9th Annual International Food Security at Illinois Symposium
- Sponsor
- ACES Office of International Programs
- Originating Calendar
- Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS)
Cultivating a New Vision for International Food Security in ACES
Registration here
PROGRAM
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
8:30 - 9 am:
Coffee Reception and Undergraduate Global Food Security Interns Poster Session
9-9:15 am:
Welcome and Introduction to Symposium
Germán Bollero, Dean - College of ACES
Mary Arends-Kuenning, Associate Dean of International Programs - College of ACES
9:15-10:30 am:
Funding for Global Food Security
Moderator: Alex Winter-Nelson, Professor Emeritus - Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Pete Goldsmith, Director - Soybean Innovation Lab
Hope Michelson, Professor - Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Juan Arbelaez, Assistant Professor - Crop Sciences
10:35-11:45 am:
Circular Bioeconomy: What impact in the Global South?
Moderator: Jeremy Guest, Levenick Professor - Civil and Environmental Engineering
María Alejandra García Otero, Assistant Professor - Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Yuanhui Zhang, Founder Professor - Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Gal Hochman, Professor - Agricultural and Consumer Economics
11:45 am-1 pm:
Lunch
1-2:15 pm:
Perennial Grains: Global Advances
Juan Arbelaez, Assistant Professor - Crop Sciences
Alexander Lipka, Associate Professor - Crop Sciences
Erik Sacks, Professor - Crop Sciences
2:15-3:15 pm:
Coffee Break
3:15-3:45 pm:
Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE)
3:45-4:45 pm:
Graduate Student Lightning Presentations
4:45-5:30 pm:
Reception
Drinks and hors d'oeuvres
Thursday, April 16
9-10:15 am:
Sustaining Ethical and Equitable Collaborations with the Global South: An African Perspective
Moderator: Elsa Zawedde, Postdoctoral Associate - College of Law
Salif Coulibaly, Fulbright Fellow, Associate Professor of Economics at ENSEA
Crispin Cholwe, PhD Student - Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Jason Kandume, Visiting Research Specialist and PhD student - Agricultural and Biological Engineering
10:15-10:30 am:
Coffee Break
10:30-11:45 am:
Dietary Transition and Global Food Security
Margarita Teran-Garcia, Assistant Dean for Integrated Health Disparities Programs - Nutritional Sciences
Damir Torrico, Assistant Professor - Food Science and Human Nutrition
Kelly Freeman-Bost, Professor - Human Development and Family Studies
1:45 am-1 pm:
Lunch
1-2:15 pm:
School Feeding Programs for Global Food Security
Moderator: Mary Arends-Kuenning, Associate Dean of International Programs - College of ACES
Paul McNamara, Professor; Director of AgReach and ADMI - Agricultural and Consumer Economic
Matt Stasiwecz, Associate Professor of Applied Food Safety - Food Science and Human Nutrition
Gabriella Nicole Pinto, PhD Student - Food Science and Human Nutrition
2:15-3 pm:
Coffee Break/Ice Cream Social
Winners of Graduate Student Lightning Talks announced
3-5 pm:
From Insight to Action: A Shared Path Forward for Global Food Security at Illinois
This capstone workshop will guide participants through a collaborative process to articulate a shared mission, vision, core values, and explicit commitments for advancing global food security work at Illinois. (For ACES-affiliated attendees.)