Maintaining Earth's Sustainability: Scientists, Engineers, Educators Take Coordinated Approach

Hi My Friends: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., Coordinating phosphorus research to create a sustainable food system; studying urban heat islands; and advancing social and environmental understanding of mountain landscapes are all topics of new grants totaling $5 million recently made through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) portfolio.

National Science Foundation makes second set of awards in sustainability Research Coordination Networks program.

Aerial view of Spokane, Wash./Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, showing mountain development.
Credit: William Bowen

St. Paul, Minn.: Scientists are studying urban heat islands in such cities.
Credit: Ryan Rodgers, UMN

Celebration of Metallurgy Day in Norilsk: largest city on permafrost above the Arctic Circle. Credit: Dmitry Streletskiy, George Washington University

Carbon storage in naturally-occurring rock formations in Oman.
Credit: Juerg Matter, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

On very high tides along the New Hampshire coast, this causeway is almost submerged
Credit: Steve Miller, Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Phosphorus mine in Morocco; the element is needed in crop fertilizer and nutritious food.
Credit: Robert Mikkelsen, International Plant Nutrition Institute

Coordinating phosphorus research to create a sustainable food system; studying urban heat islands; and advancing social and environmental understanding of mountain landscapes are all topics of new grants totaling $5 million recently made through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) portfolio.

The awards are through NSF's SEES-Research Coordination Networks (RCN) program.

Grants also include building a research network for promoting Arctic urban sustainability in Russia; multidisciplinary approaches to carbon capture, utilization and storage; creating an engineering research collaboratory for sustainable infrastructure in a changing climate; and developing an integrated network for social sustainability concepts, language and assessment.

"These collaborative projects address difficult challenges that threaten the sustainability of our country's natural resources and built environment," says Thomas Peterson, NSF assistant director for Engineering.

"With a sound base in science and engineering, sustainable development can benefit society, the economy and the environment over the long term."

SEES activities span the range of scientific domains at NSF.

SEES RCN awards are supported by NSF's Directorates for Biological Sciences; Computer & Information Science & Engineering; Education and Human Resources; Engineering; Geosciences; Mathematical & Physical Sciences; Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences; Office of Cyberinfrastructure; Office of International Science and Engineering; and Office of Polar Programs.

These NSF directorates and offices support interdisciplinary research and education projects that will move society toward global sustainability; build new links among existing projects and partners; add new participants in sustainability research; and develop the workforce needed to understand and address the complex issues of environmental sustainability.

"An important metric of the success of a program like SEES RCN is the legacy it will leave long after the program has been completed," says Marge Cavanaugh, NSF acting assistant director for Geosciences.

"The interdisciplinary partnerships that SEES RCN projects will create, along with the broadly educated and creative students and young researchers they will produce, are just as important as the new processes and links that will be discovered."

Sustainability science and engineering goes beyond adaptation to and mitigation of environmental change. A sustainable world is one in which human needs are met without harm to the environment, and without sacrificing the ability of future generations to meet their needs in turn.

This formidable task requires understanding the integrated system of society and the natural world, along with the alterations humans are making on Earth, scientists, engineers and educators believe.

NSF's SEES activities are addressing this need by supporting interdisciplinary research and education leading to a better understanding of, predictive capability for, and solutions to environmental challenges.

The RCN program's goal is to advance a scientific field or create new directions in research and education. Groups of investigators coordinate their research, training and education activities across disciplinary, organizational, geographic and international boundaries.

The program fosters new collaborations, including international partnerships, and addresses interdisciplinary topics.

By linking U.S. and international scientists in research on sustainable cities, energy, water, engineering and manufacturing sustainability, and related subjects, SEES RCNs are creating new directions in sustainability science and engineering.

NSF SEES RCN 2012 awardees and their institutions and projects are:

James Elser, Arizona State University: RCN-SEES: Coordinating Phosphorus Research to Create a Sustainable Food System

James Gosz, University of Idaho: RCN-SEES: Advancing our social and environmental understanding of complex mountain landscapes and their vulnerability to environmental change

Jennifer Jacobs, University of New Hampshire: RCN-SEES: Engineering Research Collaboratory for Sustainable Infrastructure in a Changing Climate

Robert Orttung, George Washington University: RCN-SEES: Building a Research Network for Promoting Arctic Urban Sustainability in Russia

Ah-Hyung Park, Columbia University: RCN-SEES: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

Nicole Peterson, University of North Carolina at Charlotte: RCN-SEES: Integrated Network for Social Sustainability: Concepts, Language, and Assessment

Peter Snyder, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities: RCN-SEES: Urban Heat Island Network

-NSF-

Media Contacts Cheryl Dybas, NSF (703) 292-7734 cdybas@nsf.gov

Related WebsitesNSF SEES RCN: National Science Foundation Makes First Awards in Sustainability Research Coordination Networks Program: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122028
NSF SEES RCN: Can Marcellus Shale Gas Development and Healthy Waterways Sustainably Coexist?: http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122543&org=NSF
NSF SEES RCN and related programs: http://www.nsf.gov/sees
NSF SEES Discovery Articles Publication: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/disco12001/disco12001.pdf

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2012, its budget is $7.0 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives over 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards nearly $420 million in professional and service contracts yearly.