Symposium on Interdisciplinary Collaboration Among Ecological Engineering, EcoScience, and Eco-Art to Enhance Ecological Restoration Research (@ INTECOL 2017 - NSF , PI. Changwoo Ahn)

The novel, unprecedented theme of the focused symposium provided a unique opportunity to share experiences and build collaborations among ecological engineers, ecosystem scientists, and eco-artists in the context of an international congress. The symposium provided an international audience with U.S. experiences on ecological design, ecosystem restoration, urban ecology, ecological engineering practices, ecosystem science and engineering, and eco-art, both separately and collaboratively. The focused symposium presented an opportunity for both the participants and the attendees of the Congress for cross-cultural, interdisciplinary connections and thus further collaboration opportunities among them. This type of scholarly and cultural exchange is still rare and strengthens U.S. scientific research and practices in ecosystem restoration, watershed management, biodiversity, stormwater management, and ecological engineering practices. The learning outcome of the focused symposium was a transformational nexus of ecosystem science and engineering and eco-art to enhance communication, research, and education as a key aspect of advancing environmental sustainability.