Proposals are now being accepted for Penn State's Institute of Energy and the Environment's (IEE) 2024 Seed Grant Program. For the 2024 call, all proposals must include a climate component and align with at least one of IEE's research themes: climate and ecosystem change; health and the environment; integrated energy systems; urban systems; or water and biogeochemical cycles. Funding was increased this year to a maximum of $40,000 per project to support interdisciplinary research.
The program is open to all Penn State faculty members, including tenured, tenure-track and fixed-term, who hold an appointment of half-time or more at any Penn State campus. New teams of investigators will be given preference over those who have previously received an IEE seed grant.
Proposals are limited to two pages and must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The request for proposals is available online.
In support of the 2024 Seed Grant Program call, IEE will host two events: a webinar on writing a successful proposal on Sept. 26; and a science communication panel discussion with a seed grant-winning research team on Oct. 4.
The IEE Seed Grant Program is a valuable resource for Penn State faculty who are working to address the climate crisis and other environmental and energy challenges. The goal of the Seed Grant Program is to support basic and applied research on strategic interdisciplinary topics that leverage faculty expertise across the University. It also looks to develop new interdisciplinary research teams and position them for high-impact research and substantial external funding success. The program also encourages pursuit of novel research in IEE's research themes, including high-risk proof of concept projects. Lastly, it promotes research development and mentorship between junior and senior faculty.
The 2023 Seed Grant Program awarded 19 interdisciplinary projects involving more than 75 researchers from 10 colleges and seven campuses. The projects are addressing a wide range of climate change and environmental challenges, including developing new technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improving air quality and water quality, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, and adapting to the impacts of climate change.
Since 2016, the IEE Seed Grant Program has consistently resulted in projects that have gone on to obtain external funding. The return on investment for the program is currently at 12:1 or $12 in external funding for every dollar invested by IEE with more than $60 million in related external funding.
