The University of Nebraska's Rural Futures Institute and Water for Food Institute are teaming up to host the next "Transdisciplinary Conversations" event from 4:30-6 p.m. Sept. 15 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Alumni House, 2222 9th Ave. on the campus.
The event is free and open to the public. Light food and drinks will be served. Please register by Sept. 11 to reserve a spot. Register at http://ruralfutures.nebraska.edu/event.php?eventID=1683.
This informal event series is designed to spur new directions in transdisciplinary research and collaboration.
Opening remarks will be given by University of Nebraska president Hank Bounds. Following the president's remarks, Todd Bartee, a UNK professor of exercise science, will discuss how intersections between different disciplines have transformed the way he works and teaches. Following Bartee's remarks, there will also be opportunities to network.
"In order to address the complex challenges that rural people and places face, we must think big and combine great thinkers from all disciplines to help us uncover new approaches that will lead individuals to their desired futures," said Chuck Schroeder, executive director of the Rural Futures Institute at the University of Nebraska.
These transdisciplinary discussions bring together scientists, students, extension educators, business leaders, policymakers, farmers and others, allowing them to gather informally and make cross-disciplinary connections they might not otherwise make.
The University of Nebraska has invested in four interdisciplinary, university-wide institutes – including the Rural Futures Institute and the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute – that leverage talent and research-based expertise from across the University of Nebraska system to focus on complex state, national and global challenges.
Through a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, the Rural Futures Institute mobilizes the diverse resources of the University of Nebraska and its partners to support rural communities and regions in building upon their unique strengths and assets to achieve their desired futures.
For more information, go to http://ruralfutures.nebraska.edu/.
The Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska was founded in 2010 to address the global challenge of achieving food security with less pressure on water resources through improved management of water in agricultural and food systems. It is committed to ensuring a water and food secure world without compromising the use of water for other human and environmental needs.
For more information about the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute, go to http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/.