Graduate students awarded sustainability grants

Awards of up to $10,000 are available for the 2014-15 academic year for graduate students interested in developing research programs related to sustainability, according to an IU press release.

Applications are due by May 5. Any IU graduate student in a research or professional program can apply.

“This seed funding will open up new doors for graduate student innovation as Indiana University seeks to become an international leader in sustainability research,” Director of Sustainability Bill Brown said in the release.

The Sustainability Research Development Grant program is an outgrowth of a pilot initiative developed in 2008, which was a collaboration of the IU Task Force on Sustainability and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Funds are applicable for graduate student fellowships as well as research. Individuals and teams of graduate students may apply, and if a team wins, the students will share the funds.

Michael Hamburger, professor of geological sciences and co-chair of the Campus Sustainability Advisory Board, said in the release that this collaboration of the academic departments and Office of Sustainability will hopefully bring new, innovative research to the campus.

“This grant program offers a unique opportunity for IU’s graduate students to develop innovative research programs that address fundamental issues of human-environment interaction,” Hamburger said.

“This unusual collaboration between the Office of Sustainability and three academic units will help catalyze new, interdisciplinary research efforts on the IU-Bloomington campus that might not otherwise be possible.”

Dani Castonzo