Global Food Institute Student Newsletter

GFI affiliate faculty Dr. Saemi Ledermann and 17 graduate students in Malawi over Spring Break for his short-term study abroad course “Solutions to Sustainable Development: Agriculture and Climate Change in Malawi.”

The Global Food Institute is excited by the widespread student interest in getting involved with the institute. We wanted to create a centralized outlet to share courses, events, opportunities, and more that is relevant to our students here at GW – and thus emerged this newsletter! Please read on for upcoming opportunities to engage with GFI and our network of partners and affiliate faculty. We will continue to share additional opportunities for food system involvement in the GW and greater community as they come. 

CULI 1810: Fundamentals of Culinary Medicine

GFI affiliate faculty Tim Harlan is teaching CULI 1810 this summer. The class meets on Tuesday and Thursday from 1:30-4:00 pm. You can view the syllabus and reach out to Dr. Harlan at drdrmrmd@gwu.edu with any questions. 

GEOG 3275: Sustainable Food Systems

GEOG 3275 is offered fully online during both summer sessions this year and is taught by GFI affiliate faculty Moses Kansanga. Session 1 takes place 5/20-6/29 (CRN: 72198) and Session 2 takes place 7/01-8/10 (CRN: 72199). This course fulfills a Sustainability Minor requirement. 

Did you know industrial agriculture is a key driver of environmental change in the US? The course explores the following pressing questions, using carefully selected case studies from the US agricultural system and critical analysis of ongoing sustainability debates: How do we feed a growing and relatively more demanding global population while staying within planetary boundaries? How do we maximize synergies and minimize trade-offs in making agriculture productive but sustainable? 

The Global Food Institute is in the process of creating a new Food Leadership Minor at GW. We will share more information with you when the minor launches. In the meantime, you can explore our larger list of Food Related Courses offered at GW. Note: only a subset of these courses will satisfy the new Food Leadership Minor requirements. 

Professor Caitlin Grady, from the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at GW’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, is looking for a GW graduate student who is interested in a graduate research assistantship this fall and is familiar with food systems topics.

Dr. Grady is seeking support on her USDA-funded project focused on agricultural production and nitrogen management in the Chesapeake Bay. Dr. Grady and her team have already built the models they will rely on for this project, and they are now looking for a student keen to support policy scenario analyses with the models they have built.

The GRA can be flexible to include anything from hourly wage to full GRA salary with tuition benefits. Student must either have skills in or be interested in learning Python. Please contact caitlin.grady@gwu.edu if interested or to learn more. 

June 12, 2024, 12:30-2pm 

1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Mezzanine Conference Room 

Please join the GW Global Food Institute (GFI) for the Building System Dynamics Connections (BSDC) Seminar Series! BSDC is a growing group of faculty, staff, students, and others interested in building capacity around systems modeling for food and agriculture research. The first 4 seminars of this series will be held monthly on Wednesdays (12:30-2pm; lunch 12:30-1, seminar 1-2) from June to September and serve as an introduction to the foundational concepts of systems thinking and modeling. The seminars will be offered in-person at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue NW with lunch available beforehand, as well as virtually. They will also be recorded for students or others who cannot attend to access later. Daniel Chen, Caitlin Grady, and Sydney Pryor will be leading the sessions. The topics are as follows: 

1) Intro to Systems Thinking and Causal Loop Diagrams (Wed. June 12th)

2) Group Model Building and Stakeholder Engagement (July)

3) Foundations of Quantitative Modeling and Analysis (August)

4) Applications of Systems Modeling to Policy Analysis and Development (September)

Reach out to sydneypryor@gwu.edu to learn more or to be added to the calendar invitation. 

Have events or information you would like to share with other students? Email us at globalfoodinstitute@gwu.edu and we will consolidate these opportunities to share out with the group. 

Thank you all for your interest in the Global Food Institute. We look forward to your continued engagement with GFI!

The Global Food Institute Team