Water for Food Student Impact Workshop and Research Forum

DWFI hosted several events to support and share the important research of students working toward food and water security with financial and mentoring support from the institute.

In a workshop titled "The Lasting Impact of Your Science," Frances Hayes, DWFI director of communications and public relations, led DWFI Supported Students in how to communicate the greater purpose of their research. Students were shown how to explain their bigger vision in a personal research impact statement of 1-2 sentences, an incredibly useful tool for young researchers in finding future jobs, gaining future funding, and presenting their research. A recording of the workshop can be viewed on YouTube »
DWFI Supported Student Impact Workshop

DWFI also hosted the 2021 Water for Food Research Forum virtually in April 2021. The forum showcased examples of students' work, focusing on the theme "Creating Impact through Science."

The institute was pleased to host Clayton Anderson, Nebraska's only astronaut, as keynote speaker for the event. Anderson spent 167 days in space and executed 6 spacewalks. He applied 15 times before NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1998, and he spent 30 years working for NASA; 15 as an engineer and 15 as an astronaut.

Nebraska state climatologist Martha Shulski also joined the forum. A native of Nebraska, Shulski is also a DWFI Faculty Fellow, associate professor of Applied Climate Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, director of the Nebraska State Climate Office and self-proclaimed "weather nerd." She was one of the contributing authors on the Fourth National Climate Assessment released in 2018.

Student presenters included:

• Jeffrey Westrop, Ph.D. candidate in Geology, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Jasreman Singh, Ph.D. candidate, Soil and Water Resource Engineering, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Osler Ortez, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Chuyang Liu, Ph.D. candidate, Water Resources Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Jackson Stansell, masters student, Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

An abbreviated recording of the research forum can be found here »
Water for Food Research Forum | 2021