Expands efforts beyond sustaining clean water systems to educating farmers on conservation practices
The Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research (CAESER) is among the most productive research centers at the University of Memphis with over $5 million in the last three years. Over the years, they have cultivated successful partnerships with MLGW, USGS and other organizations that are committed to sustaining the health of the Memphis aquifer system and wider Mississippi embayment.
Now CAESER is embarking on a new chapter as they begin to pursue federal grants to expand their work and impact beyond the Memphis region. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has awarded funding to Dr. Brian Waldron, associate professor in Civil Engineering and CAESAR, and Dr. Stephanie Ivey, associate dean of the Herff College of Engineering and associate professor in the department of Civil Engineering, to help improve efficacy of incentive programs designed to encourage farmers to adopt conservation practices through education and outreach. The group will specifically target historically underserved farming communities in West Tennessee and surrounding regions.
The University of Memphis is committed to growing the impact of our faculty research on the agriculture in West Tennessee. The University of Memphis is the only comprehensive research institution in West Tennessee, and agriculture and food science has the largest impact on the economy of the region. Creating solutions that benefit these communities is in the long-term interest of the University, and growing CAESER's research capacity in that space is critical.
For more information on this award, contact Waldron at bwaldron@memphis.edu.