Carnegie Mellon University
ER-18: Sustainability Research Incentives

Carnegie Mellon’s Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research encourages student sustainability research through a variety of programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Undergraduate research is supported and advanced through research funding available from the Carnegie Mellon undergraduate research office (http://www.cmu.edu/uro/), by engaging students in campus greening projects that relate to their academic work and research (http://www.cmu.edu/environment/getinvolved/committee/wishlist.html ) and support of student projects through the Steinbrenner SEED grant program (http://www.cmu.edu/environment/steinbrenner/seed-grants.html ) Graduate research is supported by the Steinbrenner Institute graduate fellowship program (http://www.cmu.edu/environment/steinbrenner/seer-fellowships.html ), which provides support for 3-4 PhD students each year. Support is also provided through special fellowship programs such as the U.S. Environmental Sustainability Fellowship (http://www.cmu.edu/environment/steinbrenner/sustainability-fellows.html) and by holding environmental research poster sessions and the annual Environmental Expo.

The Steinbrenner Institute was formed in 2004 as a campus-wide organization to facilitate, promote, and advance Carnegie Mellon education, research initiatives and campus operational practices related to the environment and sustainability Recent innovations developed by CMU researchers funded by Steinbrenner grants include: measurement and modeling of fine air particles, real-time sensing in drinking water supply networks, treatment of groundwater contaminants with engineered nanoparticles; optimization of environmental controls for clean coal technologies; catalysts for more environmentally benign paper-making and industrial cleaning and energy-efficient commercial buildings. In addition to leading-edge research, the Steinbrenner Institute offers competitive fellowships to talented graduate students, issues developmental grants to researchers, promotes and supports environmental initiatives throughout the CMU campus and fosters connections and coordinates new research initiatives. The Steinbrenner Institute also has a SEED grant program to support proposal development, workshops, and equipment acquisition or other support for environmental sustainability research efforts. The Steinbrenner Institute also encourages faculty research in sustainability by hosting periodic events with media to inform faculty about emerging environmental topics, and to provide faculty members with opportunities to engage media representatives about their environmental research.

http://www.cmu.edu/environment/steinbrenner/index.html