SECURING THE SYSTEMS THAT SUSTAIN US
The Crenshaw Institute for Applied Science and Technology (CIAST) is a physical-digital integration platform connecting proven technologies across food, energy, and water systems.
As an integrator-facilitator, we bring together the full ecosystem—people, policy, capital, builders, and workforce—to deliver outcomes no single group can achieve alone, so these systems improve as one. We strengthen national security and regional renewal by addressing today’s critical infrastructure needs and building tomorrow’s resilient infrastructure capacity—creating jobs and near-term economic lift as we go.
THE SYSTEMS WE ALL RELY ON
Food, energy, and water are the basic systems that keep daily life running—and they depend on each other more than most people realize. It takes water and energy to grow food, and it takes energy to move and treat water. It also works in reverse: what’s left over from farms, food processing, and water treatment can be turned into energy and chemicals. When these systems are managed separately, small disruptions spread fast. Costs go up. Reliability goes down. And more families face shortages and outages.
The future we want is simple: affordable essentials, reliable service, and good local jobs to build and maintain the systems behind them.
THE COST OF DISCONNECTION
The Food–Energy–Water (FEW) nexus is the set of essential connections that allow food, energy, and water systems to function—and that inevitably link their outcomes.
These systems rise or fall together, yet U.S. policy and infrastructure still handle food, energy, and water in silos, driving predictable strain and growing fragility across supply chains. When interconnected systems are pushed past their limits, the effects don’t stay contained—those compounding challenges across the FEW nexus are already visible.
Food-Energy-Water pressure shows up at home first: HIGHER UTILIY BILLS, HIGHER FOOD COSTS, and more families going without essentials. SOURCE
Approximately 9% of U.S. energy comes from renewable sources, leaving food and water systems HEAVILY EXPOSED TO VOLATILITY IN NON-RENEWABLE ENERGY MARKETS. SOURCE
Americans buy ~18B loaves of bread a year. With the POPULATION PROJECTED TO REACH ~370M BY 2050, demand for food, energy, and water will continue to intensify pressure across all three systems. SOURCE
The U.S. food system uses over 12% OF THE NATION'S TOTAL ENERGY to grow, process, transport, and store food. When energy systems are strained, food supply and prices follow. SOURCE
47% OF U.S. FRESHWATER WITHDRAWALS GO TO IRRIGATED CROPS.
As groundwater levels drop, more energy is required to access water—driving up costs across food and energy systems. SOURCE
Hover over the images to see how food, energy, and water connect—and how stress in one area ripples through the rest of the system.
In every act of consumption—from the water that nourishes our crops to the toast on our breakfast table—the FEW nexus is a living cycle where our choices shape the system, and the system shapes us in return.
WHAT WE CAN DO
In complex systems, starting is often the hardest part. Together, we serve as initiators—creating the conditions for momentum to begin. By building shared understanding, aligning priorities, and connecting proven solutions with real-world conditions, we bring technology, policy, and capital together. We activate efforts, accelerate solutions, and amplify impact on the ground. Here’s how that momentum takes shape:
Challengers
As a Challenger, you join the work on the ground—share needs, test ideas, and help shape what gets built.
Local residents, farmers, and small businesses; students and families; community-based organizations participating in and benefiting from CIAST’s Build-It-Ourselves initiatives.
ACTIVATE
Contributors
As a Contributor, you fuel real, measurable infrastructure—by resourcing projects that move from proven to built.
Donors, investors, and philanthropic foundations; institutional and private-sector supporters; industry and technology sponsors; federal, state, and local agencies advancing innovation, sustainability, and U.S. economic resilience.
ACCELERATE
Champions
As a Champion, you bring your institution’s capabilities—so solutions scale through research, training, and implementation.
Universities, colleges, and technical schools; workforce boards and training providers; researchers, faculty, and students; nonprofits and NGOs advancing applied science, environmental justice, and regional economic development.
AMPLIFY
OUR MISSION
CIAST exists to turn proven food, energy, and water solutions into real-world results—by helping initiate the work that brings people together. Progress depends on combining resources, experience, and capability to build, sustain, and share what works. Because the systems we rely on touch all of us, now and for generations to come.
