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