Two University of Kentucky scientists are part of a newly established international consortium investigating the environmental impacts of nanotechnology-based agrochemicals.
The three-year $1.2 million grant entitled Fate and Effects of Agriculturally Relevant Materials (NanoFARM) was funded by the European Union and the U.S. National Science Foundation through the European Area Research Networks (ERA-NET). Typically this is a program for scientists in E.U. member states, but this year the U.S. participated in the program by providing funding through various agencies, enabling participation of U.S. researchers.
The National Science Foundation funded Jason Unrine and Olga Tsyusko, in the UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, to participate in ERA-NET consortium. Additionally, the consortium includes scientists from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Aveiro in Portugal and the University of Vienna in Austria. The proposal was highly ranked by peer reviewers. Out of 48 proposals, only five projects with U.S. partners received funding.