The University of Georgia’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost participated in a panel discussion hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The Invest in Nature Summit brought experts from various industries who focused on nature together to address climate challenges, investing in jobs, programs for youths and resilient communities.

Vice President Jack Hu specifically spoke on workforce development. He presented UGA’s Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems (IRIS) which is an interdisciplinary team of researchers, practitioners and educators who represent a variety of disciplines. IRIS is dedicated to preparing students for careers in the green economy while conducting research for nature-based solutions. He shared how students from different colleges and emphases work together with the communities involved in IRIS for capstone projects as students from a diverse range of disciplines are interested in the work.

Hu was in attendance with Brain Bledsoe and Todd Bridges, both faculty members for UGA’s College of Engineering. Bridges reflected on the Summit and shared the importance of nature for resilient communities and the purpose of IRIS. Working with these communities and growing the national workforce capacity is at the core of IRIS.