University of Louisville
ER-18: Sustainability Research Incentives

• Conn Center Fellows: The Leigh Ann Conn Fellows Program funds grads & undergrads planning to conduct renewable energy-related research. Areas include Solar Decathlon, Solar Manufacturing R&D, Biofuels/Biomass R&D, and Materials Discovery/Manufacturing. • Students interested in social sustainability are encouraged seek funding through the Anne Braden Institute's Social Justice Research Awards. Graduate and undergraduate students from any discipline are asked to engage one or more social justice topics, with a preference given to papers engaging race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, environmentalism, disability, and/or age. The best two undergraduate applications receive $100 each, while the best graduate application receives $300. • The Ali Scholars Program, offered by the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice to full-time undergraduate UofL students, is a unique 2-year experience combining training, research and service in the areas of violence prevention and peace building in an urban living context. A special emphasis is placed on understanding and addressing the social conditions that impact those issues. Scholars will receive a $500 scholarship each semester, for a total program scholarship of $2,000. • Students interested in researching sustainability are encouraged to apply for UofL's Intramural Research Incentive Grants: o Vice President for Research Undergraduate Research Scholar Grant (URS): The primary purpose of a URS is to enrich the research, scholarship and creative arts experience of the undergraduate student by involving the student in research collaboration with a faculty member. The student is expected to become intellectually involved in design and execution of the research project, not just serve as "another pair of hands." The undergraduate student writes the URS proposal after he or she has identified a faculty mentor who is interested in serving as the mentor. The faculty mentor is expected to make arrangements for the student to receive up to three hours of course credit for the research or creative activity and provide a grade for the work completed by the student. Students are encouraged to present a poster, or an equivalent demonstration of the research, on the Undergraduate Research Day. The student may request up to $300 (dry lab/creative activity) or $500 (wet lab) for supplies and expenses required for conducting the research or creative activity. URS proposals may be submitted at any time. o Undergraduate Research Grants (URG): The primary purpose of a URG is to enhance the research environment of a unit by involving undergraduate students in research in collaboration with a faculty mentor. Special consideration will be given to projects in which the student is intellectually involved in design and execution of the research. Students will be expected to provide a written report on their project participation and have it evaluated by faculty. Students are encouraged to co-author scholarly research papers with their mentors. Priority will be given to projects involving UofL undergraduates and no awards will be made to projects in which students provide just "another pair of hands." URG funds may be used for undergraduate student stipends and supplies. They may range from a 10-week summer project to a full year. Grants up to $3,000 are provided.

• The Office of Community Engagement Faculty Grants Program fosters UofL faculty and staff projects within the west Louisville community and Jefferson County. This is a great opportunity for those interested in weaving community-based sustainability issues into courses and research! The grant focuses on infrastructure development, research and non-research projects which hold a community participatory action perspective. • The Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research Faculty Research Fund helps sponsor, stimulate and disseminate research relevant to the Louisville community and the U.S. South on social movements, citizen participation, and public policy reforms around racial and social justice. Proposals that engage one or more social justice topics (historical or contemporary) such as race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, environmentalism, disability, and/or age will be given preference. Any faculty member in the College of Arts & Sciences is eligible to apply for a grant of up to $1,000 during a period not to exceed 12 months (this includes term and part-time faculty). Proposals that represent faculty/community or faculty/student collaborations are especially encouraged. • KREC Competitive Grants Program (FY2008-2011) The Kentucky Renewable Energy Consortium (KREC), administered by the Kentucky Pollution Prevention Center (KPPC) at UofL's J.B. Speed School of Engineering, encouraged faculty research through the Competitive Grants Program. KREC advanced and funded innovative research on renewable energy and energy efficiency that focuses on developing resource-responsible technologies and practices for the energy sector. A total of $864,000 was awarded to seven recipients in the latest round of grants. Though grant funding has expired, you can still join KREC on Facebook to share information, discuss ideas, ask questions or post items of interest to the renewable energy community and help get the word out about what's happening in renewable energy and energy efficiency in Kentucky! • Faculty interested in researching sustainability are encouraged to apply for UofL's Intramural Research Incentive Grants: o Multidisciplinary Research Grant (MRG): The goal of the MRG program is to identify new areas of promising multidisciplinary research in the university that will lead to improvements in federally-funded research competitiveness. The focus is to seed innovative research activities that have potential for competing in multidisciplinary extramurally funded grants programs. NSF's Crosscutting/Interdisciplinary programs and NIH's programs in Biomedical Engineering are two specific examples, but other federal funding agencies support multidisciplinary research programs in specific high priority areas as well. Applicants are required to be full-time faculty members. Awards will be made up to $10,000 for one year. o Project Completion Grant (PCG): The primary purpose of a PCG is to assist faculty who are nearing the end of a scholarly project and need some ancillary support to bring it to completion. PCG funds may be used to cover the costs of travel required to complete the project, manuscript preparation, library computer searches, release from teaching duties, or other reasonable and appropriate research expenses. Grants up to $4,000 are provided. o Research Initiation Grant (RIG): The primary purpose of a RIG is to assist faculty in the initiation of new research projects. Funds may be used for equipment, expendable supplies, travel necessary for the conduct of the research, student wages, release from teaching duties, or other reasonable and appropriate research expenses. In general, priority is given to new faculty, those entering new areas of research and scholarship and others who have not previously received an RIG. Grants up to $5,000 are provided. o Research On Women Grant (ROW): This grant is available to full- and part-time faculty. The primary purpose of an ROW grant is to provide support to stimulate scholarship on women and encourage research on women's issues. Funds may be used for equipment, expendable supplies, travel necessary for the conduct of the research, student wages, release from teaching duties, or other reasonable and appropriate research expenses. Grants are provided up to $4,000.