Princeton Environmental Institute Announces a Call for Proposals for Innovative Climate and Energy Research, Teaching, and Mentorship
Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) is pleased to announce a call for proposals on behalf of the Climate and Energy Challenge (CEC) to encourage research, teaching, and mentorship focused on multidisciplinary aspects of global climate change and the pressing need for discoveries leading to a new energy future. Several awards will be made at levels up to $100,000 per year, some for one year and some for two years.
The Climate and Energy Challenge is one of three long-term research and teaching cooperatives currently being supported by PEI as part of the Grand Challenges program – a campus-wide initiative that was launched in 2007 to address complex global environmental challenges including scientific, technological, and policy dimensions. A critical component of the Grand Challenges program is the integration of research with innovative undergraduate research supervision and undergraduate teaching, with outcomes including undergraduate research fellowships, mentoring of independent projects, and the introduction of new courses to the curriculum.
Since the Climate and Energy Challenge was launched in 2007, nearly $4.0 million has been awarded to support 20 faculty-led research endeavors that address dimensions of the global climate and energy problem. Project areas have included climate science, climate modeling, energy sources, energy storage, carbon capture and sequestration, and geopolitics of the Middle East. Recent awards have included projects on desalination and carbon cycling in plants.
Through the climate and energy cooperative, the Grand Challenges program has enabled more than 200 undergraduates to be mentored in research experiences on campus and in field locations around the globe; and has added 28 courses on climate and energy topics to the undergraduate curriculum.
Research Priorities:
The current Call for Proposal seeks to continue to develop innovative research, teaching, and mentoring in climate science and climate modeling, including collaborations with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL). In addition, support will be provided for projects in interdisciplinary areas not previously funded: in climate, energy, and health; in land use, bio-energy, and climate; in the environmental and energy aspects of urban sustainability; and in climate, energy, and the humanities.
Criteria for Selection:
Proposals will be treated preferentially that most effectively meet the following criteria:
- Provide experiential immersion experiences for undergraduate students, including opportunities for multi-year sequences of assignments beginning as early as the summer following the freshman year and culminating in robust senior independent work and publishable research;
- Contribute to the development of new courses or the modification of existing courses to enhance the undergraduate curriculum in the area of climate and energy;
- Allow faculty to move into a new area of research and/or to produce collaborations between two or more faculty from different academic disciplines; and
- Leverage seed money to attract larger grants.
Faculty previously receiving Grand Challenges support for novel research and teaching projects may apply for continued support for work previously funded, provided they have previously demonstrated a commitment to innovative undergraduate supervision within the context of their research enterprise and wish to develop further in this area.
Successful applicants will be funded, some for one year and some for two years, for amounts up to $100,000 per annum. The funding of one-year proposals will enable the Climate and Energy Challenge, with level annual resources, to support new projects a year from now, so one-year proposals will be considered preferentially. A single proposal can describe both one-year and two-year initiatives.
Proposals should be submitted using the online application form, should be no more than four pages in length, and should include the following:
- A project abstract or summary statement (not to exceed 200 words);
- A description of the research element including how the proposed venture relates to the climate and energy theme and how advances realized by the research might contribute to possible solutions;
- A narrative that describes the significance of the research in the context of competing research in relevant disciplines, research objectives, and milestones, and, where applicable, how the seed money will be leveraged to draw larger sponsored research grants;
- A description of teaching and mentoring elements that the faculty members will create, such as specific internships and/or opportunities for independent study and courses that will be developed or significantly modified;
- A project budget. Project budgets may include but are not limited to expenses related to course development; intensive undergraduate mentoring; research materials and supplies; travel; and support of postdoctoral researchers, research assistants, and visiting collaborators.
Questions about the call for proposals should be directed to gcseeds@princeton.edu.
The deadline for written proposals is March 15, 2013. A selection committee will review the proposals, and awards will be made by the end of April.
