NRT-INFEWS: Training in Theory and Application of Cross-scale Resilience in Agriculturally Dominated Social Ecological Systems

这项授予内布拉斯加州大学林肯分校的国家科学基金会培训生（NRT）奖建立了一个新的研究生培训计划，重点是了解农业系统的弹性。内布拉斯加州普拉特河流域的农业系统具有经济、社会和自然价值；但是，河流流域抵御外部威胁（如污染、害虫、干旱）的破坏并迅速恢复的能力尚不清楚。内布拉斯加州大学的这个培训项目将通过农学、自然资源、计算机科学、工程和公共政策等学科来研究农业景观的恢复能力。该项目预计将培养25名博士和25名硕士学生，其中包括23名受资助的学员，来自自然资源、环境科学、农学、昆虫学、植物科学、地球科学、生物系统工程、计算机科学和公共政策。受训人员将与来自农业行业、政府机构和其他对维持生产性农业系统感兴趣和利害关系的组织的外部合作伙伴进行接触。这种广泛的毕业生培训将有助于发展劳动力和农业产业，使其能够更好地管理未来对食品、能源和水系统的需求。该NRT项目将侧重于了解水资源紧张和能源需求农业景观的弹性方面，并将利用弹性和层级制理论、适应性管理、新型传感技术和建模以及政策干预。这种跨学科的培训在美国的研究生课程中很少见，但对于培养下一代自然资源科学家、生产者、管理者、工程师和政策制定者至关重要，这样他们就可以应对不断增加的对日益减少和相互关联的资源的需求所带来的挑战，以及在紧张的流域保持和建立恢复力的需要。该NRT项目将作为农业生态系统复原力的永久性跨学科研究生项目的创新基础。该项目将确保学生、学术项目、政府机构和私营部门参与建设和保护自然和农业生态系统，以满足当地和全球对水、清洁能源、食品和生态系统服务的需求。研究生的研究将集中在21世纪资源管理中涉及的复杂和相互交织的生态、技术和社会系统，特别是在农业生产管理的复杂景观中。此外，该计划将帮助开发用于数据收集、分析和综合的创新工具，以支持农业系统的管理和恢复决策。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。通过创新的、基于证据的、与不断变化的劳动力和研究需求相一致的综合培训模式，培训项目致力于在高优先级跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该提案由研究生教育和教授联盟（AGEP），教育和人力资源部（EHR）核心研究（ECR）计划以及促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。AGEP资助研究、开发、实施和调查模型，以改变STEM和/或STEM教育研究中历史上代表性不足的少数民族（urm）的博士教育、博士后培训和/或教师进步的论文阶段。STEM教育基础研究的ECR项目（NSF 15-509）为至关重要、广泛和持久的关键研究领域提供资金。EHR寻求有助于在以下重点领域综合、建立和/或扩大研究基础的提案：STEM学习、STEM学习环境、STEM劳动力发展和扩大STEM参与。EPSCoR共同资助促进科学和工程研究和教育卓越的项目。促进EPSCoR辖区内研究、教育和培训能力和竞争力的可持续增长，将使EPSCoR参与者能够更多地参与国家科学基金支持的领域。

This National Science Foundation Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Nebraska - Lincoln establishes a new graduate training program that focuses on understanding the resilience of agricultural systems. Nebraska's agricultural system in the Platte River Basin is of economic, social and natural value; but the river basin's ability to resist damage from outside threats (e.g. pollution, pests, draught) and recover rapidly is unknown. This training program at the University of Nebraska will examine resilience of agricultural landscapes through the disciplines of agronomy, natural resources, computer sciences, engineering and public policy. The program anticipates training 25 PhD and 25 MS students, including 23 funded trainees, from natural resources, environmental science, agronomy, entomology, plant sciences, geosciences, biosystems engineering, computer science, and public policy. Trainees will engage with external partners from the agricultural industry, government agencies, and other organizations that have an interest and stake in maintaining productive agricultural systems. This broad graduate training will help develop a workforce and agricultural industry better capable of managing future demands on food, energy, and water systems. This NRT program will focus on understanding aspects of resilience in water-stressed and energy-demanding agricultural landscapes and will utilize resilience and panarchy theory, adaptive management, novel sensing technologies and modeling, and policy interventions. Such interdisciplinary training is rare in graduate programs in the United States, but is vital to prepare the next generation of natural resource scientists, producers, managers, engineers, and policymakers so they may respond to the challenges created by increasing demands for diminishing and interconnected resources, and the need to maintain and build resilience in stressed watersheds. This NRT program will serve as the innovative foundation for a permanent interdisciplinary graduate program in the resilience of agro-ecosystems. The program will ensure that students, academic programs, government agencies, and the private sector engage in building and preserving natural and agricultural ecosystems to meet local and global demands for water, clean energy, food, and ecosystem services. Graduate student research will focus on the complex and intertwined ecological, technical, and societal systems involved in managing resources in the 21st century, particularly in complex landscapes managed for agricultural production. Further, the program will help develop innovative tools for data collection, analysis, and synthesis to support management and restoration decisions in agricultural systems. 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. This proposal is co-funded by the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), the Division for Education and Human Resources (EHR) Core Research (ECR) program, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). AGEP funds research and the development, implementation, and investigation of models to transform the dissertation phase of doctoral education, postdoctoral training and/or faculty advancement of historically underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM and/or STEM education research. The ECR program (NSF 15-509) of fundamental research in STEM education provides funding in critical research areas that are essential, broad and enduring. EHR seeks proposals that will help synthesize, build and/or expand research foundations in the following focal areas: STEM learning, STEM learning environments, STEM workforce development, and broadening participation in STEM. EPSCoR co-funds projects that advance excellence in science and engineering research and education.  Fostering sustainable increases in research, education, and training capacity and competitiveness within EPSCoR jurisdictions will enable EPSCoR participants to have increased engagement in areas supported by the NSF.