UW Engineering Fall 2019 Lecture Series

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The Future of Food: Protecting Human and Environmental Health

By 2050, the earth’s population is estimated to reach nine billion which will intensify a growing food security crisis, exacerbated by current agricultural processes, climate change and economic inequality. This fall, hear from three UW professors, including Freshwater faculty Faisal Hossain (civil & environmental engineering) and Gordon Holtgrieve (aquatic & fishery sciences), about how engineers and scientists are working to improve the quality and quantity of food we eat and grow. This lecture series will take place in Kane Hall, and is free to attend.

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Growing More with Less: Smart Tech Solutions to Feed the World

Thursday, October 10 | 7:30 PM

Kane Hall 130

Faisal Hossain, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Asia has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, but it is also home to two-thirds of the global hunger population. Regional monsoons impact efficient water management and reduce agricultural yield. Professor Hossain is utilizing global weather models and satellite data to develop technology that will help farmers increase crop yield through sustainable water management.

Human and Ecosystem Health: Arsenic in Food, Water, Plants and Animals

Wednesday, October 23 | 7:30 PM

Kane Hall 130

Rebecca Neumann, Associate Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Arsenic is a naturally occurring but carcinogenic pollutant. Its ubiquitous presence in natural and agricultural environments threatens global food security and negatively affects the health of millions of people worldwide. Professor Neumann, an arsenic expert, is advancing knowledge of how arsenic in local and global settings affects food and water quality, and the health of ecosystems.

Floods, Fish and People: Challenges and Opportunities in the Mekong River Basin

Thursday, November 7 | 7:30 PM

Kane Hall 130

Gordon Holtgrieve, H. Mason Keeler Associate Professor, Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, College of the Environment

Freshwater ecosystems provide food security, energy and water to people in the Mekong River Basin. Habitat alterations, pollution, climate change and over-exploitation are putting the health and livelihood of communities at risk. Professor Holtgrieve is working in the Mekong River Basin to address how energy policy, watershed hydrology and ecosystems interact, in order to mitigate the effects of hydrologic and climatic change around the globe.

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Find out more about the speakers’ research in the UW feature Fueled by Floods.

New Fellowship Supports Global Water Research

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August 8, 2019

With water-related challenges on the rise around the world, there is a splash of good news. A newly established Ivanhoe Foundation Endowed Fellowship will support University of Washington graduate students who are gearing up to tackle some of the most pressing water-related challenges in developing countries.

“Threats to water, such as limited access to safe and clean water for health, insufficient water for food and energy, and declining resilience against extremes of floods and droughts, are ever morphing into newer problems requiring newer solutions and outside-the-box thinking,” said UW civil & environmental engineering professor Faisal Hossain, who works on sustainable water resources engineering.

Addressing complex water-related challenges around the globe requires creative problem-solving and the ability to translate cutting-edge research into real-world solutions, according to the Ivanhoe Foundation. Therefore, the fellowship will fund graduate students passionate about tackling the world’s greatest water resource challenges, especially those who are pursuing solutions to challenges faced by developing nations, such as limited access to safe and clean drinking water and insufficient water for food and energy.

The fellowship will support graduate students in both the College of Engineering and the College of the Environment. Graduate students and faculty from the two colleges are already collaborating on water research through the Freshwater Initiative, which promotes innovative research in the water science and engineering communities to address complex freshwater issues both locally and around the globe.

The endowment is made possible through a longstanding relationship and the strong support of Cheryl Townsend, chair of The Ivanhoe Foundation, which her father, L.F. “Buz” Ivanhoe, founded. An international expert on petroleum exploration in developing countries, Ivanhoe observed the plight of water-deprived localities firsthand, which inspired him to support graduate students working on global water-related challenges.

“In today’s world, this type of support to train the next generation of engineers and scientists for international development is almost non-existent,” Hossain said. “The generous support from the Ivanhoe Foundation will therefore fill a critical void that we see in the 21st century.”