SPG President Bineh Ndefru highlighted in cnsi featured news
Reposted from the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI)
National Science Foundation’s INFEWS program at UCLA looks back on five years
National Science Foundation Research Traineeship – Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS)
A multidisciplinary perspective
INFEWS is built on bringing together not only students but also a diverse and interdisciplinary team of UCLA faculty to train and mentor each year’s program cohort of graduate students.
Among the campus units participating are the California NanoSystems Institute, Samueli School of Engineering, UCLA College, the Graduate Division, the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge, UCLA Extension, the Luskin School of Public Affairs, and the Fielding School of Public Health.
This multidisciplinary focus is what attracted recent INFEWS participant, Bineh Ndefru, a 4th year PhD student in materials science and engineering.
Ndefru was drawn to the program for the opportunity to add not only depth but breadth to her research and to connect with others sharing her research interests across the UCLA campus.
“I am a materials scientist, but I am passionate about energy and climate issues and the intersection of technology and society,” said Ndefru. “INFEWS seemed like a great opportunity to engage with work and conversations about these issues more directly.”
Students in the program work in the classroom and obtain hands-on training focusing on urban systems; waste reduction and upscaling; urban sustainability; and integrated solutions for food, energy and water systems management that can be implemented in Los Angeles and beyond.
For Ndefru, the opportunity to tour firsthand several different organizations in Los Angeles provided a new perspective on how her research might contribute to these systems working better for everyone, not just in LA.
