When the institute launched in 2010, the University of Nebraska already boasted a large, respected contingent of agriculture and irrigation scientists. It was exciting to imagine what they might accomplish to support the world’s water for food goals. However, researchers tend to work independently and are often unaware of one another’s work.
DWFI’s solution, in partnership with IANR, was to hire a specialized “cluster” of researchers who would focus their research on specific water for food issues. For the institute’s 10-year anniversary, we checked in with our original faculty hires to see how their work has developed over the last decade – and to learn how they see future research evolving. The researchers confirmed that many of their groundbreaking advancements in science, technology and policy would not have happened without DWFI’s support.