LaKisha Odom, FFAR
Channel: GES Center
Date: 2018-07-24

GES Symposium: Forging Integrated Expertise in Graduate Education | June 4-5, 2018, Raleigh, NC  

Fostering the Future from FFAR
Dr. LaKisha Odom, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

ABSTRACT: As the world’s population is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion by 2100 , a period of unprecedented challenges is emerging exacerbated by the decrease in available resources presenting a number of “wicked problems” in Agriculture and Environmental fields. These challenges will demand bold innovative solutions that will require concerted efforts from diverse fields, including many science-focused disciplines, engineering, and social science. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, as a core component of its mission, seeks transformative discoveries from the best and brightest scientists to identify and investigate the researchable questions whose answers have the potential to enhance the economic and environmental resilience of our food supply as part of the Foundation’s Fostering the Future initiative, a suite of programs designed to build a strong, collaborative food and agriculture workforce. I will reflect on both on the importance of interdisciplinarily trained professionals and the ways in which they will be an asset to the workforce in a number of disciplines, as well as examples of how FFAR is supporting students and early-career researchers, as FFAR strives to inspire the next generation of scientists to pursue careers that help put nutritious food on every table, now and in the future. 

Slides available to download. Visit go.ncsu.edu/symposium-program for more information. 
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