Projects
Quantifying Biomass Intra-Particle Transport to Enhance Biofuel Synthesis and Combustion
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
This project is exploring how to convert agricultural and municipal waste into high-energy biofuels that could result in a fuel that is a net-negative when it comes to carbon emissions.
Reducing Uncertainty in River System Forecasts to Maximize Nuclear and Hydro Generation
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A team is improving weather and water forecasts that guide decisions to critical energy grid operations, specifically carbon-free methods such as nuclear energy and hydropower.
Reservoir Phosphorus Legacies: Reconstructing Long-Term Phosphorus Dynamics using Multi-Proxy Paleolimnological Analyses and Water Quality Monitoring
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
An interdisciplinary team is working to improve water quality by studying the effects of dams and reservoirs on phosphorus transport in rivers.
Survey of the Taxonomic and Functional Diversity of the Soil Microbial Communities in the Páramo of Chingaza (Laguna Seca, Colombia)
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
This project explores the microbial diversity in Andean Mountain tundra ecosystem soils under current climate conditions to understand how carbon is cycled in relationship with water saturation and projecting how these processes will change.
Transport and Fate of Microplastics in a Tidal Marsh Ecosystem, Delaware River
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A research team is measuring microplastics in the sediments and mussels of an urbanized tidal freshwater environment to the assess pollution impacts and the transfer of microplastics from land to sea.
URB-EC: Urban Embodied Carbon
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
This project is investigating the carbon effects of urban growth by developing an integrated modeling framework to quantify, assess, and predict urban embodied carbon under different scenarios of urban densification and decarbonization policies.
Urban Green Infrastructure and the Day-Night “Humid-Heat Islands” of the Northeast U.S.
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
This project is assessing humid cities in the northeast U.S. to demonstrate locally relevant evidence of urban greening vs. microclimate benefits to better inform and orient greening efforts to enhance urban climate resiliency.
Using Machine Learning to Design Novel Low-CO2 Cements with Optimal Performance
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A team is developing novel 3-part cements that will reduce the world’s reliance on Portland cement, which is responsible for up to 10% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
Water Cycle between Atlantic Ocean and Sahel: A Key Precursor of Monsoon MCS Rainfall
Awarded: 2022 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A team is working to understand ocean-land-atmosphere water cycle at a process level, which could improve seasonal forecasts of precipitation, and inform science-based policy to mitigate this region against climatic impacts.
AESEDA-HBCU Air Quality for Environmental Justice Network
Awarded: 2021 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A team of researchers is installing air quality sensors on campuses to study the link between air quality and public health, especially in communities of color.
Analyzing the Adoption of Solar Irrigation Pumps in India within the Food-Energy-Water Nexus: Implications for Carbon, Groundwater Depletion, and Agricultural Productivity
Awarded: 2021 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
A team of researchers is studying the potential impacts of solar irrigation pumps on climate change, groundwater depletion, and the food system in India, with the goal of informing policy decisions.
Assessing Distributional Effects of Coal-Fired Power Plant Operations on Pollution and Health
Awarded: 2021 | Project Type: IEE Seed Grant
Researchers are studying the environmental, health, and economic implications of coal-fired power plant reductions in the United States, with the goal of developing sustainable and equitable energy policy.