Workshop: Logistical Support for Conducting a "Nitrogen Ideas Lab"; December 2-7, 2012; Crewe, United Kingdom

氮对植物生长至关重要。有限数量的植物物种有能力通过与固氮细菌共生来固定大气中的氮;其余的需要通过土壤中存在的可溶性形式的氮来获得它们的氮。对于大多数作物植物，通过使用氮基肥料增加了氮的可用性。然而，人造肥料的使用成本高，而且在发展中国家受到限制。此外，在集约化农业系统中，施用于作物的氮没有得到有效利用，而是作为径流进入水道或通过反硝化作用作为温室气体损失，从而对环境产生有害影响。生产这些肥料的过程是能源密集型的，并会导致温室气体排放。 为后勤和后续支持提供资金，以举办为期五天的题为“氮理念实验室”的互动式研讨会（http：//www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12579/nsf12579.htm），这是国家科学基金会（NSF）与生物技术和生物科学研究理事会（BBSRC）之间的一项合作努力。本次研讨会将于2012年12月3日至7日在英国柴郡的克鲁厅举行，其最终目的是汇集一批跨学科的科学家，他们将花时间共同构建问题，产生新的想法，制定解决方案和行动计划，“以制定创新战略，提高氮利用效率”。 NitrogenIdeas实验室将包括30名受邀参与者、5名导师、5名项目总监和主持人。该研讨会的一个独特之处是包括公司Knowinserts，以协助设计，开发和促进研讨会使用商标创造性问题解决（CPS）的方法。我们的愿景是，来自不同科学背景的研究人员的混合将产生新的思维和新的方法，可用于增加作物的氮可用性，同时保持或提高产量，从而减少氮肥的应用需求。研讨会活动的预期成果将是形成跨学科和跨学科团队，这些团队将提出变革性的研究建议，解决作物氮素获取和氮素利用效率的重要问题。据设想，强大的跨大西洋协同作用将通过汇集来自美国和英国的高素质研究人员来形成。

Nitrogen is critical to plant growth. A limited number of plant species have the capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbioses with nitrogen fixing bacteria; the rest need to obtain their nitrogen through soluble forms of nitrogen present in the soil. For the majority of crop plants, nitrogen availability has been increased through the use of nitrogen based fertilizers. However, application of artificial fertilizers is costly and is limited in developing countries. Moreover, in intensive agricultural systems nitrogen applied to the crops is not used efficiently and is lost as run-off into water courses or as greenhouse gases through denitrification, resulting in deleterious impacts on the environment. The process by which these fertilizers are produced is energy-intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Funds are provided for logistical and follow-up support to conduct an interactive five day workshop titled Nitrogen Ideas Lab (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12579/nsf12579.htm), a collaborative effort between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The ultimate aim of this workshop, to be held at Crewe Hall, Cheshire, UK, December 3-7, 2012, is to bring together a trans-disciplinary group of scientists that will spend time together framing the problem, generating novel ideas, developing solutions and action plans "to develop innovative strategies to increase the efficiency of nitrogen utilization". The Nitrogen Ideas Lab will include 30 invited participants, five mentors, five program directors, and facilitators. A unique feature of the workshop is the inclusion of the company Knowinnovation to assist in the design, development, and facilitation of the workshop using a trademark Creative Problem Solving (CPS) methodology. The vision is that mixing researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds will engender fresh thinking and new approaches that can be used to increase nitrogen availability to crop plants while maintaining or increasing yield, and hence decrease the need for the application of nitrogen fertilizers. An expected outcome of the workshop activities will be the formation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams that will produce transformative research proposals addressing important questions on nitrogen acquisition and nitrogen use efficiency in crop plants. It is envisioned that strong transatlantic synergies will be formed by bringing together highly qualified researchers from the U.S. and the U.K.