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Water for Food Institute hosts research forum May 28
On May 28, the Water for Food Institute hosted a research forum showcasing the work of its 2014-2015 student and postdoctoral grantees and their faculty advisers from four University of Nebraska campuses. Thank you to everyone who participated. We look forward to making this an annual event. Review the photo gallery and links to the presentations on our website.

Harkamal Walia
Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow Harkamal Walia describes research being done to enhance drought tolerant root responses in wheat.

Documentary "Thirsty Land" launches grassroots support campaign
The Water for Food Institute and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources are pleased to sponsor production of "Thirsty Land," a documentary about extreme drought, agriculture and water rights in the United States and how these challenges impact farmers, communities and the global food supply. The project is being produced by Conrad Weaver of Conjo Studios. Weaver will be in Nebraska later this month to film interviews with NU researchers. The public has an opportunity to support the film production on its IndieGoGo crowdfunding page now through June 30. Learn more.

Thirsty Land

Report available on Nebraska's Natural Resources Districts
Ann Bleed
In May, the Water for Food Institute published "Nebraska's Natural Resources Districts: An Assessment of a Large-Scale Locally Controlled Water Governance Framework," by Ann Bleed, Ph.D., P.E. Emeritus (pictured) and Christina Hoffman Babbitt, Ph.D. This comprehensive policy report showcases Nebraska's rich history of groundwater management and offers lessons learned that may be helpful to others working on water policies around the world. Download the report.



Nebraska water officials give Water for Food seminar
Nebraska DNR Presenation June 11, 2015

On June 11, representatives from the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources gave a presentation on the organization's water management and sustainability efforts at the Nebraska Innovation Campus. The event was as part of the Water for Food Institute's professional development seminar series.

Speakers included:
  • Jim Schneider, acting director
  • Jen Rae Wang, communications director
  • Jesse Bradley, programs director
  • Shuhai Zheng, engineering programs and services head
  • Jennifer Schellpeper, Integrated Water Managment head (pictured)
View additional photos.

Water for Food Institute executive director job description posted
The University of Nebraska announced April 27 that it has begun an international search for the next executive director of the Water for Food Institute. The next director will succeed Founding Executive Director Roberto Lenton, who in February announced his intention to step down by early 2016. A description of the position is available now.

An advisory committee will assist in the search. The committee will be co-chaired by Bob Meaney, retired senior vice president of Valmont Industries, and Ron Yoder, associate vice chancellor for the UNL Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and includes representatives from all four NU campuses as well as external stakeholders. Read the previous press release and view the list of committee members.

UNL food sciences and technology set to move July 1
Food Sciences building

The Water for Food Institute will soon welcome new neighbors. Final construction continues on the Nebraska Innovation Campus building that will be the new home of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Department of Food Sciences and Technology. The academic unit, currently located on UNL's East Campus, will relocate July 1. The new facility will roughly double the space available to the department, which has doubled enrollment in the past eight years. Learn more.

UNK students visit Water for Food office
UNK students
Students of John Falconer, Ph.D., director of the University of Nebraska at Kearney's Office of Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity, visited the Water for Food Institute on May 29. The group met with staff and learned about the institute's mission to ensure water and food security through research and interdisciplinary projects.

Connect with the Water for Food Institute on LinkedIn
The Water for Food Institute now has a company page on LinkedIn. If you have a LinkedIn account, please take a moment to link to the institute on your employment listing and "follow" the page. It is listed as "Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska."

In the news
Lake Mead
water sampling UNESCO-IHE students
It's not just a 'California drought'
Michael Hayes, Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow with UNL's National Drought Mitigation Center, provides climate insights in a recent L.A. Times op-ed. Read article.
A global look at water needs
A recent Omaha World Herald op-ed highlights the Water for Food Institute and its contributions to address global water issues and food security. Read article.

Upcoming events

UNL agronomy seminars by Jonathan Gressel
Jonathan Gressel
Jonathan Gressel (pictured), emeritus professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and an internationally renowned expert in plant biotechnology, will present two special seminars next week in the UNL Department of Agronomy & Horticulture. Both events will take place in Keim Hall on the UNL East Campus. Participants may also join online.

June 15, 3:30 p.m.

"Managing herbicide resistance: A need for concepts that border science fiction."

June 16, 10 a.m.
"The developing world needs transgenic crops more than the developed?"
Spotlight

Tim Foster, post-doctoral research associate
Tim Foster (pictured) is a hydrologist who joined the Water for Food Institute in June as a post-doctoral research associate working with Director of Policy Nicholas Brozovic. Tim's research at the institute is focused on the development of integrated hydrologic and economic models to understand the potential of groundwater-fed irrigation to improve water and food security. Specifically, he is involved in a number of research projects at the institute that aim to identify innovative and sustainable policy solutions to address competing demands for limited groundwater resources both in the United States and internationally.

Prior to joining the Water for Food Institute, Tim obtained a doctoral degree in civil and environmental engineering from Imperial College London in his home country of the United Kingdom. Additionally, he also holds a M.S. degree in hydrology and water resources management from the same university, along with a B.S. in physical geography from University College London.

Contact Tim.
Water funding opportunities

National Institutes of Health
The purpose of this funding opportunity is to promote research on food-specific molecular signatures and biomarkers of dietary consumption and to promote collaborative interactions among NIH and USDA supported nutrition researchers.

Food Specific Molecular Profiles and Biomarkers of Food and Nutrient Intake, and Dietary Exposure (R01)
Category: Food, Nutrition and Health
Due date: Sept. 28, 2015; May 27, 2016; Sept. 27, 2016; May 27, 2017
Award amount: Applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year (excluding consortium F&A) must contact NIH program staff.
Additional funding opportunities may be found at grants.gov, a single access point for individuals to search competitive funding opportunities from more than 900 grant programs offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies.

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 stress on water resources through improved water management in agricultural and food systems. We are committed to ensuring a water and food secure world while sustaining the use of water for other human and environmental needs.