The Ohio State University
AC-10: Support for Research

The Ohio State University is dedicated to advancing education, research, and innovation related to energy, the environment, and sustainability. To further those goals, the Office of Energy and Environment (OEE) offers student funding in three areas: Research, Scholarship and Travel. OEE also supports the Office of Student Life, Energy Management and Sustainability’s Student Sustainability Grants program sponsored by Coca-Cola. In the 2014-2015 academic year, over 10 student/student groups were the recipients of either the funding from the Office of Energy and Environment or from the Coca-Cola Student Sustainability. One project was the study and construction of the first Living Wall System (LWS) at Ohio State's Columbus campus. The project will evaluate the system as a tool of sustainable design. In addition to the funding opportunities listed above, the university has developed Discovery Themes to leverage Ohio Stat's strengths to address the technological, social, and environmental stresses that define today's global world. The Discovery Theme for Energy and Environment will create an unprecedented interdisciplinary collaboration of experts spanning the university and touching upon every specialization to fully address issues related to energy and environment. By working with experts within and beyond the university, Ohio State faculty and students will lead the way in developing scientific and policy responses to the global need for energy and the associated effects on the environment.

Ohio State gives positive recognition to excellent research, and we believe that that can be done both within and across disciplines. Thus, our policy is to give positive recognition to disciplinary, interdisciplinary, trans-disciplinary, and multidisciplinary research that is excellent during promotion and tenure decisions. Collaborations across departments have increased over the past three years, especially in our Discovery Themes focus areas, which include Brain Injury, Data Analytics, Foods for Health, Food and AgriCultural Transformation, Infectious Diseases, Materials & Manufacturing for Sustainability, and Sustainable and Resilient Economy. In addition, we are working to increase the recognition of a consistent contribution to a team by a researcher who has a unique niche that works better in a team project than individually. We are also supporting and promoting the value of outreach and engagement scholarship, which requires team work. The Ohio State University has an important role as a public, land-grant, research university to search for solutions to societal challenges. Among the greatest challenges that we face is the increasing pressure on planetary resources and ecosystem capacity. Our mission is to advance research, teaching and engagement that will accelerate the development of more sustainable and resilient production and consumption systems by enhancing the value and reducing the adverse impacts of material and energy flows through the economy and society. We seek to advance the science of sustainability by developing more holistic approaches to sustainability and resilience assessment and applying these methods to foster innovations in sustainable technologies, policies and governance. The Sustainable and Resilient Economy (SRE) Seed Grants program supports this vision by creating Linkage (forging trans-disciplinary connections among Ohio State faculty, staff, students and external partners) and Leverage (bringing new talents, expertise, and resources to our initiatives as a result of our collaborative work) to advance sustainability science.

Ohio State gives positive recognition to excellent research, and we believe that that can be done both within and across disciplines. Thus, policy is to give positive recognition to disciplinary, interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research that is excellent during promotion and tenure decisions. Collaborations across departments have increased over the past three years, especially in Discovery Themes focus areas, which include Brain Injury, Data Analytics, Foods for Health, Food and AgriCultural Transformation, Infectious Diseases, Materials & Manufacturing for Sustainability, and Sustainable and Resilient Economy. In addition, Ohio State is working to increase the recognition of a consistent contribution to a team by a researcher who has a unique niche that works better in a team project than individually. Ohio State is also supporting and promoting the value of outreach and engagement scholarship, which requires team work.

Beginning in October of 2014, The Ohio State University Open Access Fund was a successful pilot program that provided funding to Ohio State authors (faculty members, staff, and students) who wish to publish their work in peer-reviewed, Open Access journals that charge author fees. The Fund provided awards of up to $1000/article, which were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis for publications that meet the eligibility criteria. Ongoing programming for all research including sustainability research: • Knowledge Bank is an open repository where individuals have the ability to request embargo periods for 5 years. Limited supplemental data submission (case by case basis) • Open Access Publishing Program started in the last five years and several new journals have been launched https://library.osu.edu/projects-initiatives/knowledge-bank/open-access-publishing/ • Copyright Resources Services is a group that started working in 2012 and has expanded to include working on education around Open Access both in the libraries and in partnership with ODEE. https://library.osu.edu/projects-initiatives/copyright-resources-center/ • Data Management Plan Services started in 2014. Consultations around data management plan creation as well as long term storage options of data needed for publication are now available. https://library.osu.edu/researchcommons/data-management/