NRT: IN FElloWS & an Academy of Innovators at the Nexus of Food, Energy & Water Systems

粮食、能源和水系统(FEWS)联结的挑战在国家和全球范围内都是重要的。例如，需要采取新的办法来确保为不断增加的人口提供充足的粮食，促进可持续和碳中性能源的发展，并改善水资源的管理。有能力迎接这些挑战的训练有素和多样化的劳动力队伍至关重要，本研究将直接涉及这一问题。这项授予肯塔基大学的国家科学基金会研究培训(NRT)奖将把循证教育模式与专注于食品、能源和水系统(INFEWS)创新的跨学科研究相结合。该项目将把研究生培训与矿山土地修复、水处理、作物生产和发电方面的尖端研究结合起来，并将有助于满足FEWS对创新者的需求。在阿巴拉契亚各州，对创新领导层的需求尤为迫切，这些州的经济对农业和能源部门的依赖导致了水资源管理问题，煤炭开采的衰落正迫使经济多样化。该项目预计培训46名硕士和博士生，其中包括21名资助的学员，他们来自化学、生物系统和农业工程、化学工程、林业、植物和土壤科学、园艺和农业经济学。学员及其导师将从事与阿巴拉契亚地区相关的基础跨学科研究课题。综合研究将侧重于使矿区土地补救、水处理、作物生产和发电协同增效，以实现用水和同时生产能源和粮食的可持续性。具体专题包括：恢复矿区土地以改善水文和水质；利用已恢复矿区土地上的温室进行全年粮食生产(需要以可再生能源为动力的当地水处理)；利用藻类封存二氧化碳排放并为复垦地区的土壤改良提供有机肥料；将在已复垦矿区土地上种植的生物质转化为燃料和化学品。鉴于阿巴拉契亚许多县固有的经济问题，这项研究还将评估利用复垦的矿区土地为该地区的经济发展做出贡献的可行性和可持续性。为了将这项研究与研究生教育相结合，将采取一系列举措，包括INFEWS证书计划、INFEWS年度研讨会、合作研究补助金、INFEWS联盟，以及将在肯塔基大学建立的FEWS创新者学院。该学院将利用有效的工具来培训STEM专业人员，例如基于发展网络的指导和职业准备，包括技术和专业技能。学员的个人发展计划将指导他们的职业发展，并使他们接触到一系列的职业道路。将利用一项综合评价计划来评估项目组成部分和整体培训模式。为了确保学生群体的包容性，该项目将与少数群体服务机构合作，并利用路易·斯托克斯少数群体参与联盟(LSAMP)的两个国家科学基金会计划网络，以及在全国范围内纳入未被充分代表的工程和科学发现者的学习社区(INCLUDE)。NSF研究培训(NRT)计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革意义的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或趋同研究领域对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。

Challenges at the nexus of food, energy and water systems (FEWS) are important both nationally and globally. For example, new approaches are needed to ensure adequate food supplies for increasing populations, to foster the development of sustainable and carbon-neutral sources of energy, and to improve the management of water resources. A trained and diverse workforce equipped to meet these challenges is critical and will be directly addressed in the current study. This National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) award to the University of Kentucky will integrate an evidence-based educational model with interdisciplinary research focused on Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS). The project will combine graduate student training with cutting edge research in mine land remediation, water treatment, crop production and power generation and will help address the need for innovators in FEWS. The need for innovative leadership is particularly urgent in Appalachian states where the dependence of the economy on agricultural and energy sectors results in water management issues and where the decline of coal mining is forcing the economy to diversify. This project anticipates training forty-six (46) MS and PhD students, including twenty-one (21) funded trainees, from chemistry, biosystems and agricultural engineering, chemical engineering, forestry, plant and soil sciences, horticulture, and agricultural economics.Trainees and their mentors will work on fundamental interdisciplinary research topics relevant to the Appalachian states. Integrated research will focus on synergizing mine land remediation, water treatment, crop production and power generation to attain sustainability in water use and in the concurrent production of energy and food. Particular topics include mine land restoration to improve hydrology and water quality; the use of greenhouses on restored mine land for year-round food production (requiring localized water treatment powered by renewable energy); the use of algae to sequester carbon dioxide emissions and provide organic fertilizer for soil improvement in reclaimed areas; and the conversion of biomass grown on reclaimed mine land to fuels and chemicals. Given the economic problems inherent to many Appalachian counties, the research will also evaluate the feasibility and sustainability of utilizing reclaimed mine lands to contribute to economic development in this region. To integrate this research with graduate student education, a series of initiatives will be undertaken, including an INFEWS certificate program, an annual INFEWS symposium, collaborative research grants, an INFEWS consortium, and an academy of FEWS innovators to be established at the University of Kentucky. This academy will leverage effective tools for training STEM professionals, such as developmental network-based mentoring and career preparation encompassing both technical and professional skillsets. Individual development plans for trainees will guide their professional development and expose them to a range of career pathways. A comprehensive evaluation plan will be utilized to assess the project components and overall training model. To ensure inclusive student cohorts, this project will partner with minority serving institutions and leverage two National Science Foundation program networks from the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES). 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 or convergent 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.