On May 17-31, nine students from around the globe visited Nebraska for a hands-on field course that took them out of the classroom and into the dirt. The course was part of an international education partnership between the Water for Food Institute at the University of Nebraska and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands, the world's largest international postgraduate water education facility. The students, experienced professionals from developing countries, visited various sites and learned first-hand about Nebraska's agricultural production and water resources management. The course was organized and led by WFI Faculty Fellows Dean Eisenhauer and Derek Heeren and UNESCO-IHE's Annelieke Duker and Laszlo Hayde. View photos.

Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow Derek Heeren leads a center pivot lab at UNL's Agricultural Research and Development Center near Mead, Nebraska on May 25.

On June 1, a climate change workshop for Nebraska state senators was held at Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. "Climate Change and its Implications for Nebraska" was organized by Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow and climatologist Don Wilhite. Director of Policy Nick Brozovic (pictured) and Director of Communications Molly Nance discussed the importance of researching the effects of climate change within the scope of water for food.

"Climate change can be a contentious term to some people," said Brozovic, "but when you ask them about the local effects, like long drought has lasted or have you noticed an increase in severe weather, then you bring them into the conversation."

A dozen state senators participated in the event, including senator Ken Haar, who sponsored priority bill LB 583 to expand the powers of the state's "Climate and Assessment Response Committee." Topics at the workshop included summaries from a series of roundtable discussions held in the fall of 2015, the University of Nebraska's climate resources and partnerships with federal and community agencies and organizations.

Molly Nance provided an overview of the Water for Food Institute's resources. "Climate change is an important part of our research areas of focus. In addition to Wilhite, we have several Faculty Fellows who can provide expertise and data regarding climate variability and its long-term effects on water scarcity and ag production."

On May 12, the Water for Food Institute held its second annual research forum. The forum provided a stage for students who received research support from the institute to share the results of their research with faculty, staff, students and the broader university community.

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Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow Simanti Banerjee (pictured), a behavioral and environmental economist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, will lead a study on the effectiveness of land conservation policies, providing insight about human decision-making. Learn more.

The $10,000 Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, recognizes exceptional, science-based achievement in international agriculture and food production by an individual under 40 who has clearly demonstrated intellectual courage, stamina, and determination in the fight to eliminate global hunger and poverty.

The award will honor an individual who is working closely and directly "in the field" or at the production or processing level with farmers, animal herders, fishers or others in rural communities, in any discipline or enterprise across the entire food production, processing, and distribution chain. Nominations are due June 30. Learn more.

The Botín Foundation in Spain will award three prizes for outstanding innovations, ideas, projects and technologies developed by young professionals which have produced positive results for sustainable water management.

The call is open to researchers, technologists, social entrepreneurs, activists and journalists born after Jan. 1, 1976. Apply by July 31. Learn more.

The Spring 2016 edition of the Nebraska Water Center's quarterly Water Current newsletter is available online. Download PDF.

The University of Nebraska State Museum is partnering with the Water for Food Institute and its Faculty Fellows for this month's Sunday with a Scientist program for children and families. Participants will explore the world of water for food with activities focused on microbes, minerals, water use and consumption, and interactions between humans, animals and ecosystems.

"Exploration of Water for Food"
June 12, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine streets
Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Learn more.

	SIWI/Flickr

World Water Week 2016, organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute, will focus on "Water and Sustainable Growth." Early bird registration ends June 30.

WFI looks forward to co-convening two workshops Aug. 30:

Telling Your Story to Make an Impact
Co-conveners: CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) led by IWMI, KickStart International and Redstone

Role-playing How Water Markets Improve Food Security and the Environment
Co-convener: Mammoth Trading

The Nebraska Water Center's annual water symposium is Thursday, Oct. 20, followed by a jointly sponsored NWC/University of Nebraska College of Law water law conference on Friday, Oct. 21. Both events will be held at Nebraska Innovation Campus. Though planning is just beginning, the symposium will feature presentations on water basins and panel discussions centered on the Upper and Lower Platte River, Republican, Blue and Niobrara Rivers. Learn more.

	Paige Orcutt

Paige Orcutt, originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a dually-enrolled graduate student in the College of Law and College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She will graduate in Dec. 2016 with a Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration. Paige is working as a research intern for a jointly-managed project between the Water for Food Institute and the Environmental Defense Fund. Her research focuses on incentive-based groundwater management in the American West. She is interested mainly with the impact of legal governance structures and current/evolving regulations on management policies for groundwater sustainability.

Paige aims to become an attorney upon graduation, working in the areas of administrative law/regulations and public policy. She has spent time working for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Lancaster County Attorney's Office and Friedman Law Offices.