New interdisciplinary, fundamental research to address major challenge of new millennium
 Take a photo tour of NSF INFEWS-related research. Credit and Larger Version |
September 28, 2016
To help secure the future of food, energy, and water systems while maintaining vital ecosystem services, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded more than $72 million for fundamental science and engineering research.
The investments are part of the NSF Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems program, known as INFEWS.
"Demands on food, energy and water will increase in the future as a result of population growth, migration patterns and urbanization in a changing climate," says Roger Wakimoto, assistant director for NSF's Geosciences Directorate. "NSF recognized the challenge ahead of us by creating the INFEWS initiative, which supports research on these interconnected needs. The results from these awards will benefit all of us."
While the complex relationship between energy and water systems has been studied for decades -- and agricultural diversions of water date back much farther -- how these systems interact has become an area of frontier research. Drought and the depletion of aquifers. Shifts in farming between food and fuel crops. Concerns about food waste and the relentless demand for energy for food production. Food processing and transportation. All of these areas have prompted a deeper and broader examination of the linked food-energy-water system.
The outcomes of the INFEWS investments will help decision-makers at every level better serve human needs and protect the natural world. Scientists and policy-makers will gain a new understanding of food-energy-water systems, gather insights from data and innovative modeling, and develop new capabilities from cutting-edge technologies to reduce waste or increase efficiencies.
INFEWS investments will also prepare graduate students to understand and manage the complex interactions of food-energy-water systems, and to draw upon and integrate knowledge across disciplines.
INFEWS investigators will incorporate physical, engineering, geological, biological, social and behavioral processes, as well as cyber elements, into their projects.
"The interconnections and interdependencies associated with the food-energy-water nexus generate critical questions about how the complex, coupled systems and processes of society and the environment function now, and in the future," says Grace Wang, acting assistant director for NSF's Engineering Directorate. "INFEWS research will enable new means of adapting to future challenges."
Award details
INFEWS projects are designed to address one or more of the following four goals:
- Advance our understanding of the food-energy-water system through quantitative and computational modeling, including support for relevant cyberinfrastructure.
- Develop real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces that improve understanding of the behavior of food-energy-water systems and increase decision-making capabilities.
- Enable research that will lead to system innovations and technological solutions to critical food-energy-water problems.
- Grow the scientific workforce capable of studying and managing food-energy-water systems through education and other professional development opportunities.
NSF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA) awards
Through INFEWS, NSF and NIFA will support 17 new awards for an initial investment in Fiscal Years (FY) 2016 and 2017 of more than $40 million. The awards will foster collaboration among research communities and accelerate discovery and innovation at the nexus of food, energy and water systems.
"NIFA is pleased to support this joint effort with the National Science Foundation to better understand the existential threat of the 21st century -- how can we meet the growing demand for food, water and energy while protecting the ecosystems that support them," says NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy.
NSF INFEWS Dear Colleague Letter awards
NSF has invested more than $3 million in nine Dear Colleague Letter awards investigating nitrogen, phosphorus and water. These awards will focus on advancing fundamental knowledge of the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, as well as the energy-efficient manufacture and sustainable use of fertilizers for food production. They will also focus on the detection, separation, reclamation and recycling of nitrogen- and phosphorus-containing molecules in and from fresh and ocean waters.
In August, NSF announced seven awards at the nexus of food, energy and water totaling almost $30 million to build research capacity nationwide through the NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) awards
In FY 2016, NSF invested nearly $9 million in three NRT awards in the INFEWS research area that will encourage the development and implementation of bold, new and potentially transformative models for graduate education. The NSF NRT INFEWS projects provide students with comprehensive training to advance INFEWS research goals, and foster opportunities to partner with industry, government, community and non-profit stakeholders in food, energy and water systems.
In addition to the awards funded through the programs above, NSF's core programs for research and education also have invested in projects related to the food-energy-water nexus.
-NSF-
Media Contacts Sarah Bates (ENG), NSF, (703) 292-7738,
sabates@nsf.gov
Cheryl Dybas (GEO), NSF, (703) 292-7734,
cdybas@nsf.gov
Program Contacts JoAnn S. Lighty (ENG), NSF, (703) 292-5382,
jlighty@nsf.gov
Thomas Torgersen (GEO), NSF, (703) 292-8549,
ttorgers@nsf.gov
Related WebsitesNSF Food Energy Water blog:
https://foodenergywater.wordpress.com/
EPSCOR release:
https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=189466
NSF invests in a clean water future:
https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=138061
New grants foster research on food, energy and water: a linked system: https://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=135642
On World Water Day, scientists peer into rivers to answer water availability questions: https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=137901
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) 2016, its budget is $7.5 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 48,000 competitive proposals for funding and makes about 12,000 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $626 million in professional and service contracts yearly.
Get News Updates by Email Useful NSF Web Sites:
NSF Home Page:
https://www.nsf.gov
NSF News:
https://www.nsf.gov/news/
For the News Media:
https://www.nsf.gov/news/newsroom.jsp
Science and Engineering Statistics:
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/
Awards Searches:
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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