NRT-INFEWS: Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research for Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) in Semi-Arid Regions

随着人口的持续增长和对资源需求的增加，了解粮食-能源-水(LESS)系统之间的关系对于确保获得关键资源的可靠性和公平性至关重要。很少有系统是紧密交织在一起的，涉及复杂的权衡，而这些权衡并没有得到很好的理解。在半干旱地区，描述对少数资源的需求和权衡尤其具有挑战性，那里的人口增长趋势可能会继续下去，水资源短缺对农业和能源行业构成风险。为了开发适当的技术并加强少数系统管理，必须对下一代分析员和研究人员进行培训，使他们对少数问题有一个系统层面的理解。这项授予科罗拉多州立大学的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将通过开展侧重于半干旱地区少数系统的研究和培训来满足这一需求。该项目将培养一批具有跨学科技能和知识的不同研究生，以便对少数系统中复杂和不断变化的相互作用作出有意义的贡献。该项目预计将培训三十四(34)名博士生，其中包括十六(16)名资助的学员。为了促进跨学科互动，学员将来自广泛的学科，包括工程、经济学、自然资源科学和社会学。食品-能源-水系统的跨学科培训、教育和研究(INTERFEWS)项目解决了科学、技术、工程和数学教育中的问题，例如缺乏为学生提供解决复杂问题和跨学科工作的能力。为了发展这些技能，InTERFEWS将使用驾驶员-压力-状态-影响-响应(DPSIR)框架作为概念性指南，用于评估少数系统问题，并支持研究、教育和培训活动的有意整合。DPSIR框架将提供一个促进跨学科互动的平台，并为学生提供系统级思维和解决问题所需的技能。INTERFEWS包括四个主要组成部分：(1)课程，其中包括三门新的INTERFEWS课程以及一套专门针对少数系统问题的现有选修课；(2)通过与行业、政府机构和非营利组织的伙伴关系组织的关于少数系统主题的学徒培训；(3)跨学科解决问题和交流培训；以及(4)促进技术、政策和制度创新的合作研究。该项目将打破跨学科教育的障碍，将物理科学、决策、大数据和分析、经济学、政策和社会科学纳入课程。结果和成功的做法将广泛传播给教育界。NSF研究性培训(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。该计划致力于通过创新的、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实习生模式，在高度优先的跨学科研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。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。

As the population continues to grow and demands for resources increase, understanding the nexus of Food-Energy-Water (FEW) systems is vital to ensure the reliability and equity of access to crucial resources. FEW systems are tightly intertwined and involve complex tradeoffs that are not well understood. Characterizing the demands for and tradeoffs amongst FEW resources is particularly challenging in semi-arid regions, where increasing population trends are likely to continue, and water shortage poses risks to agriculture and energy industries. To develop appropriate technologies and to enhance FEW system management, the next generation of analysts and researchers must be trained to develop a system-level understanding of FEW issues. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to Colorado State University will address this need by undertaking research and training focused on FEW systems in semi-arid regions. The project will prepare a diverse cohort of graduate students with the transdisciplinary skills and knowledge necessary to make meaningful contributions to the complex and changing interactions in FEW systems. The project anticipates training thirty-four (34) PhD students, including sixteen (16) funded trainees. To foster interdisciplinary interactions, trainees will come from a broad range of disciplines including engineering, economics, natural resource sciences, and sociology.The Interdisciplinary Training, Education and Research in Food-Energy-Water Systems (InTERFEWS) project addresses issues in science, technology, engineering, and math education, such as lack of capacity to provide students with skills to solve complex problems and work across disciplines. To develop these skills, InTERFEWS will use the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework as a conceptual guide for assessing FEW system problems and to underpin intentional integration of research, education, and training activities. The DPSIR framework will provide a platform to promote interactions across disciplines and provide students with needed skills in systems-level thinking and problem solving. InTERFEWS includes four main components: (1) a curriculum that includes three new InTERFEWS courses along with a set of existing elective courses to specifically address FEW systems issues; (2) apprenticeships on FEW systems topics organized through partnerships with industry, government agencies and non-profits; (3) transdisciplinary problem-solving and communications training; and (4) collaborative research to foster technological, policy, and institutional innovations. The program will break down barriers to transdisciplinary education by including physical sciences, decision-making, big data and analytics, economics, policy, and social sciences in the curriculum. Results and successful practices will be broadly disseminated to the education community.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 program 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 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.