PhosForUs

What does phosphorus policy actually look like beyond regulations and legislation, and how do institutions shape the outcomes we see on the ground? In this episode of PhosForUS, hosts Alison Deviney (Postdoctoral Researcher, STEPS Center) and Barira Rashid (PhD Candidate, University of Arkansas) sit down with Jay Rickabaugh , Assistant Professor of Public Administration at North Carolina State Uni...

What does phosphorus policy actually look like on the ground, and who gets to shape it? In this season premiere of PhosForUs , hosts Barira Rashid (PhD Candidate, University of Arkansas) and Hector Fajardo (PhD Candidate, NC State University) sit down with Jonathan Coppess , Associate Professor of Agricultural Policy at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to unpack how phosphorus shows up...

Welcome back to the PhosForUs podcast! We are beginning this season with a special episode, featuring the Managing Director, Maude Cuchiara and the Director, Jacob Jones, reflecting on the vision behind STEPS Center and the meaning of Phosphorus Week. In this conversation, they share personal insights, the evolving role of phosphorus in shaping food systems and policy, and why this moment matters...

The Everglades Agricultural Area in South Florida is the home of the most unique and fertile soils in the country—organic-rich Histosols with over 80% organic matter. These soils, once part of a vast wetland ecosystem, have been drained over the past century to support agriculture, especially sugarcane, rice, and vegetables. But beneath this productivity lies a hidden concern: decades of phosphoru...

In this episode, Dr. Luke Gatiboni, professor and extension specialist in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at NC State, shares insights from his research on phosphorus management. The story of phosphorus fertilization in Eastern North Carolina unfolds, beginning with the region’s unique coastal soils and the historical build up of legacy phosphorus from decades of agricultural use. The episod...

Phosphorus dynamics within any system can be complex, but none are more complex than urban systems. The STEPS Center has established one of its key Triple Bottom Line (TBL) scenario sites as the Central Arizona–Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research (CAP-LTER) site, which considers the unique dynamics between the urban metropolis of Phoenix and its peri-urban, rural, and environmental surroundings....

Bathrooms are in nearly every building and the infrastructure has not changed much. But what if bathroom infrastructure changed the way phosphorus was recovered? In a previous episode, we talked about how urine can be a resource instead of a waste and in this episode we take a long term view on the future of urine diversion technology and its place in modern buildings. Josephine talks with Dr. Boy...

The STEPS Center uses tools called boundary objects to help build convergence capacity – that is, the ability to effectively co-create new knowledge – across its multidisciplinary research community. This episode is an introduction to one of those boundary objects, the Triple Bottom Line Scenario Site, also known as TBL Sites. TBL Sites are geographic locations that, for STEPS at least, encompass...

In this episode, we interviewed Dr. Deanna Osmond, professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at North Carolina State University. We explore Dr. Osmond’s career in nutrient management, focusing on the challenges of phosphorus sustainability in agriculture. The discussion covers her involvement with the SERA 17 initiative, the creation of environmental phosphorus thresholds, and the develop...

What if I told you that your urine can be a potential solution for the world’s phosphorus conundrum? In this episode, we discuss how urine can be a resource instead of a waste and chat about two upcoming peer-reviewed articles based on STEPS research. Lucas explains why urine diversion systems are more feasible in airports than in restaurants, and Ashton talks about why we should be looking to sta...

Phosphorus Week 2024 is a special occasion celebrated by the Science and Technologies for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) Center and the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance (the Alliance). It commences on Monday, April 8th, coinciding with the 15th week of the year. During this week, we honor the 15th element, phosphorus, which plays a crucial role in sustaining life and ensuring global food securit...

Modern challenges of today create the need for more efficient and effective research to tackle them. By what means are we achieving this? Convergence research is how. It’s been elevated as one of the National Science Foundations 10 Big Ideas, and it is the foundation that the STEPS Center has been built upon. In this episode, we want to elaborate on the fine details of convergence research. We’ll...

The P flow diagram is a key aspect of STEPS convergence research, because it functions as a “boundary object” to connect researchers from many different fields. In this episode, we give a brief overview of what flow diagrams are, and then we talk to some of the researchers in STEPS about how they use the P flow diagram and what they like (and don’t like!) about it. We also hear from several studen...

As much as we need food to stay alive, our crops need phosphorus to keep growing. But how do we ensure a sustainable phosphorus supply to our agricultural lands? In fact, who ensures that sustainability? Who are the other stakeholders? Join us as we dive deeper into these questions with Dr. Dana Cordell, Research Director of the Food Systems research group at the Institute of Sustainable Futures,...

Phosphorus is a key element for life on Earth, but it can also have devastating effects on the environment when it accumulates in water bodies. In this episode, we explore the complex relationship between phosphorus and climate change, and how it affects the health of ecosystems. We are joined by three experts who share their insights and perspectives on this topic: Phil Haygarth, a professor of s...

The Science and Technology for Phosphorus Sustainability (STEPS) center is a recently created convergence research center, that is addressing the complex challenges around phosphorus sustainability with an interdisciplinary group of researchers coming from diverse scientific areas. In this episode, we talk to the director of the STEPS center, Dr. Jacob Jones, about the 25-in-25 vision of the cente...

Phosphorus is an important element on earth. It is a non-metallic element that is essential for life as we know it. It is used in a variety of industrial and agricultural applications, such as fertilizers, food additives, and flame retardants. However, excess phosphorus usage has also led to many environmental problems. In this episode, we talk to two renown phosphorus experts, Dr. Jim Elser and D...

This episode is a short introduction to the world of PhosForUS. It is a snippet from the first episode.