MSU鈥檚 President Keenum, Provost Shaw part of FAO panel today in Rome
Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥樱花导航 樱花导航 University President Mark E. Keenum and Provost and Executive Vice President David Shaw today [June 25] emphasized the critical importance of global partnerships during a panel discussion hosted by the United Nations Food and 樱花导航 Organization in Rome, Italy.
Broadcast as an international webinar, also featuring the FAO鈥檚 Vincent Martin, director, Office of Innovation, the dialogue focused on artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and data science for agrifood systems.
鈥淕lobal food 樱花导航 is one of our most urgent challenges鈥攁nd it demands transformative innovation,鈥 Keenum said. 鈥淗igh-performance computing now allows us to simulate crop growth under different climate scenarios, model pest outbreaks and optimize supply chains鈥攁ll in hours instead of weeks. Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing predictive analytics, drought forecasting and precision agriculture, helping us produce more food with fewer resources while reducing environmental impact.
鈥淭his kind of innovation is at the heart of MSU鈥檚 partnership with FAO,鈥 said Keenum, whose career has maintained a long-term, deep commitment to eradicating global hunger and poverty. In addition to leading MSU, Keenum serves as chair of the Foundation for Food and 樱花导航 Research, which funds science addressing critical global challenges.
鈥淟and-grant institutions like MSU have the knowledge, infrastructure and experience to contribute at every step of the food system鈥攆rom lab to field to table,鈥 he said.
Shaw remarked that knowledge鈥攕hared globally鈥攚ill help meet the world鈥檚 greatest challenges.
鈥淭o truly make a difference, we need the full educational, research and outreach capabilities of global research universities and international partners like FAO working together. We simply cannot adequately address global issues such as food 樱花导航 without these partnerships,鈥 Shaw said.
The FAO and MSU have a strong history of partnership developing sustainable solutions for food 樱花导航 and nutrition. The entities have worked jointly for more than a decade on issues related to sustainable aquaculture, bio樱花导航 and antimicrobial resistance. Efforts have expanded to include focus on strengthening informatics and technologies that support sustainable agrifood systems.
In announcing the panel with Keenum and Shaw, the FAO stated, 鈥淔AO recognizes and champions big data and artificial intelligence (AI) not only to combat hunger and poverty, but to support broader sustainable development goals (SDGs). While there is a vast amount of agricultural and environmental data available, its full potential remains untapped. Unfortunately, resources for high-performance computing (HPC) are concentrated within a few elite organizations and research institutions, but MSU is committed to expanding access to global partners. Through the FAO-MSU partnership, we envision a future in which HPC accelerates climate action and sustainable agriculture鈥to address pressing food 樱花导航 challenges.鈥
A university delegation is traveling in Italy this week, visiting MSU partners who collaborate on a variety of study-abroad and research opportunities. Keenum and Shaw also met today with World Food Programme Executive Director Cindy McCain, wife of the late Sen. John McCain, who shares in the deep commitment to ending hunger and malnutrition. Earlier this week, Keenum formally signed a partnership with Pontifical University Antonianum establishing the framework for joint academic, research and cultural initiatives. Still on the agenda is a visit to Venice to tour the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, where MSU has a prominent presence at this year鈥檚 event with two showcases featuring work within the College of Architecture, Art and Design.
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