Grants available for faculty and students for sustainability innovation
Faculty and students can apply for funding from the Campus as a Laboratory for Sustainability (CALS) program for research, projects or course development that engage the campus in addressing climate change and sustainable systems.
Applicants—either individuals or teams—may request research or seed grants of up to $25,000 or education/pedagogy grants of up to $10,000. A total of $75,000 is available for this round of funding. Applications are due by April 2, and the grant period is from May 15, 2018, to June 30, 2019.
CALS has funded 11 projects since January 2016, totaling $125,000. Ongoing research projects include studies of nighttime illumination on campus, the relationship between electric vehicles and smart grids, energy leakage from buildings on South Campus and water and energy performance of green roofs. Outreach and education projects include an oral history of the student divestment movement, a course that employed virtual reality to help people understand campus sustainability efforts, and compilation and dissemination of climate change rules promulgated by the federal government.
For the current competition, the CALS faculty advisory group particularly wishes to encourage proposals from disciplines that have been underrepresented in previous rounds, such as the humanities, social sciences, education and the arts. In addition, students are encouraged to apply for funding for capstone research projects or to facilitate participation in regional or national sustainability competitions.
Information sessions for prospective applicants will be held in early February, where staff will be available to answer questions about the RFP and application process. Questions can also be directed to Rachel May in the Office of Sustainability Management at 315.443.9726 or sumay@syr.edu.
By SU news staff