THIS PROPOSAL IS TO HOST AN INTERDISCIPLINARY TWO AND A HALF DAY CONFERENCE ON THE SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF EMERGING AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS GENE DRIVE, GENOME EDITING TECHNOLOGIES AND RELATED EMERGING BIO-TECHNOLOGIES. APPROXIMATELY 22 SCHOLARS AND RESEARCHERS WORKING IN THE BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL SCIENCES AS WELL AS THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES WILL BE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP FOCUSED ON ETHICAL USES, SOCIAL IMPACTS, CULTURAL ISSUES AND INTENDED AND UN-INTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF EMERGING BIO-TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE. THE CONFERENCE WILL PROVIDE A PARTICIPANT FOCUSED APPROACH TO NURTURE, FACILITATE AND EXPAND CONVERSATIONS ON THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING. THE IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVE OF THE WORKSHOP IS TO DEVELOP A BLUEPRINT WITH WHICH TO CONSIDER CHALLENGES AND ISSUES SURROUNDING A RESEARCH AGENDA THAT ENGAGES WITH THE SCIENTIFIC, ETHICAL, REGULATORY, AND SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DEVELOPING AGRICULTURALUSE OF GENOME EDITING TECHNOLOGIES IN GENERAL, AND VARIOUS SPECIFIC EMERGING BIO-TECHNOLOGIES IN PARTICULAR THAT WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND RELEASE OF GENE-DRIVE MODIFIED ORGANISMS. THE WORKSHOP WILL AIM TO EQUIP PARTICIPATING FACULTY TEAMS WITH AN INVALUABLE OPPORTUNITY TO INCUBATE IDEAS DURING THE WORKSHOP THAT MIGHT LEAD TO THE SUBMISSION OF GRANT PROPOSALS, DEVELOPMENT OF NEW INTERDISCIPLINARY CURRICULA, OR THE PLANNING FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGED PROJECTS. IN THIS WAY, THE CONFERENCE WILL HAVE A SUBSTANTIAL MULTIPLIER EFFECT AS EACH FACULTY PARTICIPANT WILL BE ABLE TO ENGAGE IN SEVERAL INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS FOCUSING ON THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE IN FUTURE RESEARCH, AND IN MODELING THIS KIND OF RESEARCH FOR THEIR STUDENTS IN THEIR OWN RESPECTIVE UNIVERSITIES, AND COMMUNITIES.