C4SI3 Day 1

The 3rd Conference for Sustainability IGERTs kicked off rather well! Here Chuck Redman of Arizona State University's School of Sustainability spoke to us about the inherent need for interdisciplinarity when it comes to tackling sustainability and integrating ecosystem services into our common lingo. We also spoke with Rich Boone of the National Science Foundation on the future graduate education and research funding mechanisms beyond the IGERT program.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this conference, but it was such an amalgam of academic disciplines and each of us had the common goal of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. It was refreshing and exciting to see people tackling this issue in their own realms and ready to bridge divides and create shared experiences by which we can all contribute to a better tomorrow.

And beyond the profundities, they were just awesome kiddos. We had a blast in both our intense academic discussions and our intense after-conference shenanigans. More photos will surely follow.