Colorado State University and CU-Boulder were selected to co-manage one of five international hubs for Future Earth, a 10-year research project to address environmental changes worldwide.
Announced by the International Council for Science (ICSU), and the interim secretariat for Future Earth, the initiative’s main goal is to link scientists with governments and the private sector to help develop actions to address environmental changes at the local and regional levels.
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Other global hubs will be located in Canada, France, Japan and Sweden. Meanwhile, regional hubs exist or are in development in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
“The visibility and prestige that Colorado will gain as an international hub for Future Earth will bolster state, national and global research partnerships and allow faculty and students from both universities to play significant roles in solving pressing environmental change issues around the world,” wrote CSU President Tony Frank and CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip DiStefano in a joint statement.
Major themes Future Earth will address include understanding environmental and societal trends and developing the sustainable creation of food, water, biodiversity, health and energy.
Along with utilizing research from CSU, Future Earth will work closely with Colorado research institutions, federal agencies and other national groups, according to Dennis Ojima, the lead scientist from CSU and the global director for the U.S. hub.
The U.S. hub’s primary facility will be based at CU-Boulder. However, the universities plan on collaborating substantially.
“Colorado State University is excited to partner with University of Colorado on Future Earth,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research at CSU in a press release to the Collegian. “This new effort will establish Colorado as a global nexus for environmental sustainability.”
Collegian Senior Reporter Skyler Leonard can be reached at news@collegian.com.
