Conference: Nature-based Solutions for Resilient Communities: Preparing Students to Address Grand Challenges in Ecological Engineering

NSF部分支持本次会议的主要目标是加深学生在生态工程学科的参与和所有权。NSF将主要用于支持学生活动在美国生态工程学会（AEES）在南佛罗里达大学（USF）在坦帕，佛罗里达2023年年会。预计将有80 - 125名学生参加，他们将直接接触到最先进的研究，关于多样性公平和包容性在工程实践中的作用的新兴对话，以及国际公认的生态工程师网络，以激励他们在生态工程中的发展和职业生涯。本次会议将提供关键的学生为目标的机会，包括基于需求的住房奖学金，职业发展会议，网络社交活动，海报比赛，以及多样性，包容性和环境正义工作会议。生态工程被定义为“设计可持续的生态系统，将人类社会与自然环境结合起来，使两者受益”。生态工程结合了生态学和工程学的学科，以解决环境问题，并设计，建造和恢复系统，提供长期的经济，环境和社会效益。作为一个寻求整合来自不同领域的知识以应对当今挑战的领域，生态工程是NSF十大理念之一的增长融合研究的一个例子。来自NSF的会议支持将允许更多的学生参加会议，特别是来自不同背景的学生，并将允许更多的学生参加学生设计比赛，与该领域的专业人士建立联系，并成为职业和正义公平多样性和包容性小组的一部分。通过为学生提供住宿奖学金，职业发展课程，演讲机会，司法公平多样性和包容性参与以及专业网络机会，本次会议将直接有助于扩大STEM的参与。此外，会议的主题是“基于自然的解决方案的弹性社区”，预计这一主题将为学生提供一个深刻的机会，了解该领域是如何解决社会上一些最紧迫的问题至关重要。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过评估使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准的支持。

The primary objective of NSF partial support of this conference is to deepen student engagement and ownership in the Ecological Engineering discipline. NSF will be used primarily to support student activities at the 2023 annual meeting of the American Ecological Engineering Society (AEES) at the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa, Florida. It is expected that 80 - 125 students will attend, and they will be directly exposed to state-of-the-art research, emerging dialogue about the role of diversity equity and inclusion in the engineering practice, and to an internationally recognized network of ecological engineers to inspire their development and careers in Ecological Engineering. This conference will provide critical student-targeted opportunities, including need-based housing scholarships, career development sessions, networking social events, a poster competition, and a diversity, inclusion, and environmental justice working session. Ecological Engineering has been defined as "the design of sustainable ecosystems that integrate human society with the natural environment for the benefit of both". Ecological Engineering incorporates the disciplines of ecology and engineering to solve environmental problems and to design, build, and restore systems that provide long-term economic, environmental, and social benefits. As a field that seeks to integrate knowledge from across diverse fields to address today's challenges, Ecological Engineering is an example of Growing Convergence Research, one of NSF's 10 Big Ideas. Conference support from NSF will allow more students to attend the conference, especially students from diverse backgrounds, and will permit more students to participate in the student design competition, network with professionals in the field, and be a part of the career and Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion panel that will take place. By providing students with accommodation scholarships, career development sessions, presentation opportunities, Justice Equity Diversity and Inclusion engagement, and professional networking opportunities, this conference will directly contribute to Broadening Participation in STEM. Moreover, the conference theme is "Nature-based Solutions for Resilient Communities", and it is anticipated that this topic will provide a profound opportunity for students to learn how the field is critical to addressing some of the society's most pressing issues.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.