RII Track-1: Socially Sustainable Solutions for Water, Carbon, and Infrastructure Resilience in Oklahoma

这个RII Track-1项目将能够设计和开发可接受的解决方案，以解决紧迫的社会问题。该项目的工作假设是，复杂社会问题的社会可持续解决方案将在相关但不同的问题领域的交叉点找到，不同的利益攸关方可以在那里找到一致意见，因为一系列问题跨越了框定社会冲突的通常叙述。俄克拉荷马州EPSCoR将采用一个社会科学框架，该框架在很大程度上融入了社会动力学理论，并以公共政策理论为基础，学习在四个关键重点领域的交叉领域投资科学：季节性到亚季节性天气模式的变化，可变和边际质量的供水，不断变化的陆地水和碳动态，以及可持续的水和能源基础设施。社会科学框架将在关键利益攸关方、公众和技术重点领域团队之间提供系统和迭代的参与，以确定趋同的解决方案。该项目将由俄克拉荷马州立大学与其他五个俄克拉荷马州学术机构合作管理，其中包括两个少数民族服务机构：俄克拉荷马大学、塔尔萨大学、西南俄克拉荷马州立大学、兰斯顿大学(历史上的黑人学院或大学(HBCU))和Muscogee(Creek)民族学院(部落学院)。其他项目合作伙伴包括地区性大学和社区学院、以农业为重点的非营利组织诺布尔研究所和俄克拉何马州博物馆网络。利用社会科学在两极分化的环境中产生解决方案的可能性很高，因为它满足了与俄克拉荷马州公民相关的需求。由此开发的解决方案将有利于与该项目相关和不相关的俄克拉荷马州人的生活质量。此外，该项目将促进跨司法管辖区的STEM教育，并扩大代表不足的人口对STEM学科的参与。这个RII Track-1俄克拉荷马州EPSCoR项目将开发和测试社会可持续的、基于科学的解决方案，以解决土地利用、水资源可获得性和基础设施交叉点的邪恶(复杂)问题。统一的研究问题是，基于科学的评估，再加上俄克拉荷马州舆论领袖和公民的参与，是否可以导致制定社会可持续的解决方案。俄克拉荷马州EPSCoR将通过重点关注重点领域解决的四个挑战，确定水利用、景观碳循环以及能源和水基础设施的问题和潜在解决方案如何以复杂的方式相互关联：1)改善导致季节性到亚季节性事件的大气和陆地过程的知识，并增加对预测技能的理解，以创建展望预报；2)了解整个俄克拉何马州的陆地碳和水动态，以确定增加碳吸收和储存，同时通过使用地球系统科学方法在全州范围内量化水和碳动态的潜在选择；3)开发新的工程技术和建模方案，以重复使用和提高对水处理效率的理解；以及4)为相互依赖的基础设施系统开发综合复原力模型，其中包括恶劣天气、极端天气、野火和诱发地震活动对网络的不确定因素的影响，以及网络之间的相互依赖。技术重点领域团队将参与一个系统的、迭代的过程，从公民、舆论领袖和科学家用来理解和评估潜在研究影响的社会叙事中增加指导，进行科学研究。该项目还将开展教育、外联和扩大参与活动，包括：1)K-12教师的STEM课程和培训；2)非传统STEM教育者培训；3)K-12学生STEM教育；4)扩大俄克拉荷马州的公民科学网络。这些活动将满足该州的STEM需求，并惠及数以千计的俄克拉荷马州受训人员、教师和公民。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This RII Track-1 project will enable the design and development of acceptable solutions to pressing societal problems. The working hypothesis of this project is that socially sustainable solutions to complex societal problems will be found at the intersections of related but distinct problem areas, where diverse stakeholders can find agreement because the array of issues cuts across the usual narratives that frame social conflict. Oklahoma EPSCoR will employ a social science framework that heavily incorporates social dynamics theory and is informed by theories of public policy learning to invest in science at the intersections of four key focus areas: changing seasonal to sub-seasonal weather patterns, variable and marginal quality water supplies, shifting terrestrial water and carbon dynamics, and sustainable water and energy infrastructure. A social science framework will provide for systematic and iterative engagement between key stakeholders, the public, and technical focus area teams to identify convergent solutions. This project will be administered by Oklahoma State University in collaboration with five other Oklahoma academic institutions, which include two Minority Serving Institutions: University of Oklahoma, University of Tulsa, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Langston University (a Historically Black College or University (HBCU)), and the College of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation (a Tribal College). Additional project partners include regional universities and community colleges, the Noble Research Institute, an agriculture-focused non-profit organization, and the Oklahoma Museum Network. The use of social science to generate solutions within a polarized environment has high potential for broader impacts, because it addresses needs that are relevant to Oklahoma’s citizens. The resulting solutions developed will benefit the quality of life for Oklahomans associated and unassociated with the project. In addition, the project will promote STEM education across the jurisdiction and broaden the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM disciplines. This RII Track-1 Oklahoma EPSCoR project will develop and test socially sustainable, science-based solutions for wicked (complex) problems at the intersection of land use, water availability, and infrastructure. The unifying research question is whether science-based assessment, coupled with the engagement of Oklahoma opinion leaders and citizens, can result in development of socially sustainable solutions. Oklahoma EPSCoR will identify how both problems and potential solutions for water use, landscape-carbon cycle, and energy and water infrastructure are interlinked in complex ways by focusing on four challenges addressed by the focus areas: 1) improving the knowledge of atmospheric and land processes that lead to seasonal to sub-seasonal events and increasing understanding of predictive skillsets to enable the creation of outlook forecasts; 2) understanding terrestrial carbon and water dynamics across Oklahoma to identify potential options for increasing carbon uptake and storage while sustaining water supply by using an Earth Systems Science approach to quantify water and carbon dynamics at a statewide scale; 3) developing new engineering technologies and modeling schemes for the reuse and improved understanding of water treatment efficiencies; and 4) developing an aggregated resilience model for interdependent infrastructure systems that includes the effects of uncertainties in severe weather, weather extremes, wildfires, and induced seismicity on networks, and network-to-network interdependencies. Technical focus area teams will engage in a systemic, iterative process of conducting science with added direction from social narratives that citizens, opinion leaders, and scientists use to comprehend and evaluate potential research impacts. The project will also conduct education, outreach and broadening participation activities that include: 1) STEM curriculum and training for K-12 teachers; 2) non-traditional STEM educator training; 3) K-12 student STEM education, and 4) growing of Oklahoma’s citizen science network. These activities will address the state’s STEM needs and reach thousands of Oklahoma trainees, teachers and citizens.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.