 This year, the world's population is expected to reach 7 billion people, a staggering level of growth for a planet whose population was only 6 billion just over a decade ago. With this growth - and future growth - come major challenges that will force humanity to reconsider its responsibility to the planet. We are already seeing the impacts from the rapid growth of our species in the form of collapsing fisheries, famine, mass extinctions, deforestation, rising global temperatures, and many other phenomena which harm both the world's ecosystems and our global society.
At the same time, we are also presented with an enormous opportunity to respond to these challenges in new, innovative ways in order to ensure a brighter future for coming generations. It is within this context that we invite you to join us at this year's ESE Symposium, Solutions for 7: 7 billion people - 7 grand challenges, on November 8-9, 2011, at Purdue University's Discovery Park.
In developing this year's theme, our goal was to offer a forum for interdisciplinary discussions focused on seven of our grandest challenges: water, climate, food security, land use, biodiversity, energy, and social equity. We hope you will come participate in our program and offer your own perspectives on how together we can develop Solutions for 7.
Michael Schuster
ESE Symposium 2011 Chair
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