Last modified: Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sustainability research development grants available for the 2010-11 academic year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Applications are due by April 28 for the Sustainability Research Development Grant program, which provides opportunities for Indiana University faculty members and students to develop externally funded research related to environmental sustainability.
The grant program is jointly sponsored by the IU Office of Sustainability, University Graduate School, College of Arts & Sciences, School of Public and Environmental Affairs and the Center for Research on Energy & the Environment.
"Sustainability, by its nature, is a collaborative pursuit and I am excited about the joint support from these diverse disciplines," said IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown. "This seed funding will open up new doors for innovation as Indiana University seeks to become an international leader in this critically important area of sustainability research, curriculum and campus operations."
The grant program is an outgrowth of a pilot initiative developed during the 2008-09 academic year as a collaboration between the IU Task Force on Sustainability and the School for Public and Environmental Affairs. Last year's program resulted in the funding of five interdisciplinary faculty-graduate student research projects focusing on topics that include forest management in the U.S., land use patterns in Brazil and Honduras and student transportation choices in Bloomington (https://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/10010.html).
"This new campus-wide grant program promises to catalyze new, interdisciplinary faculty and student research on sustainability that wouldn't otherwise be possible," said Michael Hamburger, co-chair of IU's Campus Sustainability Advisory Board.
Under the program, up to five $10,000 grants are available for the 2010-11 academic year to support innovative, high-quality research on sustainability that can compete for external funding in the national arena. Sustainability research covers environmental science, public policy, social science and other approaches to address such issues as resource stewardship, assessment and mitigation of the environmental impacts of human activity, and institutional and societal responses to environmental challenges.
Full-time faculty and non-professional graduate students from IU Bloomington are eligible to apply for the awards. Award recipients will be expected to:
- Develop new, collaborative lines of research with the potential to develop into externally funded research projects
- Engage with other members of the university sustainability community
- Submit a report on their work to the IU Office of Sustainability and the Dean of the Graduate School at the end of the spring semester following the award
- Produce a grant proposal for continuation of the research for submission to one or more federal or state research organizations, foundations or corporate sponsors
For more information about the grant program and details on how to apply, see https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/SustGrants/SustGrants.html. For more information on sustainability initiatives at Indiana University, see https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/.
