Conference: Forum/Workshop on INFEWS Project Findings and Knowledge Transfer

Starting in FY 2016, NSF initiated a large program funding research and education on Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS). A workshop scheduled to be held in Champaign, Illinois, July 25-26, 2024 will be a platform for academic researchers, government agencies, and industrial leaders involved in INFEWS-related projects to converge, share insights, and collectively reflect on the achievements, challenges, and future prospects of collaborative efforts. The workshop will focus on findings from a subset of INFEWS projects as well as knowledge transfer. The workshop is designed to be a comprehensive summary event to bring together the researchers involved in selected INFEWS projects to share findings of projects on energy, food, water, and the environment, and to identify further research directions in the context of circular bioeconomy. The workshop will be broadly announced via multiple means including a conference website, emails, and professional networks. The total number of participants is expected to be 50 including researchers, graduate students, government agencies, and other interested parties. The workshop will involve a broad range of education and outreach opportunities from undergraduate to graduate studies, for under-represented individuals, industry, and the general public. The educational goal is to educate a new generation of scientists and engineers equipped with a solid foundation and broad perspectives for addressing issues related to INFEWS. By recycling nutrients and extracting hydrocarbons in waste streams, producing high value foods, capturing carbon and cleaning water by growing algae, the aim is to produce needed energy and food, and at the same time, reuse water and enhance the quality of the environment. 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.