Recording of a meeting with Dr. Fred Gould, GES Center co-director, and Dr. Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, AgBioFEWS program coordinator, on Friday, December 10, 2021 at 12:00 PM.

The Zoom session starts with a brief presentation of the AgBioFEWS program and then moves on to answering questions from interested potential applicants. WATCH VIDEO

The GES Center is now recruiting candidates for the 2022 AgBioFEWS cohort, a National Science Foundation-funded graduate research training program offering Ph.D. candidates across multidisciplinary fields of study the opportunity to examine the science, policy, and public engagement aspects and impacts of Agricultural Biotechnology on Food, Energy, and Water.

We are focusing our recruiting efforts on students from historically underrepresented groups and those in the fields of social sciences and the humanities but we welcome applications from all interested parties, including national and international students and those in the natural sciences fields.

Program Fellows receive a Ph.D. in a natural/social science, or humanities graduate program, and a graduate minor in Genetic Engineering and Society, and will:

Learn more about the program at https://go.ncsu.edu/agbiofews

Please submit any questions to Dawn Rodriguez-Ward at [email protected].

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) can produce substantial amounts of aviation fuel and soil carbon benefits when grown as a winter crop in the southeastern US.

The oilseed Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) has been proposed as a supplemental cash crop grown over the winter fallow season in the mild climates of the southeastern US and used as a feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, with potential co-benefits for soil carbon and other ecosystem services. In this work we used a process-based ecosystem model to establish initial expectations for total regional SAF production potential and associated soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when carianata is integrated into existing annual crop rotations across its frost-tolerant range in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. We calibrated the DayCent ecosystem model based on carinata field trials in the region, and used it to evaluate the yields, soil carbon, and nitrous oxide emissions when carinata is integrated once ever third winter within those existing crop rotations. We estimate this could produce more than one billion liters of SAF annually and would be approximately neutral in terms of cropland soil GHG emissions. However, the adoption of climate-smart management techniques such as no-till establishment or organic amendments would result in a substantial soil carbon sink, significantly improving the overall environmental footprint of the resulting SAF.

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Dr. John Field is a R&D Staff Member in the Bioresource Science & Engineering Group within the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He studies the performance of bioenergy systems at the intersection of ecosystem ecology and life cycle assessment, using process-based ecosystem models to evaluate the effect of biomass feedstock production on ecosystem carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Feedstocks he has studied include switchgrass, corn stover, winter oilseed crops, and wood from trees killed by mountain pine beetle outbreaks in the Rocky Mountains. Much of his work has focused on bioenergy landscape design, including how feedstock production could be targeted on marginal lands to maximize environmental benefits. He has a particular interest in carbon-negative bioenergy systems, including carbon capture and storage technology, and pyrolysis and gasification systems that co-produce biochar. John received his BSc from Case Western Reserve University and his PhD from Colorado State University. He was previously a research scientist at the Colorado State University Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Crop germplasm banks the world over provide a formal security back up system for the plant genetic resources upon which our future food security relies. At the same time, smallholder, mostly indigenous, farmers, also conserve the seed of their crop plants. For the most part, these communities do not act as partners, even though they are collectively the guardians of the genetic diversity that all humans depend upon to survive. This seminar will focus on the case of maize, a critical component of the diets of millions of people globally. Research projects in maize seed conservation in smallholder farming communities in Mexico and Guatemala illustrate how to create stronger links, via seed and technology transfer. Seed longevity research in the germplasm collection at the headquarters of the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) in Mexico enables the maintenance of a secure source of high quality seed for the future.

