Global Partnerships Provide a Path to Sustainability

Exploring Large Lakes

I wonder if you can picture yourself on a ship in rough waters inside a tiny laboratory, trying to operate equipment while the floors are constantly moving. I found that conducting research in the real world while fighting seasickness, was really challenging! As a graduate student at University of South Carolina, I was fortunate enough to find just the kind of chemistry research I was interested in and a great mentor, Dr. Terry Bidleman.

During my graduate research, I dragged stainless steel tanks, and pumps and all sorts of gear on to research ships like the United States Environmental Protection Agency Research Vessel Roger R. Simons (Figure 2). I collected and analyzed water and air samples from the Great Lakes [3] and from the world’s deepest, Lake Baikal [4, 5] for trace levels of highly persistent pollutants to investigate the processes that controlled the movement of chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls from the air into large lakes and then into wildlife like fish and seals.

Figure 2. United States Environmental Protection Agency Research Vessel Roger R. Simons (left). Laura McConnell, aboard the R/V Roger R. Simons in 1990.

It was exciting and awe-inspiring to see the beauty and power of nature from the deck of the ship and to feel that I was contributing to protecting our environment. It was national and international partnerships established among scientists and science organizations that allowed me the opportunity to conduct this type of exploratory environmental chemistry research. As an early career scientist, I was beginning to grow my scientific network with help from supportive mentors and colleagues.

Chesapeake Bay Restoration and the Role of Sustainable Agriculture

After graduate school, I was fortunate to move into a federal government research scientist role at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center with the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) near Washington DC. It was here that I began to understand the power of partnerships to expand and amplify the impact of scientific research.

An example of building partnerships for sustainability is the decades of research over the last forty years by many hundreds of scientists on restoration of the Chesapeake Bay in the United States, one of the most iconic and majestic estuaries in the world, and home to important species like blue crabs, oysters, and striped bass [6]. The Chesapeake Bay Watershed (land area draining into the Bay and its tributaries) spans six states and the District of Columbia and has a population of 18 million people. Nitrogen and phosphorus from multiple sources are the biggest contributors to degradation in environmental quality [7]. Therefore, partnerships between scientists, resource managers, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, farmers, and citizens groups are vital to implement a science-based approach to restoration.

Figure 3. Laura McConnell and Jennifer Fetcho aboard a University of Maryland Horn Point Center for Environmental Studies research vessel (top) collecting oysters for analysis (bottom). (photo credit Scott Bauer, USDA-ARS Image Gallery)

In agriculture, strategically implementing management practices like cover crops, conservation tillage, vegetative buffers and nutrient management on the landscape can contribute to improvements in soil and water quality. The Federal Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation recently stated,

“Getting more of these practices on the ground—in areas of the watershed where they will have the greatest effect—is key to reaching the Bay states’ pollution reduction requirements by 2025. [8].”

Figure 4. Bayer Crop Science Environmental Fate Team in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA in approximately 2016. Top row left to right: Julie Haddix, Laura McConnell, Daniel Dyer, Ellen Arthur, and Tianbo Xu. Bottom row left to right: Emily Harmon, Randy Ripperger, Suman Shrestha, Fang Jia, and Suresh Mislanker.

A primary focus of my research at USDA-ARS was the development of improved agriculture practices to prevent pollutant transport [9] into the Chesapeake Bay and other sensitive ecosystems (Figure 3). I was energized by building, participating in, and growing diverse networks of colleagues from different organizations each bringing their own strengths and talents. The kinds of partnerships built in support of the Chesapeake Bay are needed to make progress on planetary-wide goals like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Industry and Sustainability

After many years at USDA-ARS, I took on a new challenge at Bayer Crop Science. I joined the Environmental Fate team in Research Triangle Park North Carolina. I was recruited by my friend and colleague Dr. Ellen Arthur. I met Ellen through the American Chemical Society, Division of Agrochemicals (AGRO). In AGRO a large group of active volunteers from different sectors work together and support each other. I benefited from the diverse ecosystem of colleagues who are active in AGRO which made me feel more comfortable moving into an industry role.

More recently I moved into a role at Bayer engaging with university and scientific societies on a global scale on regulatory science topics. This new job has allowed me to build even larger networks in support of sustainability. I see now that Industry scientists have an important role to play in achieving a more sustainable chemical enterprise. Industry partners have the capacity to react quickly to changes in the marketplace and to scale up science-based solutions. One of the things that we as industry scientists need to improve on is reaching out and communicating better with the scientific community and making it easier to build partnerships. One of the ways that we can open a door to collaboration is by providing seminars and communicating with science organizations around the world. Our team at Bayer is launching a project called Science CONNECT (https://sway.office.com/neXTdAqaYuBLMFMf). It is designed to be a quick and easy way to request a Bayer speaker for a seminar or other science event.

Another avenue for industry collaboration is public private partnerships. Since 2015 Bayer has been partnering with all these organizations to support the creation and restoration of Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Habitat. One of the best examples has been partnering with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (https://www.nfwf.org/partnerships/corporate-partners/bayer-crop-science). Bayer and other organizations provide funding. Scientists apply for funding through the foundation but must also contribute their own matching funds. This approach multiplies the impact of the work that might have been done as separate organizations.

Building Global Networks

One of the most important networks that I have engaged with during my career has been IUPAC. During my time at the USDA-ARS, I was invited to co-organize a symposium as part of the IUPAC International Congress of Crop Protection Chemistry in Washington DC. Four years later, I received a poster award at the same Congress in London. This resulted in an invitation to join the Division VI Advisory Committee on Crop Protection Chemistry. From there, I was elected to Division VI and later to Division President. Up to December 2023, I served as an elected member of the Bureau. I have remained actively involved with IUPAC because of the critical need the collaborative and international nature of projects taken up by the various divisions and committees.

IUPAC, in partnership with other organizations, has been working to tackle one of the most important challenges on our journey towards global sustainability: to close the gender gap in science to ensure that all scientists are able to bring their expertise and talents to the table and can connect with each other. One effort on this front is the IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast (GWB) (https://iupac.org/gwb/). The goal of the GWB is to create a network of women and men in support of closing the gender gap in science. It is an event that happens on a single day in February each year, around the UN Day of Women and Girls in Science. I’m part of a global leadership team which includes the founder of the GWB, Professor Mary Garson from Queensland University, and 35 team members who help to coordinate events in their regions (Figure 4). The GWB has grown from 100 events in 40 countries/territories in 2011 to nearly 400 events in 77 countries this year. More than 1500 GWB events have been organized in 100 countries/territories over the last five years [10, 11, 12].

Sustainability comes in many forms as expressed in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). It will require scientists from all sectors working together and building genuine partnerships to overcome the enormous challenges facing our planet. One of the best opportunities to make progress is in partnership with IUPAC.

I have shared a bit about my journey from academia to government and now as an industry scientist. I hope that you can see more clearly the benefits of being curious and partnering with a diverse network of colleagues to enhance the power and impact of your research. What will your future bring? How will you contribute? Are you open to new adventures in science? Consider how you can build a network of colleagues to help amplify the impact of your work for the long term. As you can see, there are many different paths available. You also know now that none of us can go it alone. We must go full speed ahead together.

Figure 4. IUPAC100 celebration in Paris at the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress after the return of the Global Breakfast in 2019. From left: Juris Meija, Christine Dunne, Nnanake Offiong, Javier Garcia Martinez, Supawan Tantayanon, Hooi Ling Lee, Mary Garson, and Laura McConnell