On August 3rd, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a $10 million grant to UC Berkeley and the University of Arizona, in collaboration with the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and more than 20 additional partners and alliances representing Native groups. The grant supports a new NSF INCLUDES Alliance research group, titled “Broadening Career Pathways in Food, Energy, and Water Systems with and within Native American Communities.”
The NSF grant originated from the substantial efforts of researchers at the UC Berkeley Blum Center for Developing Economies and its collaborators. The Blum Center partnered with Native American food, energy, and water systems experts and tribal colleges, nations, and communities throughout the Western United States.
Leading the new INCLUDES Alliance group at Berkeley are faculty members from Rausser College who have relevant research expertise. From the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, professor Matthew Potts and associate professor Elizabeth Hoover will serve as co-principal investigators for the group, along with Alice Agogino, professor of mechanical engineering and education director for the Blum Center. Dan Kammen, professor and chair of the Energy and Resources Group, will act as senior personnel. More faculty and researchers from Rausser College are expected to join the initiative.