Related links:

Genetic diversity and selection signatures in maize landraces compared across 50 years of in situ and ex situ conservation

Enhancing seed conservation in rural communities of Guatemala by implementing the dry chain concept

The abandonment of maize landraces over the last 50 years in Morelos, Mexico: a tracing study using a multi-level perspective

Seed longevity of maize conserved under germplasm bank conditions for up to 60 years

Crop genetic erosion: understanding and responding to loss of crop diversity

Dr. Denise E. Costich is a passionate defender of maize genetic resources, devoting the past two decades to research topics related to its taxonomy, evolution and conservation. She received her B.S. in Biology with a Concentration in Ecology and Systematics from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of Cornell University. In the middle of her undergraduate studies, she went to Kenya with Friends World College and ended up as a field assistant on a baboon research project. She eventually went on to graduate school at the University of Iowa, after another field research assistant gig in another exotic location—the Brazilian Amazon. In pursuit of a better understanding of plant breeding systems, she did her Ph.D. thesis research as a Fulbright Scholar in Spain on the ecology and evolution of dioecy in a wild cucurbit. Through a series of postdoctoral positions, Denise’s research interests became more genetically oriented, and she landed in her first maize lab in 2000, at the Boyce Thompson Institute, back on the campus of her alma mater. Interest in crop evolution and plant population biology lead her to join the USDA-ARS lab of Dr. Ed Buckler, where she spent six fascinating and productive years. In 2012, the opportunity to apply her diverse knowledge and skills in an international agricultural research-for-development setting presented itself, and she became the fourth Head of the Maize Collection of the Germplasm Bank at the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT) near Mexico City. In October 2020, she retired from that position, and returned to Ithaca, where she continues to pursue her interests in seed conservation and maize wild relatives.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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As different groups work out whether and how to pursue gene drive organisms, Sam Weiss Evans explores the ways STS researchers can enrich the attention to diverse perspectives, equity, vulnerability, and learning.

In the development of gene drives, claimsr ecosystem-altering capabilities are often coupled with calls for research programs to engage with diverse groups. This talk explores the ways that STS researchers have helped shape the development of gene drives, drawing out the various roles they have had and how those roles have and have not advanced a research and policy agenda that favors attention to technologies of humility: contrasting framings, the distribution of benefits and harms, the capabilities of vulnerable populations to be heard and responded to, and the potential for institutionalized learning over time.

Dr. Sam Weiss Evans is a Lecturer and Research Associate at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, a Research Fellow in Harvard’s Program on Science, Technology, and Society at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, a Research Affiliate in the Program on Emerging Technology at the Center for International Studies at MIT, and a Research Affiliate at the University of Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk. Sam is worried that security is thought about too much by people who just think about security, and not enough by people who don’t. How are decisions made about what areas of science and technology become objects of security concerns? How are decisions about whether something is a threat tied to our ways of managing, or ignoring, that [non-]threat? These are some of the questions Sam likes to ask. Other questions focus on the relationship between people like him—Science and Technology Studies researchers—and the people whom he works with and studies. What is the appropriate amount of critical distance to be able to see the context of an environment clearly while still being close enough to the action to have some influence on it? Sam loves trying out different answers to these questions and learning from them. He also loves learning from you.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

AgBioFEWS Cohort 3 Fellows bring together a panel of speakers to discuss how the emerging field of GE might influence international markets and impact society.

Given the tight interconnectedness of global food systems, genetically engineering (GE) staple crops might immediately influence our lives. AgBioFEWS cohort 3 fellows from the Genetic and Engineering Society Center at NC State have brought together a panel of speakers to discuss how the emerging field of GE might influence international markets and impact society. Speakers will discuss incentives and considerations regarding the adoption of GE technology from private, public, and consumer perspectives. Further, the panel hopes to reflect on how potential market arrangements might impact the welfare of different groups across regions and income levels, since many of the GE industry leaders come from a minority of wealthy nations. The three panel members are experts in the philosophy of agriculture and ethics, international relations, and biotechnology. They are well positioned to help us understand the effects of this paradigm changing technology.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

Gregory Jaffe, JD, Director of the Project on Biotechnology at Center for Science in the Public Interest

This talk will describe six principles for the proper governance of gene editing, addressing issues such as transparency, stakeholder engagement, government oversight, and voluntary stewardship, that were adopted by six US non-governmental organizations.

