2020 Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems Gordon Research Conference and Gordon Research Seminar

Project SummaryThe objectives of this GRC are: 1) To bring together experts and stakeholders to discuss nanotechnologyadvances, directions, and needs in food and agriculture; 2) To identify cutting-edge research and emergingopportunities to address global challenges of food security, environmental sustainability, food safety, andagricultural productivity. A major goal of this GRC is to promote exceptional early career and femaleinvestigators, as well as those of traditionally underrepresented populations, to ensure the continued growth indiversity of scholars in our vibrant community.A diverse range of invited speakers and discussion leaders will present a comprehensive vision of critical andemerging nanotechnology research advances across the field of agricultural science. The program illustrates atargeted excellent diversity of leadership (6), speakers (23), and discussion leaders (11) across the spectrumof: i) gender diversity (19 females, 21 males); ii) USA (24) /International participation (16), representing Austria,Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Korea, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan;and iii) industry and government (3), which includes the FDA, FAO, a founder of a blockchain startup company,and senior research scientist at a non-governmental organization. The following topics will be included in theprogram: Food and nutrition, bioinspired and targeted technologies, sensing and tracking, microbiomes, foodcontact materials and human health and disease. Discussions on the safe deployment of nanotechnology inthese areas, public perception and policy, and influence on industry and entrepreneurship are integral to thisGRC.The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), the FDA center responsible for protecting thehealth of US consumers, will find the following sessions of great interest, Convergence of Nanotechnology withFood & Agriculture; Advances in Nanomaterials; Environmental Nanotechnology; Nano-enabled Approaches toImproving Human & Animal Health; Translation of Nano-Based Science for Application in Food & Agriculture;Big Data, Machine Learning, AI & Modeling; and Nanotechnology's Impact on Food Safety. The significantcontributions of this diverse population will provide the strong intellectual infrastructure required to develop safeand sustainable nano-enabled applications in food and agriculture in direct support of the FDA CFSAN goal ofensuring the safety, security, sanitation, and proper labeling of the U.S. food supply.