When it comes to food, energy and water systems across the globe, we have more questions than we have answers. How are we going to feed a growing population? How do we generate clean and sustainable energy? How do we improve the management of water resources?

Those questions and more will be discussed and analyzed as part of the University of Kentucky’s Food, Energy and Water Symposium (FEWS) on Dec. 9. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jacobs Science Building.

When it comes to the topic of food, energy and water, few in Kentucky are better prepared to address these challenges than AppHarvest. AppHarvest’s founder and CEO Jonathan Webb will headline an impressive roster of local, national and international presenters at FEWS.

“We are thrilled to have somebody with Mr. Webb’s expertise provide a plenary talk at the symposium,” said Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, program manager at the UK Center for Applied Energy Research and adjunct assistant professor in the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Chemistry. “We are equally excited to hear from several other internationally-recognized experts in these fields as well as from undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral scholars here at UK who are conducting exciting research. The nexus of food, energy and water is one of the most important questions of our time, and I am pleased that we can offer a rich dialogue about these issues with the university community.”

FEWS is hosted by UK’s National Science Foundation Graduate Research Traineeship (NRT) program, which provides UK master’s and Ph.D. students an interdisciplinary and international research experience in food, energy and water systems.

In addition to Webb, other presenters at FEWS include:

• Alice Agogino from the University of California, Berkley;
• Akinbode Adedeji from the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;
• Aron Patrick from Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities; and
• Lindell Ormsbee from the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute.

FEWS will feature a poster session and breakout sessions. Opportunities to present a talk or a poster are still available. Registration remains open until Dec. 6. You can register at this website.