University of Delaware Provost Domenico Grasso has been named chair of the National Academies Committee on Grand Challenges and Opportunities in Environmental Engineering and Science for the 21st Century.

This study brings together top researchers and practitioners from a wide range of fields to identify the most pressing technical and policy challenges facing the environment now and in the future. This work is critical as the global population grows to an estimated 10 billion people by 2050, with attendant demands for food, energy and clean air and water.

To prepare for their deliberations, a panel of 18 experts will solicit input from both the scientific community and the broader public on identifying and addressing these global challenges.

“Domenico brings much experience, thoughtful perspective and enthusiasm to the role as chair,” said Stephanie Johnson, senior program officer for the Water Science and Technology Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. “The entire committee is an impressive group, packed with creative thinkers from a wide array of perspectives we will need to define the grand challenges and work toward ways for the environmental engineering field to better address them."

The committee will consider the relevance, magnitude and implications of a broad array of challenges and determine engineering and scientific approaches to  address them. The group will also identify areas where new knowledge and practice are required to design and create solutions to the world’s most vexing challenges.

The project is being overseen by the Water Science and Technology Board in collaboration with the NAE Program Office, the Board on Energy and Environmental Systems (BEES) and other units at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. It is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The committee’s first public meeting will be May 4 in Washington, D.C.