Capitol Hill Exhibit Highlights Food & Water Security

The AMS sponsored an exhibit at the 23^rd annual Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition & Reception on Capitol Hill held on May 16, 2017. Lea Jenkins, Clemson University, made a presentation entitled “Berry Smart: Mathematics for Food and Water Security” describing her team’s work on helping farmers manage crop portfolios and maintain profitability while minimizing water usage.

This team of researchers, sponsored by the American Institute of Mathematics and supported by the National Science Foundation, includes Lea Jenkins (Clemson University) and Kathleen Fowler Kavanagh (Clarkson University), as well as hydrologists, computer scientists, farmers and other stakeholders. The team was interested in designing a plan that would minimize water usage for crops yet still make a profit for the farmers and also meet consumer demand. The mathematical models created incorporate data such as plant growth properties and water requirements of different crops to identify which crops to plant, how much acreage to devote to specific crops, the best time to plant the selected crops, and which areas to leave unplanted.

These models could apply broadly to farms of varying size. Next steps in the research will introduce more complexity and different farming scenarios into the problem, including simulating multi-farm agricultural environments, incorporating models for livestock farms, evaluating the impact of changes in irrigation practices and irrigation sources.

For more information on this research, see the AMS Mathematical Moments and listen to the podcast at www.ams.org/samplings/mathmoments/mm128-farming-podcast

More information can also be found at the Clemson University Newsstand

CNSF is an alliance of over 140 professional societies, universities and corporations (including the AMS) united by a concern for the future vitality of the national science, mathematics and engineering enterprise. CNSF supports the goal of increasing the national investment in the National Science Foundation's research and education programs.

Previous AMS exhibits at CNSF Exhibitions include:

• Beyond Coursework: Extending a Successful Model for Building Diversity in STEM to University Campuses presented by Talea Mayo, University of Central Florida
• Berry Smart: Mathematics for Food and Water Security presented by Lea Jenkins, Clemson University
• On the Movement of Cells, Birds, Fish and Other Agents: Mathematical Modeling in Biology and Ecology presented by Konstantina Trivisa, University of Maryland
• Mathematical Algorithms for Space Weather, Tsunamis, and Plasma Physics presented by Katharine Gurski, Howard University
• Topological Sensor Networks presented by Robert Ghrist, University of Pennsylvania
• The Boltzman Equation: Where Mathematics and Science Collide presented by Philip T. Gressman, University of Pennsylvania
• ICERM: Connecting Mathematics and Computing through Experimentation presented by Jill Pipher and Lauren Barrows, ICERM
• Efficient Energy Conversion: Mathematics of Nanoscale Networks presented by Keith Promislow, Michigan State University
• Industrial Modeling and Simulation: The Wave of the Future presented by Susan Minkoff, University of Maryland-Baltimore County
• Modeling Outbreaks in Agricultural Systems, Human Communities and Computer Networks presented by David Hiebeler, University of Maine
• Mathematics and Cardiology: Partners for the Future presented by Suncica Canic, University of Houston
• Computational Models for Cardiovascular Disease Assessment and Surgery Design presented by DalinTang, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)
• Disease Prediction and Treatment Design presented by Eva K. Lee, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Mathematics for Advanced Composites Technology presented by Robert Lipton,Louisiana State University
• Mathematical Modeling of Swimming Organisms presented by Lisa Fauci and Nick Cogan, Tulane University
• Mathematics of Sea Ice presented by Kenneth M. Golden, University of Utah
• Liquid Films and Image Inpainting presented by Andrea Bertozzi, Duke University
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities Made Possible by NSF presented by Dr. John Bush, MIT
• Computer Simulation of Blood Flow in the Heart presented by Charles S. Peskin, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University
• Mathematical Foundations of Image Analysis and Computational Vision presented by Don McClure, Brown University
• Ergodic Theory presented by Doug Lind, University of Washington
• The Energy of Knots presented with JPBM by Jonathan K. Simon, University of Iowa and Gregory R. Buck, Saint Anselm College

For information on the annual CNSF Exhibition & Reception, please visit the CNSF website.