The RENEW Institute - A Multidisciplinary Initiative
Rebecca J. Nelson
Rebecca Nelson is a Professor at Cornell University, in the School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS) and the Department of Global Development. She serves as SIPS’ associate director for research.
From 2000-2021, Dr. Nelson served as Scientific Director for The McKnight Foundation’s Collaborative Crop Research Program. After decades of work on plant disease resistance and mycotoxin management, her laboratory recently pivoted to focus on circular bionutrient economy. She currently teaches three courses on circular economy, with an emphasis on organic resource management. Prior to joining the Cornell faculty, she spent five years at the International Potato Center in Peru (1996-2001) and eight years at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1988-1996). Dr. Nelson did her doctoral research at the University of Washington in Seattle, and her undergraduate studies at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. >> Learn more about Dr. Nelson.
In this seminar, Dr. Nelson will describe her recent shift in professional focus from plant genetics to bionutrient circularity; progress to date in NY and Africa on "peecycling;" development of raised bed gardening media from rural and urban by-products, and production of soil amendments from biochar and excreta.
"Toward a Circular Bionutrient Economy linking Sanitation and Agriculture"
Two of humanity's greatest achievements -- modern agriculture and modern sanitation -- are showing serious signs of distress. It is time to re-think the paradigm of producing food using synthetic fertilizers made from fossil fuels and then trying to clean up the by-products before dumping them into the environment. Human and animal excreta, as well as other organic underutilized resources, can provide the carbon and nutrients that are urgently needed for maintaining soil health and nourishing crops. Linking sanitation and agriculture through the circular bionutrient economy can address crises of soil degradation, greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, public health and food security. There are, of course, major barriers to be overcome to realize the enormous benefits that could be gained through recovering resources from sanitation to agriculture. The challenges include taboos around excreta, the logistical difficulties of accessing and aggregating "wastes", technical hurdles around concentrating and transforming these resources, concerns about contaminants, and legal and regulatory issues.
Thursday, Februrary 15, 2024
Talk: 11:00 am
Reception: 12:00 pm
Buffalo Room - 10 Capen Hall
UB North Campus