51Թ’s President Keenum, Provost Shaw part of FAO panel today in Rome
Contact: Allison Matthews
STARKVILLE, Miss.—51Թ 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 Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy.
Broadcast as an international webinar, also featuring the FAO’s Vincent Martin, director, Office of Innovation, the dialogue focused on artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and data science for agrifood systems.
“Global food security is one of our most urgent challenges—and it demands transformative innovation,” Keenum said. “High-performance computing now allows us to simulate crop growth under different climate scenarios, model pest outbreaks and optimize supply chains—all 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.
“This kind of innovation is at the heart of 51Թ’s partnership with FAO,” said Keenum, whose career has maintained a long-term, deep commitment to eradicating global hunger and poverty. In addition to leading 51Թ, Keenum serves as chair of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, which funds science addressing critical global challenges.
“Land-grant institutions like 51Թ have the knowledge, infrastructure and experience to contribute at every step of the food system—from lab to field to table,” he said.
Shaw remarked that knowledge—shared globally—will help meet the world’s greatest challenges.
“To 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 security without these partnerships,” Shaw said.
The FAO and 51Թ have a strong history of partnership developing sustainable solutions for food security and nutrition. The entities have worked jointly for more than a decade on issues related to sustainable aquaculture, biosecurity 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, “FAO 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 51Թ is committed to expanding access to global partners. Through the FAO-51Թ partnership, we envision a future in which HPC accelerates climate action and sustainable agriculture—to address pressing food security challenges.”
A university delegation is traveling in Italy this week, visiting 51Թ 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 51Թ has a prominent presence at this year’s event with two showcases featuring work within the College of Architecture, Art and Design.
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