Sustainability Programs

Research Seed Funding and External Collaboration Funds for Sustainability/Decarbonization

The RO is pleased to announce two new internal funding programs to promote nationally competitive team research in the critically vital areas of sustainability and carbon management. The program objectives are to 1) foster new research areas or 2) provide a critical enhancement to an existing area so that the teams grow in their national competitiveness.

The two programs are 1) a new seed funding program and 2) a new workshop colloquium funding program to promote greater external engagement:

Decarbonization Research Seed Funding Program

The research seed funding program (up to $50K/yr, renewable for one additional year with demonstrated progress) fosters the development of team to submit for nationally competitive funding within 12 months. 

The deadline is February 1, 2022 by CoB to WVU_Internal@mail.wvu.edu. Up to three awards will be made.

Areas of Research

Areas of interest include but are not restricted to:

• Alternative fuels/energy And other relevant research into technologies for to facilitate greater carbon management
• Carbon Dioxide capture and/or storage and/or utilization
• More sustainable practices for energy intensive/carbon intensive industries

Consult with the RO ( sheena.murphy@mail.wvu.edu) to determine whether additional areas of research will be considered.

Proposals

Proposals will be judged on the following criteria:

• Relevance and impact to a significant challenge in carbon management and sustainability research
• Articulated synergy of the team who by means of their combined skills present a well-integrated and complementary approach to the research
• Degree to which effort is new and not merely the next incremental step in an existing research program.

All proposals should include the components below in a single PDF document and be clearly marked by section. Proposals that fail to comply with these requirements will not be reviewed.

• Title and Team (list all senior members of the team and affiliations)
• Proposal/Project Plan: Describe the:
  • Aims. What are you trying to do? How is this new or different than what you have done in the past.
  • Significance. Why is this important? 
  • Expected outcomes of the project. Highlight any new or creative directions, future payoff potential, or value/impact.
  • Describe why the concept will be competitive for future external sponsor funding and identify specific external programs to be targeted for future funding requests; 
  • Describe why this particular team was selected and the integration of skill sets.
• The maximum length is 5 pages, including tables, figures, charts, references, and any other supporting information.
• Supplemental Materials (these materials do not count toward the 5-page proposal limit): 
  • Curriculum Vitae of all the Senior Personnel: Up to 2 pages.
  • Abstract/Project Summary: Provide a concise summary of the project accessible to general audiences (one-page maximum). 
  • Budget and Budget Justification:  Budget requests are intended to support postdocs, graduate students or undergraduates and provide funds for the research efforts (equipment, supplies). 

Submissions

Proposals must be submitted by a team of two or more tenure/tenure track faculty. Funds can be used to support activities and expenses which may include student stipends (Ph.D. students preferred), staff support, equipment purchases, materials and supplies and workshop/travel to develop external partnerships. Work with external partners is encouraged, but funds will only support research expenses associated with WVU based activity with the exception of travel by or to external partners. (No support will be permitted for tenure/tenure track faculty salaries). The expectation is that these funds will seed the development of externally supported research which will accommodate tenure/tenure track faculty summer salary.

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2022

Carbon Management Workshop/Colloquia Funding

The Workshop/Colloquia Funding program will provide up to $5K (with a required 1:1 match for a total of $10K) to bring arrange a workshop or bring in a speaker (in person or remote). 

The goal is to foster a more expansive sustainability/carbon management network for WVU that includes external partners from academia, national laboratories and industry. Both domestic and international partners are encouraged. Proposals will be evaluated on a rolling basis. Funding will be for actual expenses (travel, meals and accommodations, honoraria, refreshments for workshop/colloquia, room and equipment rental).

Possible Options

• Nationally prominent researcher for a 1-2 day visit to include a lecture appropriate for a broad scientific audience and meetings with faculty and students
• 1-2 day workshop to foster external collaboration
• Other exchanges that demonstrate that the event will foster greater collaboration within WVU and with external partners 

Proposal Requirements

(no more than 2 pages)

• Organizer (name, title, department)
• Type of event and area of research interest
• External speaker (name, title, affiliation and area of expertise). Provide details on any previous connection or visits to WVU.
• Approximate date, location and expected audience (size and type (faculty, student etc.)
• With whom will the speaker meet 
• If the event is a workshop please provide a description of theme and anticipated participants
• Budget (estimate expenses for each category of expense)
• Any additional information that you deem of value in the evaluation process

Submit inquires and proposals to sheena.murphy@mail.wvu.edu