KSS ORNL/CIMMIT Summit

May 19-23, 2014

Mexico

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (commonly called by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT for Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo) is a non-profit research and training institution dedicated to both the development of improved varieties of wheat and maize, and introducing improved agricultural practices to farmers, thereby improving their livelihoods. It is also one of the first of the 15 non-profit, research and training institutions affiliated with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). CIMMYT focuses on the conservation and utilization of maize and wheat genetic resources, developing and promoting improved maize and wheat varieties, testing and sharing sustainable farming systems, and analyzing the impact of its work and researching ways for further improvement. CIMMYT partners with national agriculture research institutions across the globe.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is the largest multipurpose science laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratory system. The mission of ORNL is to deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs that will accelerate the development and deployment of solutions to meet pressing global challenges, namely energy, environment, and national security, aligned with the DOE’s goals. This “science-to-solutions” mission depends on the integration and application of distinctive capabilities in basic and applied research, which include leadership capabilities in biological, environmental, and climate change sciences, high-performance computing (HPC), advanced data curation, integration, analysis, and visualization, knowledge management, spatial data mining, geographic data modeling, computational science and systems engineering.

Since 2011, CIMMYT and ORNL have been interacting within a collaborative framework, the Knowledge Systems for Sustainability (KSS) community of practice, supported by a number of leading national and international public, private, and non-governmental organizations focused on the broad issues of agricultural sustainability and food security.  In 2013, CIMMYT leadership visited ORNL for review and discussion of ongoing initiatives and scientific capabilities that are relevant for CIMMYT’s research and development focus areas and an agreement to explore a formal cooperation was established.  This summit marks the realization of this commitment between CIMMYT and ORNL with the intention to mobilize cutting edge frontier science and technology toward this century’s most urgent threats and opportunities focused on food, water and energy security.

CIMMYT-ORNL_Meeting report_FinalDraft