Register by Friday, March 28, for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences’ Signature Themes workshop "Economic, Environmental and Societal Sustainability," which features three nationally known keynote speakers.
The free workshop is Monday, April 7, 1-5 p.m. at the Iowa State Alumni Center, located south of C.Y. Stephens Auditorium. The meeting will examine new approaches for interdisciplinary collaboration between the sciences, the humanities and business in fields related to sustainability.
Register for the workshop by emailing Kristin Doerder by Friday, March 28. Pre-registration is required.
Additional workshop support is being provided by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Department of Agronomy in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The conference is designed for LAS faculty and research staff interested in cross-disciplinary research opportunities.
The conference features three keynote speakers:
• Wes Jackson is founder and president of The Land Institute of Salina, Kan., a non-profit research, education and policy organization dedicated to sustainable agriculture, and he is a Fellow of the Post Carbon Institute. He also is a Pew Scholar, MacArthur Fellow and a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award. Life magazine named Jackson one of 18 individuals it predicted will be among the 100 "important Americans of the 20th century." He was named one of Smithsonian magazine’s "35 who made a difference" in November 2005.
• Jaroslav Tir is professor of political science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His most recent work is the result of an NSF-funded project from the Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research Program entitled "Analyses of Relationships Between Changing Environmental Conditions and Societal Conflict."
• Deb Swackhamer is professor of Science, Technology and Public Policy, professor of Environmental Health Sciences and co-director of the Water Center at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. She served as chair of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has served on several National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences committees. Swackhamer authored the Minnesota Water Sustainability Framework and led the Statewide Conservation and Preservation Plan.
Also presenting at the conference are Saran Twombly, on National Science Foundation opportunities, and ISU’s Kristie Franz with an LAS Sustainability Signature Research Initiative overview:
• Saran Twombly is a program director in the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation. Her responsibilities have included oversight of several of the Biological Science Directorate’s synthesis centers including the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, National Evolutionary Synthesis Center and the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center. She also has had oversight of several division-level programs and several cross-directorate programs.
• Kristie J. Franz is an associate professor in the Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences at Iowa State. Her work focuses on the advancement of hydrologic modeling and prediction systems on short- to long-time horizons. Most recently she has worked on a NASA-funded project investigating the use of satellite-based observations in the streamflow forecasting models of the National Weather Service. Her work also includes improving the understanding of climate and land use impacts on watershed processes.
Workshop Schedule
1-1:15 p.m. Welcome: Dean Beate Schmittmann, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
1:15-1:50 p.m. Keynote: "A Conceptual Revolution for Grain Agriculture Now Seems Possible: How Will the Midwest Land Grants Respond?" Wes Jackson, founder and president, The Land Institute; Fellow, the Post Carbon Institute
1:50-2:25 p.m. Keynote: “Security Challenges of Water Stress and Political Adaptation” Jaroslav Tir, professor of Political Science, University of Colorado, Boulder
2:25-3 p.m. Keynote: "Water Sustainability: How to Plan Now for Future Generations" Deb Swackhamer, professor of Science, Technology and Public Policy, professor of Environmental Health Sciences and co-director of the Water Center, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
3-3:30 p.m. Refreshments
3:30-4 p.m. National Science Foundation opportunities Saran Twombly, program director, Division of Environmental Biology, National Science Foundation
4-4:15 p.m. LAS Sustainability Signature Research Initiative overview Kristie Franz, associate professor, Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University
4:15-5 p.m. Panel Discussion: Moderator: Bill Simpkins, professor, Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences Participants: Wes Jackson Jaroslav Tir Deb Swackhamer Saran Twombly Kristie Franz
5-6:30 p.m. Reception: Cash bar, heavy hors d’oeuvres