NRT: IN FElloWS & an Academy of Innovators at the Nexus of Food, Energy & Water Systems

在粮食、能源和水系统（FEWS）的关系的挑战是重要的国家和全球。例如，需要采取新的办法来确保为不断增加的人口提供充足的粮食供应，促进可持续和碳中性能源的发展，以及改善水资源的管理。一支训练有素的多样化劳动力队伍是应对这些挑战的关键，这将在当前的研究中直接解决。这项授予肯塔基大学的国家科学基金会研究培训（NRT）奖将把基于证据的教育模式与跨学科研究结合起来，重点关注食品、能源和水系统（infws）的创新。该项目将把研究生培训与矿山土地修复、水处理、作物生产和发电方面的前沿研究结合起来，并将帮助解决对FEWS创新者的需求。在阿巴拉契亚各州，对创新领导的需要尤为迫切，因为那里的经济依赖农业和能源部门，造成了水管理问题，而且那里的煤炭开采减少迫使经济多样化。该项目预计将培养46名硕士和博士研究生，包括21名资助的学员，来自化学、生物系统和农业工程、化学工程、林业、植物和土壤科学、园艺学和农业经济学。学员及其导师将从事与阿巴拉契亚州有关的基础跨学科研究课题。综合研究将集中于地雷土地补救、水处理、作物生产和发电的协同作用，以实现水的利用和同时生产能源和粮食的可持续性。具体议题包括矿区土地恢复以改善水文和水质；在恢复的矿山土地上使用温室进行全年粮食生产（需要使用可再生能源进行局部水处理）；利用藻类吸收二氧化碳排放，并为开垦地区的土壤提供有机肥料；以及将再生矿区种植的生物质转化为燃料和化学品。鉴于许多阿巴拉契亚县固有的经济问题，该研究还将评估利用开垦的矿山土地促进该地区经济发展的可行性和可持续性。为了将这项研究与研究生教育结合起来，将采取一系列举措，包括一个infws证书项目，一个年度infws研讨会，合作研究资助，一个infws联盟，以及在肯塔基大学建立一个FEWS创新者学院。该学院将利用有效的工具来培训STEM专业人员，例如基于发展网络的指导和职业准备，包括技术和专业技能。培训生的个人发展计划将指导他们的专业发展，并使他们接触到一系列的职业道路。将采用一项综合评价计划来评估项目组成部分和整个培训模式。为了确保包容性的学生群体，该项目将与少数民族服务机构合作，并利用路易斯·斯托克斯少数民族参与联盟（LSAMP）和全国工程和科学领域代表性不足的发现者学习者社区（INCLUDES）的两个国家科学基金会项目网络。美国国家科学基金会研究实习生（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革性的STEM研究生教育培训新模式。该项目致力于通过创新、循证、适应不断变化的劳动力和研究需求的综合培训模式，在高优先级跨学科或融合研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Challenges at the nexus of food, energy and water systems (FEWS) are important both nationally and globally. For example, new approaches are needed to ensure adequate food supplies for increasing populations, to foster the development of sustainable and carbon-neutral sources of energy, and to improve the management of water resources. A trained and diverse workforce equipped to meet these challenges is critical and will be directly addressed in the current study. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Kentucky will integrate an evidence-based educational model with interdisciplinary research focused on Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS). The project will combine graduate student training with cutting edge research in mine land remediation, water treatment, crop production and power generation and will help address the need for innovators in FEWS. The need for innovative leadership is particularly urgent in Appalachian states where the dependence of the economy on agricultural and energy sectors results in water management issues and where the decline of coal mining is forcing the economy to diversify. This project anticipates training forty-six (46) MS and PhD students, including twenty-one (21) funded trainees, from chemistry, biosystems and agricultural engineering, chemical engineering, forestry, plant and soil sciences, horticulture, and agricultural economics.Trainees and their mentors will work on fundamental interdisciplinary research topics relevant to the Appalachian states. Integrated research will focus on synergizing mine land remediation, water treatment, crop production and power generation to attain sustainability in water use and in the concurrent production of energy and food. Particular topics include mine land restoration to improve hydrology and water quality; the use of greenhouses on restored mine land for year-round food production (requiring localized water treatment powered by renewable energy); the use of algae to sequester carbon dioxide emissions and provide organic fertilizer for soil improvement in reclaimed areas; and the conversion of biomass grown on reclaimed mine land to fuels and chemicals. Given the economic problems inherent to many Appalachian counties, the research will also evaluate the feasibility and sustainability of utilizing reclaimed mine lands to contribute to economic development in this region. To integrate this research with graduate student education, a series of initiatives will be undertaken, including an INFEWS certificate program, an annual INFEWS symposium, collaborative research grants, an INFEWS consortium, and an academy of FEWS innovators to be established at the University of Kentucky. This academy will leverage effective tools for training STEM professionals, such as developmental network-based mentoring and career preparation encompassing both technical and professional skillsets. Individual development plans for trainees will guide their professional development and expose them to a range of career pathways. A comprehensive evaluation plan will be utilized to assess the project components and overall training model. To ensure inclusive student cohorts, this project will partner with minority serving institutions and leverage two National Science Foundation program networks from the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES). 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 or convergent 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.