UTA to host Climate Smart Agriculture Symposium
Leaders in the effort to encourage more students to pursue careers in agricultural fields will convene at The University of Texas at Arlington on May 15 for a daylong Climate Smart Agriculture Symposium.
A team of UTA mathematicians is leading a national initiative with this goal in mind. The project was launched in 2022 with a three-year, $500,000 Agricultural Workforce Training grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a federal agency within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Opal Lee, the Fort Worth activist known as the grandmother of Juneteenth, will be the distinguished speaker at the symposium’s concluding dinner. She will share her life experiences and talk about her decades of public service.
Jianzhong Su, professor and chair of the UTA Department of Mathematics, is heading the NIFA project and is joined by Keaton Hamm and Dengdeng Yu, UTA assistant professors of mathematics, and Jaime Cantu, UTA adjunct professor of engineering. Other partners in the project are Texas A&M University at Kingsville, New Mexico State University, and community colleges in Texas and New Mexico, including Tarrant County College.
Through this project, the mathematicians aim to equip students from community colleges and underrepresented groups with modern data and technology skills to pursue careers in agriculture. Their objectives include expanding and improving workforce training through student engagement, providing curriculum development and faculty preparation, and building a regional agricultural alliance among Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
“There is a strong need to increase the number of students—particularly underrepresented students—in STEM and agriculture,” Su said. “We want to find effective ways to create pathways for students to pursue careers in agricultural fields by preparing students with data and technology skills and attainment of industry-recognized credentials. This symposium will direct a focus on this urgent need and will provide the opportunity to exchange ideas and information as we move forward with this important project.”
Symposium participants will review the project’s first-year progress, with an emphasis on climate smart agriculture and natural resource conservation. One of the day’s goals will be to connect students directly with USDA staff, industry partners and potential employers through an industry panel discussion and a career fair. The USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Fort Worth, under the leadership of Ray Dotson, has been instrumental to the success of the project and hosted a student internship program, Su said.
Opening remarks will be made by Kate Miller, UTA vice president for research and innovation; Kenneth Walker, assistant chief of USDA NRCS; and Kristy Oates, state conservationist with the NRCS Texas office. Morteza Khaledi, dean of the UTA College of Science, will moderate an industry partner panel discussion.
A series of panel discussions are planned, along with a working lunch and showcase presentations. A poster session will allow students to display research they have worked on in the past year, with prizes awarded to the winners.
-- Written by Greg Pederson, College of Science
