National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST) Phase II: Center for Research, Education, Application, and Technology Transfer Excellence for AI-Driven Agricultural Water Sustainability (CREATE-AI Water)

Award: 5 years, $5 million

Team members: Drs. Mahesh Hosur, Tushar Sinha, Jennifer Ren, Benjamin Turner (Co-PIs)

Description: The goals of the project are to: (1) Address water sustainability for agriculture use in terms of the quality and quantity amid challenges due to flooding, drought, dynamic interactions of soil moisture availability and conservation practices, and issues related to contaminants and development of stakeholder-based decision support systems using AI-enabled technologies, (2) Engage, train, and develop next-generation workforce ready AI-competent scientists and engineers, and (3) Engage with and train stakeholders to apply science-informed, AI-enabled sustainable practices, and provide experimental and experiential learning opportunities for students, including  K-12 engagement. 

Prof. Turner's role: As a Co-PI for the project, Dr. Turner leads Suproject 3 of the Center  "Enhancing Stakeholder Adaptive Capacity to Support Whole System Resiliency", which focuses on engaging regional ranch and farm managers to conduct field-level resource monitoring across prevailing land management systems and triangulating those with financial and organizational performance to model ecosystem management and evaluate adaptive capacity as conditions change.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Education Challenge: Strengthening Faculty for Teaching the Next Generation of Wicked Problem Solvers

Award: 3 years, $733,343

Team members: Melissa Wuellner (University of Nebraska-Kearney), Erin Corus (University of Minnesota), and Sanku Dattamudi, Steven Chumbley and Benjamin Turner (PI) (Texas A&M University-Kingsville)

Description: The goal of this multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary project is to enhance faculty capabilities for teaching interdisciplinary problem-solving and conducting research grounded in systems thinking (ST) and system dynamics (SD).  Our overarching objectives are: Objective #1: Create and execute a ST/SD faculty fellowship, “Systems Thinking for Wicked Teaching and Research”, aimed at early- to mid-career U.S. faculty in agriculture, food and natural resources (AFNR) disciplines. By doing so we enhance faculty capacity to integrate and communicate knowledge and to conduct research across disciplines needed to improve interdisciplinary teaching effectiveness, enhance student mentoring and research advising, and (through fellowship participation) augment and accelerate collaborative research and innovation relationships across the country. In Objective #2, we will disseminate new and existing AFNR curriculum materials to fellows and non-fellows through virtual trainings on ST/SD-based case study integration into existing teaching material and mentor faculty in developing their own unique curricula, resulting in a case study library from which any instructors may draw upon.  Completing Objectives 1 and 2 will establish a foundation for Objective #3, building capacity for excellence in systems thinking for AFNR-related disciplines that becomes a nationwide educational resource and networking hub for all interested faculty.

 Prof. Turner's role: I serve as the lead PI for this multi-institutional collaborative project.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service: Developing Southern Region Management And Resiliency Tools for Agricultural Systems (SMART Ag Systems)

Award: 3 years, $300,000

Team members: Benjamin Turner and post-doctoral researcher

Description: This project goal is to develop a suite of agricultural production and supply chain models, grounded in system dynamics methodology to: a) measure currently unquantified production and financial risks of climate change to the Southern Plains Region’s economically important commodity systems, and b) evaluate the trade-offs of alternative management strategies in light of climate change risks and identify high leverage management strategies for the region. 

Prof. Turner's role: I serve as a PI on the project and provide post-doctoral mentorship for the scientist in residence.

Texas Water Development Board (TWDB): Effects of cover crops, organic amendment, and tillage practices on soil water dynamics

Award: 3 years,  $256,619

Team members: Drs. Sanku Dattamudi (PI), and Benjamin Turner (Co-PI)

Description: The scope of work will be conducted through four tasks: Task 1: Conducting a field demonstration experiment to compare organic amendments and tillage practices for improving soil water dynamics; Task 2: Management of the experiment, collection and analyses of data; Task 3: Soil water dynamics (soil water yield) – Modeling approach;  Task 4: Overall recommendation and dissemination of knowledge gained.

Prof. Turner's role: As a supporting Co-PI on the project I assist with financial and economic analysis of the various production practices utilized in the project. 

Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE): Fostering climate-friendly sustainable farming through integration of biochar and cover crops in Texas and Florida 

Award: 3 years, $399,220

Team members: Drs. Sanku Dattamudi (PI), and Greta Schuster, Benjamin Turner (Co-PIs)

Description: This three-year project is a multi-state (Texas and Florida) and multi-university collaborative approach for fostering climate-friendly agricultural practices. Major agricultural soils in Texas (South Texas and the Lower Rio Grande Valley) and Florida (South and Central Florida) are low in organic matter content (less than 2%) and consequently encounter reduced crop yield, soil quality issues, nutrient loss, and eventually economic losses during production. Major outcomes of this project will be efficient vegetable production (increased yield due to addition of soil nutrients), reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, improved soil health (high CEC from biochar and organic matter addition from CC), and educational benefits to growers and students on sustainable farming systems.  

Prof. Turner's role: As a supporting Co-PI on the project I assist with financial and economic analysis of the various production practices utilized in the project. 

