Inaugural Global FEWture Alliance Annual Symposium

Thursday, January 18, 2024

University of Maryland | Stamp Student Union | Colony Ballroom

The Inaugural Global FEWture Alliance Annual Symposium was a success! Our event marked the official launch of the Global FEWture Alliance -- a UMD Grand Challenges Program Institutional Grant.

The Global FEWture Alliance advances systems-based interdisciplinary research-to-action, community-driven capacity building, and experiential education to effect positive change in underserved communities at the nexus of food, energy, water, climate, and health. Through our holistic systems-based approach, we alleviate food, energy and water insecurity, protect environmental and global public health, and bolster community resilience in a changing climate.

The Symposium highlighted our Alliance’s accomplishments, to date, in Maryland, Israel, Tanzania, and Nepal. In addition, through the participation of other professionals focused on food-energy-water nexus issues, the symposium developed new partnerships here at UMD, in the State of Maryland, and beyond.

Proceedings from our inaugural 2024 symposium

The Global FEWture Alliance welcomes you to the University of Maryland.

Remarks by:
President Dr. Darryll Pines
Provost Dr. Jennifer King Rice
Mr. Ganesh Shah
School of Public Health Dean Dr. Boris Lushniak
Global FEWture Alliance PI Dr. Amy Sapkota

Session 1: Integrating Food-Energy-Water Nexus in Research and Community Building
Moderator: Dr. Stephanie Lansing (Global FEWture Team, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources)

Techno-Social Solutions for Off Grid Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Challenges – Dr. Clive Lipchin (Israel FEWture Team, Arava Institute for Environmental Studies)

A Barrel Full of Benefits? Determining If Harvested Rainwater Can Be Safely Used for Food Crop Irrigation in Urban Agriculture – Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein (Maryland FEWture Team, UMD School of Public Health)

MUST and Its Collaborators Towards FEW Nexus Opportunities and Achievements – Dr. Eliezer Mwakalapa (Tanzania FEWture Team, Mbeya University of Science and Technology)

Advancing Nepal`s Future with the FEWture Initiative – Shree Krishna Dhital (Nepal FEWture team, Sanskriti Farms and Research Center)

Session 2: FEW Systems Modeling and Decision Support Systems
Moderator: Dr. Shirley Micallef (Global FEWture Team, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources)

Early Warning System for Food- and Water-borne Diseases in a Changing Climate – Dr. Amir Sapkota (Nepal FEWture Team, UMD School of Public Health)

Climate Change Impacts on Regional Food-Energy-Water Security and Coordinated Development Solutions – Dr. Xin-Zhong Liang (Global FEWture Team, UMD College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences)

Integrated Energy-Water-Land Nexus Modeling to Guide Strategic National Planning: Examples from Latin America – Dr. Thomas Wild (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joint Global Change Research Institute, UMD)

Lunch Panel: Community, State, and Business Perspectives on FEW Nexus Challenges
Moderator: Dr. Rachel Goldstein (Maryland FEWture Team, UMD School of Public Health)

Panelists:
Margaret Morgan-Hubbard – ECO City Farms
Dominic Uccellini – Alluvion Aeroponics
Dr. Ching Tien – Maryland Department of Environment

Session 3: FEW Nexus Case Studies from Maryland and Around the World
Moderator: Dr. Heidi Scott (UMD School of Public Health; College of Arts and Humanities)

Soil Survey of Israel – Dr. Brian Needelman (UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources)

Creating Public Urban Food Forests in the Washington D.C. Region – Lincoln Smith (Forested, LLC)

The Holy Triangle of Agricultural Development: Experts, Research and Market Development, CultivAid's Innovative Approach to the Grape Value Chain in Dodoma Tanzania – Dr. Tomer Malchi and David Zukerman (Tanzania FEWture Team, CultivAid)

What is the government’s role for creating markets for reclaimed water? – Jonathan Leiman (State of Maryland Department of the Environment)

The Water System Network for Reliable Operations & Maintenance: Sharing Experience and Lessons from WaterComms' Pilot in Kenya and Presenting Key Hebrew University FEWture Projects – Yuval Ziv (Israel FEWture Team, WaterComms)

Early Career Scientist Lightning Rounds
Moderator: Dr. Allen Davis (Maryland FEWture Team, UMD Clark School of Engineering)

The Impact of Extreme Heat Events on Occupational Heat-Related Illnesses 2000-2019 – Jeff Dalhoff (UMD School of Public Health)

Chemical Cocktails from Coast to Coast: Is there a Universal Water Quality Signature of Urbanization in Streams? – Sydney Shelton (UMD College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences)

Systemic Characterization and Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste Streams as Feedstock for Bioenergy Production via Solid State Anaerobic Digestion – Maureen Nabulime (UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources)

Drinking and Irrigation Water Quality in Nepal: A Scoping Review – Alexander Choiniere (UMD School of Public Health)

Session 4: FEW Nexus Experiential Education
Moderator: Dr. Rianna Murray (Education and Maryland FEWture Teams, UMD School of Public Health)

Overview of the New Graduate and Undergraduate UMD Global STEWARDS Programs within the Global FEWture Alliance – Dr. Suhana Chattopadhyay (Education FEWture Team, UMD School of Public Health)

“Winter Amp” Study Abroad Trip to Nepal – UMD Global STEWARDS Fellows (UMD, Multiple Schools and Colleges)

The Global Classroom Model: Project-Based Learning for Global Change – Anna Glenn and Taryn Devereux (UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources)