Last modified: Tuesday, March 19, 2013
IU Bloomington graduate student sustainability research grants available for 2013-14
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2013
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Applications are due by April 9 for the Sustainability Research Development Grant program, which provides opportunities for Indiana University Bloomington graduate students to develop new research programs related to sustainability.
The grant program is jointly sponsored by the IU Office of Sustainability, the University Graduate School, the School of Public Health-Bloomington and the Integrated Program in the Environment.
"Sustainability is an interdisciplinary pursuit, as demonstrated by the joint support from these diverse sponsors," IU Director of Sustainability Bill Brown said. "This seed funding will open up new doors for graduate student innovation as Indiana University seeks to become an international leader in 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 of Public and Environmental Affairs. While previous grants have been awarded to faculty and graduate student teams, grant organizers are shifting focus this year toward graduate student awardees.
"This grant program offers a unique opportunity for IU's graduate students to develop innovative research programs that address fundamental issues of human-environment interaction," said Michael Hamburger, professor of geological sciences and co-chair of IU's Campus Sustainability Advisory Board. "This unusual collaboration between the Office of Sustainability and three academic units will help catalyze new, interdisciplinary research efforts on the IU Bloomington campus that might not otherwise be possible."
Awards of up to $10,000 are available for the 2013-14 academic year to support innovative, high-quality research on sustainability. 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.
Funds may be applied to graduate student fellowships (up to $5,000) as well as field, laboratory, computational or library research. Both individuals and teams of graduate students are encouraged to apply. If multiple-investigator awards are made, recipients will share the award.
IU Bloomington graduate students in research and professional programs are eligible to apply. Priority will be given to high-quality interdisciplinary projects that include participants from multiple disciplines.
For more information about the grant program and details on how to apply, visit the Sustainability Research Development Grant Web page.