National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST): Center for Sustainable Water Use

Award: 5 years, $5 million

Team members: Drs. Mahesh Hosur, Lee Clapp, Selahattin Ozcelik, Tushar Sinha, Shad Nelson, Benjamin Turner (Co-PIs)

Description: The goal for CREST-SWU is to establish a regional institutional framework for integrating academic researchers, regional stakeholders, and regulatory policy experts to holistically develop and assess alternative management strategies for attaining sustainable water use in South Texas, particularly from the perspective of the water, energy and food security nexus. The Center will support a formative five-year program of research, education and outreach related to the following three overarching research subprojects: 1) Monitoring and Information Systems (MIS), 2) Modeling and Dynamic Forecasting (MDF), and 3) Decision Support Systems (DSS). 

Prof. Turner's role: I serve as a Co-PI for the Center and am the project lead for Subproject 3 Decision Support Systems.

Find out more here. 

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) NIFA Education and Workforce Development: Promote sustainable Agriculture Concepts in Education through multidisciplinary Research and Pedagogical Trainings (PACE)

Award: 4 years, $500,000

Team members: Dr. M.M.Hossain (PI), Drs. Marsha Sowell, Benjamin Turner, Hua Li, Kai Jin (Co-PIs)

Description: The project’s overarching goal is to create a dynamic multidisciplinary environment and a Community of Practice where research, education, and outreach are integrated to provide elementary and middle school (K-8) teachers with opportunities to conduct cutting-edge research and develop innovative curricular modules to promote agriculture literacy in South Texas.

Prof. Turner's role: I serve as a Co-PI on the project and provide research and training to participants in the project. The research project and resultant curricular material revolve around the creation, implementation, and study results from a soil erosion and water conservation lab capable of use in both field and lab settings

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research and Extension Experience for Undergraduates: Research and extension experience in Energy and the Environment across Agricultural engineering Disciplines (RE2AD)

Award: 5 years, $500,000

Team members: Drs. Hua Li (PI), David Ramirez, Kai Jen, Jennifer Ren, and Benjamin Turner (Co-PIs)

Description: There is a significant talent gap in agricultural engineering needed to drive innovation and to sustain the U.S. global technical superiority. There is also a significant under-representation of minorities in agricultural workforce, especially Hispanics and women. Employers are now seeking “T-shaped” talents who have a broader skillset including leadership, teamwork/collaboration, project management, and critical thinking. The goal of this proposed project is to develop and implement a model environment for multidisciplinary collaborative efforts where research and extension are tightly integrated around the different facets of energy and environment research in agricultural engineering. The specific objectives are: 1) providing research opportunities in the different aspects of energy and environment research to undergraduate students, especially Hispanic and women; 2) increasing the number of underrepresented students who participate in graduate education in agriculture disciplines; 3) integrating extension experience and professional development to train “T-shaped” agricultural workforce with exceptional skills. 

Prof. Turner's role: I served as a Co-PI on the project to provide input and student mentorship for the agricultural components of the effort- these have included dynamic decision making applied to weed herbicide resistance in cropping systems and edge of field modeling and monitoring of small watersheds (subcatchments) undergoing land use change for energy development.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Higher Education Challenge: Curriculum Development for Wicked Problem Solving

Award: 3 years, $297,000

Team members: Melissa Wuellner (University of Nebraska-Kearney), Erin Corus (University of Minnesota), Ryan Rhoades (Colorado State University), Steven Chumbley and Benjamin Turner (PI, Texas A&M University-Kingsville)

Description: The goal of this multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary project is to prepare future agriculture, engineering, and natural resource managers to address the complexities of managing for multiple uses and working with stakeholders through the development of graduate student and faculty experiences in Systems Thinking (ST) and Systems Dynamics (SD). Natural resource issues are frequently deemed "wicked problems" that involve "hard systems" (ecosystem structure and processes) and "soft systems" (diverse values of stakeholders) that both inform and are influenced by management decisions. The audience for this project includes Master's and PhD students enrolled in agriculture and natural resource programs at the multiple participating institutions and their faculty mentors. Graduate students in these programs are training to become managers of natural resource systems and will likely be challenged to address wicked problems throughout their professional careers that exist at the nexus of food, energy, and water systems.

 Prof. Turner's role: I served as the lead PI for this very productive and collaborative group project. The effort produced or supported several systems thinking and system dynamics modeling workshops as well as systems thinking case studies in weed herbicide resistance, land conservation for biodiversity, and the dynamics of conservation agricultural practices adoption. 

Pond Creek Watershed Conservancy

Timeline: 2015-present

Description: The goal of this project is to establish and maintain long-term stream health monitoring sites in Pond Creek, Texas, to evaluate changes in a suite of ecologic and hydrologic indicators of site- and watershed-level ecosystem function in response to dynamically changing land uses between agriculture and alternative uses. To do so, we are partnering with private landowners in the Pond Creek Watershed as well as specialists in hydrology and water resources throughout Texas. 

To learn more, check out our Pond Creek Watershed Convervancy page. 

Integrity of ecological functions on multiuse rangelands before and after intensive grazing and brush management improvements

Timeline: 2023

Description: The goal of this project is to document management goals and ranch improvement efforts on a South Texas sand sheet ranch and provide monitoring and evaluation of rangeland health indicators to assist and enhance decision-making over time.