Phosphorus (P) is an essential nutrient for life – without it, we could not grow our food nor build our bones. Yet our current use of P relies on mining it from the earth to make into fertilizer and then letting this fertilizer leach into our waterways and act as a pollutant. Some parts of the world are unable to access enough fertilizer to grow their food, let alone let it be wasted away into rivers.

Sustainable Phosphorus Summit is part of the Frontiers in Life Science workshop series sponsored by ASU’s School of Life Sciences. The Sustainable Phosphorus Summit will explore the complex dynamics of P as a limited resource and create a stage for discussion on P sustainability.  International experts, including students and faculty from the SOLS will define the scale and scope of the “biggest problem you’ve never heard of,” and raise awareness of this problem.  In Phosphorus, food and our future, artists and scientists have teamed up to explore our current use of P and how we can make it more sustainable.  The exhibit features work by 20 teams of artists and scientists using a variety of media including painting, photography, collage, sculpture, illustration, multimedia installation, dance and music.

This conference will be held February 3-5 at the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus, with Art Exhibits at the Desert Botanical Garden and Step Gallery of ASU’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

To further research the concepts embodied in Sustainable Phosphorus, consult the Sustainable Phosphorus LibGuide created by ASU Librarians Olivia Sparks and Rene Tanner.  This guide includes a list of relevant books from the ASU Libraries, links to related websites on the topic and more.

For more information about the conference, please contact the School of Life Sciences.