The Office of Research and Innovation is pleased announce funding awards from the MSU Climate Change Research Support Program for 12 interdisciplinary research projects, together totaling more than $750,000. The seed funding program was one of several outcomes from the Campus Convening on Climate Change held last April. Proposals were accepted through September and reviewed by a faculty committee with diverse experiences and expertise.
The program provides an important funding mechanism to support promising new initiatives in key areas of research, scholarship, and multidisciplinary collaboration in response to the global climate crisis. Internal funding also positions MSU faculty to compete successfully for significant external funding by creating a path to sustain research and builds a bridge to continued funding and global impact.
Climate change crosses multiple topics and disciplines, therefore applicants were required to focus on areas where MSU has unique capabilities and expertise. Investigators applying for the climate seed funding program were asked to develop an interdisciplinary team to leverage such capabilities and to tackle a specific problem with a multifaceted approach.
Tackling complex challenges, such as climate change, requires a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary approach. Our funding supports new ideas that will propel research programs that demonstrate the expertise and creative thinking that will propel MSU and our researchers as a leaders and innovators across the spectrum.Doug Buhler, Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation
The following projects were awarded funding:
|
Project Title |
Lead PI |
|
Bendable Hempcrete – A New, Climate-Friendly Construction Material |
Qingxu "Bill” Jin |
|
Building a Foundation for SCALE (Sustainable Communities, Agriculture, Landscapes, and Energy) |
Anthony Kendall |
|
Climate impacts and adaptations in freshwater aquatic food systems |
Ben Belton |
|
Dengue Fever under the Changing Climate and Urbanization in Peru |
Peilei Fan |
|
A high-efficiency direct-air-capture and CO2 utilization system for fuel and chemical production |
Wei Liao |
|
Improving the Climate Resiliency of Michigan Agricultural Water Management and Rural Electrical Service |
Younsuk Dong |
|
MSU CCRP Proposal: Determining the Role of Algal Betaine Lipids in Coral Thermal Tolerance |
Robert Quinn |
|
On-farm renewable electricity harvesting from agricultural water systems |
Bei Fan
|
|
Political and Policy Aspects of Energy Transition |
Adam Mayer |
|
Soil as a living system in changing climate |
Alexandra Kravchenko |
|
Transparent Agrivoltaics – Exploratory Research Seed Concept |
Richard Lunt |
|
Understanding Packaging-Driven Food Waste at US Households |
Monirehalsadat (Monireh) Mahmoudi |
An additional $40,000 was awarded to the following groups for team and capacity building projects:
|
Project Title |
Lead PI |
|
Addressing Health and Climate Change Research Through Transdisciplinary Teams (HCCRTT) |
William Cunningham |
|
Developing Ultra-resistant Carbon-negative Construction Materials (Bendable Hempcrete) using Hemp Fiber |
Qingxu "Bill" Jin |
|
Impact of Climate Change on Environment and Health of Vulnerable Populations |
William Cunningham |
|
International Research Network on Climate Change in the Amazon Basin: Basic Research and Applied Projects on Drivers and Impacts of Climate Change |
Laurie Medina |
|
Linking Metabolomics at Michigan State University with Coral Reef Restoration in Hawaii |
Robert Quinn |
A separate funding program is currently underway and accepting proposals specifically related to climate justice and environmental ethics. For more information, please review the Call for Proposals.