Biotechnology, which includes gene editing and other technologies, has the potential to address urgent food security, environmental, and human health dilemmas. However, these technologies also raise potential for societal concerns, environmental and health risks, and conflicts with cultural and spiritual values. Previous experience with the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food system have in some instances resulted in public mistrust, underscoring the need for more transparency, better governance, and oversight of these technologies when they are deployed. To address these potential concerns, representatives of six conservation and consumer non-governmental organizations developed six principles for responsible governance of gene editing in agriculture and the environment, which were published in an August 2021 article of Nature Biotechnology. This webinar will present the principles and invite questions and discussion on both the principles and possible next steps for implementation.

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Dr. Doria Gordon is a Lead Senior Scientist in the Office of the Chief Scientist at Environmental Defense Fund, with a focus on ecosystems. Prior to EDF, she spent 25 years working in science, conservation, and management for The Nature Conservancy in Florida. Dr. Gordon is also a Courtesy Professor of Biology at the University of Florida and a Research Associate at Archbold Biological Station. Her current research focuses on the scale and measurement of net carbon sequestration in natural and agricultural systems. She also works on governance of genetically engineered organisms in agriculture and the environment, and risk assessment for invasiveness in plant species. Dr. Gordon completed a M.S. and Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of California at Davis following an undergraduate degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at Oberlin College.

Gregory Jaffe is the Director of the Project on Biotechnology for CSPI. Jaffe came to CSPI after serving as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division and as Senior Counsel with the U.S. EPA, Air Enforcement Division. He is a recognized international expert on agricultural biotechnology and biosafety and works on biosafety regulatory issues in the U.S. and throughout the world. He was a member of the Secretary of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture from 2003-2008 and was reappointed to a new term in 2011. He was also a member of FDA’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee from 2004-2008. In addition, he provides biosafety expertise to the International Food Policy Research Institute and Cornell University’s Alliance for Science. Jaffe earned his BA with High Honors from Wesleyan University in Biology and Government and then received a law degree from Harvard Law School.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Biomass feedstock utilization has the potential to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and improve energy security while decarbonizing our energy needs. Energy crops, short rotation woody crops, municipal solid waste, and agricultural and forest residues are considered promising sources of renewable energy. Computer modeling has proven to be a key tool towards minimizing logistics cost. Designing an efficient and economic biomass supply chain model can be a highly challenging task due to biomass’ bulky nature, feedstock quality variability, uncertain supply conditions, and dispersed geographic location. It requires the integration of several operations including harvest, collection, storage, preprocessing, and transportation. Researchers posit that a sustainable biofuel supply chain includes an intermediate storage location to preprocess biomass for longer shelf life and delivery distances. In this presentation I will discuss different precision agricultural approaches for improving resource use efficiency, quality, profitability and sustainable production of fuels, products, and power.

Replacing liquid fossil fuels and hydrocarbon chemical feedstocks with liquid biofuels from large-scale nuclear biorefineries

The nth-plant scenario for blended feedstock conversion and preprocessing nationwide: Biorefineries and depots

Dr.  Daniela Jones is a Research Assistant Professor in the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at North Carolina State University with a joint-faculty appointment with Idaho National Laboratory. She is also the developer and director of the new Agricultural Data Science Graduate Certificate at NCSU, a graduate faculty in the Operations Research Program, a faculty fellow of the Center of Geospatial Analytics, and a faculty affiliate of the AgBioFEWS Program. She develops a wide range of data-intensive algorithms and applies diverse modeling and optimization tools to solve large-scale problems that arise in the areas of transportation, logistics, and renewable energy systems. These skills are highly instrumental to tackle the national grand challenge to decarbonize our energy needs while securing a sustainable and resilient supply chain infrastructure. She earned her PhD in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Texas A&M University, where she was an Alfred P. Sloan Scholar and received a certificate in Business Management. She received her Masters and Bachelor of Science degrees in Industrial Engineering with an emphasis in operations research and a Minor in Mathematics from Mississippi State University. Before this role, she was a postdoctoral associate at Duke University, where she performed quantitative and qualitative research on student interventions and supported programming of educational, career development workshops and community development events for underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students in the biosciences.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Gene drives are rapidly emerging as a potential tool for controlling populations of disease vectors, invasive species and agricultural pests. The molecular research to create new and improved gene drives based on the CRISPR technology has progressed rapidly. While this research has been encouraging from the perspective of developing these tools, there remain large gaps in our understanding of how natural populations would respond to the release of gene drives. Dr. Dhole will discuss some of the ecological processes that will play an important role and that need more research in natural pest populations.

