An international team led by Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellows from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has published the first systematic guidelines for using data to more reliably simulate crop yields. "Ultimately, reliable crop yield simulations - at the local, regional and global levels - are needed to better inform policymaking and prioritize agronomic research and development," said Patricio Grassini (pictured). "That's the ultimate goal." Learn more.

Congratulations to Evordius Rulazi (Tanzania) and Gregory Williams (Guyana), the first students to graduate from the Advanced Water Management for Food Production MSc double-degree program administered jointly by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in The Netherlands and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This international program is proudly supported by the Water for Food Institute. A dinner celebration was held April 27 for the students in advance of the May 9 graduation ceremony. Learn more about the program.

From left: Dean Eisenhauer (UNL Biological Systems Engineering), Evordius Rulazi, Christopher Neale (WFI), Gregory Williams, Roberto Lenton (WFI) and Ron Yoder (UNL Assoc. Vice Chancellor).

The University of Nebraska announced April 27 that it has begun an international search for the next executive director of the Water for Food Institute. The next director will succeed founding executive director Roberto Lenton (pictured), who in February announced his intention to step down by early 2016 after serving in the role since 2012.

An advisory committee will assist in the search. The committee will be co-chaired by Bob Meaney, retired senior vice president of Valmont Industries, and Ron Yoder, associate vice chancellor for the UNL Institute for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and includes representatives from all four NU campuses as well as external stakeholders. See full press release and list of committee members.

Water for Food Institute's Board of Directors met April 27 to review and discuss the institute's ongoing projects and new initiatives. During the productive exchange, the board approved the institute's new strategic and operational plans for 2015-2020, along with its budget for the 2015-2016 fiscal year.

Additionally, the group discussed the search process for the next WFI executive director and preliminary plans for the 2016 Water for Food Global Conference, set to take place next spring at the Nebraska Innovation Campus.

Photo by Craig Chandler/UCOMM

John P. Holdren (pictured), chief science adviser to President Obama, marked the one-year anniversary of a pioneering national report on climate change with a May 6 visit to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

During a series of discussions and meetings, Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, detailed the Obama administration's efforts to address climate change while seeking input on climate-related science, impacts and responses from UNL administrators, faculty and students. Read more.

Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow and long-time University of Nebraska at Omaha geologist Jack Shroder (pictured) is part of a team of scientists using remote sensing to research potential dangers that might lurk in the wake of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal April 25. Landslides, a specialty of Shroder's, and lakes or rivers dammed up by landslides, can pose hazards not only immediately following a quake but also later on. If the scientists identify hazards, they hope to be able to alert those in harm's way. Read Omaha World Herald story.

If you forget that water, on top of all its other life-sustaining properties, is also central to food processing, Yulie Meneses will remind you.

"Water is a key ingredient in food processing and has a direct connection to it," said Yulie, a second-year doctoral student in UNL's Department of Food Science and Technology.

A few years ago, the Ecuador native started observing, in both Americas, a surging interest in sustainability. After completing her master's at UNL, Yulie returned home for two years to work at a vegetable oil company. Around that time, the Water for Food Institute opened its doors to look for solutions that could sustain water resources and supply food for current and future generations. That's when Yulie re-surfaced and began research anew focused on a few questions: How can food processing plants become more sustainable? And how can they conserve and reuse water?

By merging her expertise with that of engineers, microbiologists, food scientists and risk assessors, she's finding intriguing answers.

"In dairy plants, ten percent of milk is used for cheese. The other 90 percent becomes whey and 94 percent of whey is water. Eighty percent of the water a plant uses can be obtained from water recovered from whey."

Because of the food processing industry's stringent water quality standards, Yulie frequently tests potable water against that filtered from an advanced membrane filtration system. She says the quality of recovered water is comparable to that from a tap, as long as it is handled properly.

Beyond the lab, she's thankful for the support and leadership of her advisor and Water for Food Institute Faculty Fellow Rolando Flores.

"He's always open to listen to my ideas and help me out. He's helped send me to conferences and make connections."

When asked about her plans following graduation next year, Yulie smiles.

"I see a lot of potential to use water conservation in food processing as a career. I love doing this work because I get to be more involved in water issues and understand its importance."

Whey cool.

Written by Jesse Starita, Water for Food Education Outreach Associate

Yulie Meneses (right) stands with Roberto Lenton after being awarded the Viewers' Choice honorable mention in the 2014 Water for Food Global Conference poster competition.