THE CHALLENGE: THE 2015 UNITED NATIONS WORLD POPULATIONS PROSPECT REVISION PROJECTS THAT "THE POPULATION OF THE WORLD WILL BE BETWEEN 9.4 AND 10 BILLION IN 2050"-- A 2.5 BILLION INCREASE OVER THE NEXT THIRTY-FIVE YEARS. DURING THE SAME PERIOD, THE SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH IS PREDICTED TO RISE BY 3 OC, CAUSING CROP YIELDS TO DECREASE GLOBALLY BY 10 - 50 % WITH CONVENTIONAL FARMING PRACTICES. DUE TO THE POPULATION GROWTH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, WATER RESOURCES IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD ARE PUSHED TO THEIR NATURAL LIMITS.THEREFORE, THERE IS AN URGENT MANDATE TO DEVELOP TRANSFORMATIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS THAT ENHANCE CROP PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCE ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION THROUGHOUT THE FARM-TO-FORK PROCESS.GREENHOUSES HAVE BECOME ONE OF THE MOST EFFICIENT AND ADVANCED AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGIES THAT PROVIDE SUBSTANTIAL BENEFITS COMPARED WITH OPEN FIELD AGRICULTURE, WHICH INCLUDE A VIRTUALLY YEAR-ROUND GROWING SEASON BY CREATING OPTIMAL CONDITIONS INSIDE WHILE IMPROVING WATER USEEFFICIENCY BY ABOUT 70%. HOWEVER, HIGH ENERGY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEATING, COOLING, VENTILATION, AND SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING THREATEN THE VIABILITY OF GREENHOUSE CROP PRODUCTION FOR MEETING CONTINUOUSLY RISING GLOBAL FOOD DEMANDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE EXPECTED POPULATION GROWTH.THE APPROACH: WE HAVE ASSEMBLED A TEAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY EXPERTISE IN THERMAL/ENERGY SCIENCES, OPTICS AND MATERIALS, SCALABLE MANUFACTURING, SOLAR-DRIVEN WATER PURIFICATION, GREENHOUSE HORTICULTURE, AND CROP PHYSIOLOGY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER (CU-BOULDER) AND THE LAND-GRANT INSTITUTION, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY (MSU), TO TACKLE THIS CHALLENGE.WE ARE TO USE SYSTEM-LEVEL ANALYSIS TO DEVELOP ADVANCED ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGIES FOR HIGH-YIELD CROP PRODUCTION WITH LITTLE-TO-NO LIQUID DISCHARGE AND FRESH WATER INTAKE, AND &GT; 50 % ENHANCEMENT IN PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY EFFICIENT LIGHT. THE ADVANCED GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY INCLUDES AN EFFICIENT SOLAR HUMIDIFICATION-DEHUMIDIFICATION (HDH) WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM, WHICH IS ENABLED BY COST-EFFECTIVE MANUFACTURED SPECTRAL SPLITTING AND LIGHT-CONVERTING ENVELOPE MATERIAL. INEFFICIENT PROCESSES SUCH AS SUPPLEMENTAL LIGHTING WILL BE MINIMIZED, IF NOT FULLY ELIMINATED, BY PROVIDING MORE PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY-EFFICIENT SOLAR RADIATION THROUGH A GREEN-TO-RED LIGHT CONVERSION PROCESS. A HIGH-YIELD HDH WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM WILL BE DRIVEN BY PHOTOSYNTHETIC-INACTIVE NEAR-INFRARED (NIR) RADIATION FROM SUNLIGHT TO PRODUCE HIGH-QUALITY WATER FOR GREENHOUSE USE IN A COST-EFFECTIVE MANNER. STARTING FROM THE FIRST-PRINCIPLES MODELING OF EACH INNOVATIVE COMPONENT, MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS BASED ON A FULL-SCALE ENERGY AND MASS BALANCE MODEL WILL BE DEVELOPED TO IDENTIFY THE MOST ENERGY AND WATER INTENSIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH GREENHOUSE FOOD PRODUCTION, THUS PROVIDING MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVING ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENCY.THE GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH EFFORT IS TO EXPLOIT ENERGY SCIENCES TO DEVELOP ADVANCED ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGIES, WHICH WILL BE INTEGRATED AND TESTED WITHIN AN EXISTING GREENHOUSE FACILITY MANAGED BY THE TEAM.THIS PROJECT DEVELOPS A TRANSFORMATIVE GREENHOUSE SYSTEM WITH SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED ENERGY AND WATER CONSUMPTION WITH A POTENTIAL INCREASE IN CROP YIELD BY UP TO 50 %.THROUGH CAREFULLY CRAFTED FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TASKS AND COMPONENTS, A KNOWLEDGE BASE WILL BE CREATED THAT INFORMS HOW THE ADVANCED GREENHOUSE SYSTEM WILL PERFORM UNDER DIFFERENT GEOCLIMATIC CONDITIONS AND OPERATING STRATEGIES BASED ON THE QUALITY USE AND THE EFFICIENCY IN LIGHT-TO-FOOD (LIGHT2FOOD), WATER-TO-FOOD (WATER2FOOD), AND UTILITY-ENERGY-TO-FOOD (UTILITY2FOOD) PROCESSES.A PILOT SCALE GREENHOUSE OF 195 FT2WILL BE DEVELOPED BY LEVERAGING THE UNIQUE MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES AND THE &GT; 10,000 FT2RESEARCH GREENHOUSE FACILITIES READILY AVAILABLE TO THE TEAM, FOR MULTIPLE TOMATO PRODUCTION CYCLES AND LATER, CROPS OF LEAFY GREENS (E.G., LETTUCE AND HERBS).