Dr. Sumit Dhole is an evolutionary ecologist who uses mathematical models to study how genes can spread through natural populations. For the past few years at NC State his focus has been on understanding how synthetic gene drives might behave if introduced into natural populations. While gene drives, which are highly invasive genetic constructs, may provide a solution for rapid and species-specific management of disease vectors and agricultural pests, a major concern is the potential of their unchecked spread to non-target populations. Through his work, Sumit tries to understand what factors and design features may allow synthetic gene drives to spread in safe, contained manners.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

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GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Hazard Communication refers to communication to a limited group of stakeholders and involves three variables: hazard data, dosage data, and exposure data.

This presentation tries to separate data sets associated with Hazard Communication from those associated with Risk Communication. Since Risk Communication is a social construct, it involves public understanding of science while Hazard Communication generally does not. Hazard Communication occurs between field experts while Risk Communication include experts and inexperts. Experts share biases with the public in some cases but not in others. For example, innumeracy and probability neglect tends to be associated with inexpert audiences. This paper will be presented to the National Toxicology Program for which I serve as a member of their Board of Scientific Counselors.

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Dr. David M. Berube (NYU 1990) is a Research Professor and a GES Fellow at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in science/technology communication. He teaches graduate seminars in risk, fear, disaster, and climate change science communication. He received over $20 million in grants over the last two decades studying science communication, especially intuitive toxicology. He wrote Nano-Hype (2006), edited another on Pandemic Communication and Resilience and is writing a book on Lessons We Should Have Learned from Zika. He is the director of the Public Communication of Science & Technology project and social science director of the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network involving NCSU, Duke and UNC. He authored some White Papers on social media and risk. He is a member of the Society of Toxicology and Special Government Employee for the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Toxicology Program.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co

GES Colloquium - Tuesdays 12-1PM (via Zoom) NC State University | http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-colloquium

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Target Malaria’s approach to stakeholder engagement is an iterative process, constantly adapting and evolving based on the context and values of our stakeholders, as well as new guidance and recommendations developed in accordance with international best practice.

Stakeholder engagement is one of the three pillars of Target Malaria’s approach. Our strategy is to focus on the communities that might benefit from the technology and that are directly affected by the research activities but also to have an ongoing, transparent dialogue with other stakeholders. The project uses ethically designed engagement best practices to empower these communities to make the most informed decisions about the project’s work and its activities. Our stakeholder engagement approach is an iterative process, constantly adapting and evolving based on the context and values of our stakeholders, as well as new guidance and recommendations developed in accordance with international best practice.

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Dr. Léa Paré obtained her doctorate in anthropology / sociology at the University of Aix Marseille 2 in France. She is Target Malaria’s Stakeholder Engagement Lead in Burkina Faso. Throughout her training and career, Dr. Paré has developed a great interest in the field of research on malaria from an anthropological point of view. Dr. Paré’s doctoral research enabled her to specialize in the socio-anthropological analysis of health problems in Africa. Author of several publications since 2000, she is interested in questions of social representations of malaria in connection with the acceptance of the means of control developed by science and technology. Her various works have underlined the need to think ahead for fundamental research in malaria control and to look at the perceptions, expectations and constraints of populations in relation to the use and allocation of research results by the beneficiary populations. Dr. Paré is one of the forerunners of the social sciences who are interested in the problems of genetically modified organisms from the point of view of local communities and stakeholders.

GES Center - Integrating scientific knowledge & diverse public values in shaping the futures of biotechnology.

Find out more at https://ges-center-lectures-ncsu.pinecast.co