NRT-INFEWS: Indigenous Food, Energy, and Water Security and Sovereignty

纳瓦霍民族大约35%的家庭没有连接中央电力系统或饮用水系统。为了解决这一问题，亚利桑那大学国家科学基金会研究培训奖(NRT)与迪内学院和纳瓦霍技术大学合作，将为可持续食品、能源和水系统(FEWS)的高度优先研究培养一支具有跨文化意识和多学科知识/技能的多元化STEM员工队伍。这样的系统适用于世界上许多偏远地区。通过与迪内学院和纳瓦霍技术大学合作，该项目将直接让科学、技术、工程和数学领域中代表性不足的少数民族参与进来。学员将主修传统学科，同时完成该项目，该项目包括实习、以FEWS为主题的辅修课程、专业发展和沉浸在土著社区中。受训人员将参与纳瓦霍民族服务不足地区分散水净化和温室系统设计的试点规模顶峰项目的设计和施工。这些项目将为中央设施无法提供服务的地区的FEWS基础设施发展提供学习模式。该培训将为来自几个相关科学和工程学科的12名硕士和14名博士生提供津贴。11名非NSF资助的学生将完成该项目(6名硕士和5名博士)。预计还将有40名学生完成FEWS辅修课程，约400名学生将通过参加多个系交叉列出的丰富课程而受到影响。培训的重点是开发新的、可持续的解决方案，以实现安全饮用水和受控环境农业系统的离网生产。研究将集中在创新的光伏、全息照相、传感器和控制、咸水淡化、盐水处理和处置，以及材料和系统的弹性。食物-能源-水系统将与文化规范相结合，利用自然人类系统相结合的办法与土著社区合作，设计/建造文化上可接受的技术。该研究计划将使用(1)半透明有机光伏材料片作为温室覆盖层，以提供足够强度和质量的光，以实现大量、高质量的作物产量，同时为离网控制的环境农业系统供电，以及(2)与藻类生物反应器一起运行的太阳能纳滤设备，使用针对水的使用量身定做的处理策略来生产饮用水和灌溉用水。在这两个领域，该计划将利用本土的土地和水实践知识，使这些技术创新为广泛的公众所接受。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革性的STEM研究生教育培训模式。Traineesship Track致力于通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求保持一致的综合培训模式，在高度优先的跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。

About 35% of homes in the Navajo Nation are not connected to central power or drinking water systems. To address this issue, the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Arizona, in partnership with Diné College and Navajo Technical University, will develop a diverse STEM workforce with intercultural awareness and multidisciplinary knowledge/skills for high priority research in sustainable food, energy, and water systems (FEWS). Such systems are appropriate in many remote regions of the world. By partnering with Diné College and Navajo Technical University, the project will directly engage underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Trainees will major in traditional disciplines while completing the program, which consists of internships, a FEWS-themed minor, professional development, and immersion in indigenous communities. Trainees will participate in the design and construction of pilot-scale capstone projects in dispersed water purification and greenhouse system design in underserved areas of the Navajo Nation. The projects will produce learning models for FEWS infrastructure development in areas that cannot be served from central facilities. The traineeship will provide stipends for 12 MS and 14 PhD students from several related science and engineering disciplines. Eleven students not funded by NSF will complete the program (6 MS and 5 PhD). It is anticipated that an additional 40 students will complete the FEWS minor and about 400 students will be impacted through participation in enriched courses cross-listed in multiple departments. The traineeship centers on the development of novel, sustainable solutions for off-grid production of safe drinking water and controlled environment agriculture systems. Research will focus on innovative photovoltaics, holographics, sensors and controls, desalination of brackish water, brine treatment and disposal, and materials and systems resiliency. Food-energy-water systems will be integrated with cultural norms, working collaboratively with indigenous communities using a coupled natural human systems approach to design/build culturally acceptable technology. The research program will employ (1) the use of semi-transparent organic photovoltaic materials sheets as greenhouse cover to provide light of sufficient intensity and quality to achieve substantial, high-quality crop yields while powering off-grid controlled environment agriculture systems, and (2) solar-driven nanofiltration devices operated with algal bioreactors to produce potable and irrigation water using a treatment strategy tailored to the use of the water. In both areas, the program will draw on indigenous knowledge of land and water practices to make these technical innovations acceptable for widespread public use.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 Traineeship Track 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.