Since 2014, the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at MIT has catalyzed research across the Institute to meet water, food, and climate systems challenges with solutions-oriented innovations. In this MIT Better World (Sustainability) breakout session, hosted in March 2021, find out how three J-WAFS-funded research initiatives are driving sustainability transitions in the food and agriculture sector that specifically address challenges at the nexus of water, food, and climate change.

In a conversation moderated by John H. Lienhard V, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Water and Mechanical Engineering and director of J-WAFS:

Hear from David L. Des Marais, Walter Henry Gale (1929) Career Development Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, about how genetic engineering can improve crop yield despite climate-induced environmental stress.

Learn from research scientist Afreen Siddiqi ’99, SM ’01, PhD ’06, who specializes in system analysis and optimization, about novel, environmentally safe animal waste-management practices that can reduce contamination of water resources.

Find out from J-WAFS research manager for climate and food systems Greg Sixt how J-WAFS’s cross-institutional international collaboration, the Alliance for Food and Climate Systems Transformations, is driving systems-wide, research-to-action interventions that are speeding transitions toward sustainable food production and consumption.

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