The College of Engineering had the honor of hosting a visioning event on March 19 and 20 that brought together top researchers and rural stakeholders from across the county to brainstorm ways engineering research can enhance the health and resilience of rural communities. The event was organized by the Engineering Visioning Research Alliance (ERVA), funded by the National Science Foundation.
Rural (non-metro) communities, account for 46 million people in the United States. These communities face unique and emergent issues which can be addressed by communities working together with multidisciplinary experts to improve access to education, transportation, cyber-connectivity, medical care, and better productivity in agriculture, mining, energy, and manufacturing.
Brainstorming sessions discussed ideas for rural-specific solutions and covered topics such as:
- Access to healthcare and education
- Improving digital connectivity
- Utilizing artificial intelligence for rural applications
- Robotics, autonomous logistics, and transportation
- Sustainable agriculture
- Renewable energy and microgrids
- Wearable technologies for health and environmental monitoring
- Tools for specific small scall applications such as soil testing
- Modular and flexible infrastructure
- Better water and wastewater monitoring and treatment
- Reimagining engineering education to include rural-first engineering
Close partnership with rural stakeholders was a common theme, where rural communities identify and play key roles in developing solutions to aid in successful implementation of new technologies.
"Putting 50 engineering thought leaders together for two days proved to be an incredibly stimulating force for visioning,” said Jerald Schnoor, co-chair of the event and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa. “These futurists imagined solutions for the most perplexing problems facing rural communities— solutions requiring engineering research for 5 to 30 years into the future. They envisioned autonomous multipurpose vehicles that can fly over dilapidated roads and bridges; to wearable sensors for healthcare diagnoses; to Star Trek ‘tricorders’ sensing soil microbiome and health; among many other ideas."
The event aimed to envision a future of healthy, happy, and sustainable rural communities. The event – and forthcoming report – is meant to inspire engineering research on topics that are underfunded, engineering-led, and have the potential for making major impact in rural areas.