这个国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖给北卡罗来纳州州立大学将提供研究生谁是就读于不同的自然和社会科学硕士和博士课程的跨学科知识和方法，需要帮助锻造未来，农业生物技术应用增强FEW系统，同时尽量减少意外的后果。总的来说，AgBioFEWS计划将培养至少六十二（62）硕士和博士生，包括二十二（22）资助的博士生，从生物，农业和社会科学。该实习计划将与两所历史悠久的黑人大学合作，为他们的学生提供实习机会，并为这些学生加入NRT计划建立一条道路。与来自行业，政府和非营利机构的专家的持续互动将使学生接触到不同的职业道路。对于新一代的学生，以促进农业生物技术的发展和利用的方式，加强少数民族系统，他们必须能够整合知识和不确定性，从不同的，复杂的研究领域;了解事实和价值观如何影响决策;并建立他们的可信度，通过与不同社区的循证参与。利用北卡罗来纳州的推广网络，AgBioFEWS学员将开始他们的计划，共同生活在一个小的农业社区位于生态脆弱的景观。他们将从北卡罗来纳州农村的农民、推广人员、自然资源保护者和其他公共利益相关者那里获得实践学习。这种体验也旨在建立团队凝聚力。随后的课程和活动将扩大学生对农业生物技术和FEW系统的观点，以国家和国际规模。AgBioFEWS课程将被整合到一个既定的研究生未成年人在遗传工程和社会和公共科学的新兴未成年人。这些课程将涉及基因工程，农业，政策分析，科学传播技术以及为学生在政府，工业，国际发展和学术界的职业生涯做准备所需的其他主题。所有AgBioFEWS学员将在2-3名教师的指导下参加跨学科团队项目，博士生预计将在论文中纳入跨学科农业生物技术和FEW系统。主要的研究工作包括调查目前的生物技术产品对少数几个社会生态系统的影响，以及开发潜在的未来产品。NSF研究培训（NRT）计划旨在鼓励为STEM研究生教育培训开发和实施大胆的，新的潜在变革模式。该计划致力于通过全面的培训模式，在高优先级的跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训，这些模式具有创新性，以证据为基础，并与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。