Welcome, Nebraska Recap, and the Need for a Consortium
2520D University Capitol Centre (UCC)

• Comments from the meeting chair – Greg Carmichael, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering 
• Icebreaker 
• University of Iowa welcome – Ann McKenna, Dean, College of Engineering
• Recap of Nebraska Meeting – Eric Hunt, Extension Educator, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Speaker: Bob Swap, Intergovernmental Personnel Act Program Officer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Panel: Health, Climate and Weather Grand Challenges in the Region that Require Deep and Extended Collaboration
2520D UCC

• Moderator/Facilitator: Josh Roundy, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas  
• Panelists: 
  • Gene Takle, Professor of Agronomy, Emeritus, Iowa State University 
  • Ana Barros, Professor and Department Head, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois 
  • Brad Pierce, Professor, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department & Director of Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin 
  • Peter Thorne, Professor of Occupational & Environmental Health and co-director of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center

Panel: Key Thematic Areas for Consortium Focus (e.g., what is one hard question that you want to solve in next five years in areas such as public health, water, climate, agriculture, resiliency, actionable information, extreme events, livelihoods, human dimensions)
2520D UCC

• Moderator/Facilitator: Brad Pierce, Professor, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Department & Director of Space Science and Engineering Center, University of Wisconsin 
• Panelists: 
  • Jason Otkin, Research Professor, University of Wisconsin-Madison, CIMSS/SSEC 
  • Matthew McGill, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa 
  • Jesse Berman, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota 
  • Song Feng, Associate Professor of Geoscience, University of Arkansas 

Breakout working groups: Initial initiatives (further developing big picture question/overarching theme, and thematic areas).  

We have three rooms for the breakouts: 

1. Room 2520B UCC: Water, weather, and surface-atmosphere interactions
   Ximing Cai, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois
2. Room 2520C UCC:  Public health impacts
   Jesse Berman, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Minnesota 
3. Room 2390 UCC: Remote sensing, agricultural productivity, and regional economy
   Dennis Ojima, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory,  Colorado State University

Day 1 Debrief/Summary and Plans for Day 2
Webinar hybrid, 2520D UCC

This is mainly focused on an external audience that will join by Zoom.  We will summarize the discussions of the day, presumably by having moderators and breakout group rapporteurs report and answer questions. This will be led by conference chairs and the day’s facilitators.

Day 1 webinar link

Panel: Community Perspectives: Stakeholders, Rights Holders, and End Users
2520D UCC

• Moderator: Travis Kraus, Associate Professor of Practice of Planning and Public Affairs and Director of the Iowa Initiative for Sustainable Communities 
• Panelists 
  • Cheyenne Morgan, PhD Candidate, University of Oklahoma 
  • Larry Weber, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of IIHR—Hydroscience and Engineering, University of Iowa 
  • Dennis Ojima, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory,  Colorado State University
  • Bridgette Mason, Assistant State Climatologist, Wisconsin State Climatology Office 

Panel:  Example Organizational Structures
2520D UCC

• Moderator/Facilitator: Charles Stanier, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa
• Panelists: 
  • Diane Rohlman, Associate Dean for Research of the College of Public Health, Professor and Endowed Chair in Rural Safety and Health
  • Renata Rimsaite, Senior Program Manager, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska 
  • Alec Scranton, Professor, Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa
  • Jerry Schnoor, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa 

• Panel: How Do Engagement, Co-Creation, Teaching, Training, and Workforce Development Factor into Consortium Design
  2520D UCC
   
• Moderator/Facilitator: Eric Hunt, Extension Educator, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska Lincoln
• Panelists: 
  • Josh Roundy, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas  
  • Linnea Harvey, Rural Renewal Initiative Coordinator, Oklahoma State 
  • Xin Qiao, Associate Professor of Biological Systems Engineering and Panhandle Research & Extension Center, University of Nebraska Lincoln 
  • Eric Peterson, Professor and Chair, Geography, Geology, and the Environment, Illinois State University 

Breakout Groups on Community Building:

1. Room 2520B UCC: Developing a stakeholder survey for distribution before or after the Apr 2025 consortium meeting, reaching younger stakeholders, social media; and 
2. 2520C UCC: Who do we need at the table in Wisconsin or before Wisconsin? how to get them there? how to fund stakeholder involvement?

Day 2 Debrief/Summary and Plans for Day 3
Webinar hybrid

This is mainly focused on an external audience that will join by Zoom. We will summarize the discussions of the day, presumably by having moderators and breakout group rapporteurs report and answer questions. This will be led by conference chairs and the day’s facilitators.

Day 2 webinar link

Panel Discussion: Funding Models (format: panel + facilitated small group work). Panelists lay out some funding models suitable for a consortium. NSF ERC.  Private philanthropy. Member dues.
2520D UCC

• Moderator/Facilitator: Aliasger Salem, Associate Vice President for Research, University of Iowa
• Panelists: 
  • Nathan Meier, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Development, University of Nebraska–Lincoln (remote)
  • H.S. Udaykumar, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty, University of Iowa Engineering 
  • Nick Peterson, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Alliant Energy 

Breakouts

1. Room 5620 Seamans Center: Working on the whitepaper and other meeting deliverables, such as social media posts, articles for disciplinary journals or websites, proposal ideas
2. Room 2520C UCC: Initial planning meeting for the Wisconsin follow-on meeting.

Panel Discussion: Strengthening the Impact of the Heartland — Key Elements of Successful Consortia and Collaborations
Hybrid format: Public webinar and Old Capitol Senate Chamber

• Moderator: Jun Wang, Professor and Head of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Iowa
• Panelists:
  • Marty Scholtz, Vice President for Research, University of Iowa 
  • James Reecy, Associate Vice President for Research, Iowa State University 
  • Derek McClean, Dean of the Agricultural Research Division, University of Nebraska Lincoln (remote, invited)
  • Luke Valin, Physical Scientist, U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling
  • Jackson Stansell, Founder & CEO, Sentinel Fertigation (remote)

Day 3 webinar link

Reports from the whitepaper breakout groups, meeting debrief, and next steps for consortium formation
Hybrid format: Public webinar (use link above) and Old Capitol Senate Chamber

• Presenters:
  • Greg Carmichael, Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering 
  • Bob Swap, Intergovernmental Personnel Act Program Officer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center