The Dean for Research Innovation Fund for the Sustainability of Our Planet is a new fund established in 2022.

This fund, made possible thanks to the extraordinary vision and generosity of John McDonnell ’60, supports research across the natural sciences, engineering and the social sciences focused on discovering, developing, and adopting sustainable solutions aimed at mitigating the effects of natural resource exploitation, climate change, and other unsustainable human activities that degrade and pollute Earth. High-impact solutions making a tangible difference in near- and medium-term range are of high priority for this funding.

PI Eligibility

Assistant, Associate and Full Professors in Divisions II (Social Sciences), III (Natural Sciences, including Mathematics and Psychology) and IV (Engineering and Applied Science) are invited to apply.

Funding

Available funds ($300,000 total this year) may be allocated to one or more projects (e.g., one project receiving up to $300,000; or two projects receiving up to $150,000.) Projects can last up to three years. 

Expenditures can include graduate student stipend and tuition, post-doctoral salary and benefits, undergraduate student stipend, and equipment and supplies. Faculty summer salary is not allowed.

Proposal Preparation Instructions

Applications should be brief (no more than three pages of text plus a separate budget page). A faculty member may participate in no more than one submission.

Submission Information

Applicants should upload their proposals here by Monday, April 4, 2022 (log in with NetID required).

Review Process

A group of faculty members will anonymously review the proposals and will make funding recommendations.

Contacts

Pablo G. Debenedetti
Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science
Dean for Research
[email protected]

Claire Gmachl
Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering
Interim Director, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment
[email protected]

Gabriel Vecchi
Professor of Geosciences and the High Meadows Environmental Institute
Director, High Meadows Environmental Institute
[email protected]