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Final Newsletter of 2020
Today’s newsletter is the final issue for the fall semester. ISE will resume distributing weekly announcements again on Monday, January 25, 2021. Enjoy the winter break!
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ISE seeks Mason students for new Global Sustainability Scholars (GSS) Fellows Program
The Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) is pleased to announce our participation in the newly created Global Sustainability Scholars (GSS) Fellows program. This program offers graduate students 10-week paid summer fellowships in global sustainability organizations. Students will be placed in international organizations, such as Future Earth or the Belmont Forum, to gain work experience, receive mentorship and professional development training, and build an international professional network in sustainability science. Fellows will be paid a stipend of $8,000 for their full participation in the program. Each fellowship may provide different opportunities and experiences; however, all Fellows will have a core curriculum and a GSS mentor.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have the proper legal documentation to travel abroad (passport) beginning May 2021. Applications are due January 31, 2021. Please share news of this opportunity with your graduate students!
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Office of Sustainability’s Greenhouse & Gardens Academic Internship Program
Encourage students to design their custom academic internship with the Office of Sustainability’s Greenhouse & Gardens program. Students can earn academic credit while learning about composting, sustainable food systems, pollinators, hydroponic food production, and more! Deadline for applications is January 8th, 2021. More information about the internship here. Interested students should email Doni Nolan. For promotional materials contact Ben Auger.
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Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
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Partner with Mason Students to Design your Science Communication Strategy
Do you work in an area of environmental or sustainability science? If so, apply now to partner with Mason's spring 2021 graduate Environmental Science Communication course and receive evidence-based science communication strategies that fit your—or your office’s—goals!
To participate in this program, please complete the following survey questions to share your professional goals so you can be matched with a student with similar interests. You will be contacted in January with additional details about the program. If you have questions, please contact Karen Akerlof.
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ISE Faculty Profiles
The ISE faculty directory is a tool for you to find others with complementing expertise and for external and internal audiences to find you! If you haven’t yet submitted your research profile information for the directory, please complete this brief survey.
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US-Euro Relations
The Schar School's Power Lunch Event series gathers some of the world's top political leaders, journalists, and experts to discuss the prospects for the next four years of US public policy.Black Memorabilia asks the provocative questions: When are objects immoral, and when is it right or wrong to possess them? Does historic value supersede offensiveness?
Each week, influential thinkers address some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and the world. This week's discussion will focus on "US-Euro Relations" featuring Heather Conley, CSIS
Edward Luce, Financial Time, and Celeste Wallander, formerly National Security Council. The event will be moderated by Justin Gest.
- Date: Friday, December 18, 2020
- Time: 12:00pm - 1:30pm ET
- Location: Virtual
- Registration
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Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation: Distributed Chemical Manufacturing and Engineering the Elimination of End-of-Life Plastics
This program provides a funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research. For this solicitation, we will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in one of the following two research areas:- Distributed Chemical Manufacturing (DCheM
- Engineering the Elimination of End-of-Life Plastics (E3P)
EFRI seeks proposals with potentially transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge.
- Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Anticipated funding amount: $30,000,000
- Anticipated number of awards: 15
- Deadline: Preliminary deadline: January 5, 2021; Full proposal: April 19, 2021
- Contact: Sohi Rastegar
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Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks
The goal of this program is to fund convergent research and education that will advance sustainable regional systems science, engineering, and education to facilitate the transformation of current regional systems to enhance sustainability. To further the advancement of sustainable regional Systems science, engineering, and education, NSF will support full scale proposals and planning grant proposals for Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks (SRS RNs).
- Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Anticipated funding amount: SRS RNs Full Scale Awards (Track 1): $15,000,000; SRS RNs Planning Grants (Track 2): $150,000.
- Deadline: January 11, 2021
- Contact: Bruce Hamilton
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Biology Integration Institutes
The aim of the Biology Integration Institutes program solicitation is to bring researchers together around the common goal of understanding how the processes that sustain life and enable biological innovation operate and interact within and across different scales of organization, from molecules to cells, tissues to organisms, species, ecosystems, biomes and the entire Earth. The Biology Integration Institutes program supports collaborative teams of researchers investigating questions that span multiple disciplines within and beyond biology. - Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Anticipated funding amount: $15,000,000
- Deadline: January 13, 2021
- Contact: Reed Beaman
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Research on Emerging Technologies for Teaching and Learning
The purpose of the program is to fund exploratory and synergistic research in emerging technologies (to include, but not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and immersive or augmenting technologies) for teaching and learning in the future. The program accepts proposals that focus on learning, teaching, or a combination of both. The scope of the program is broad, with special interest in diverse learner/educator populations, contexts, and content, including teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in foundational areas that enable STEM (e.g., self-regulation, literacy, communication, collaboration, creativity, and socio-emotional skills). - Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Anticipated funding amount: $19,000,000
- Anticipated number of awards: 20
- Deadline: January 25, 2021
- Contact: Amy Baylor
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NEW: Proposed Cooperative Institute to support NOAA Marine Research and Ecosystem Management
The primary focus of this marine ecosystem research, conservation, and management, is the support of the sustainable use and stewardship of ocean and coastal resources. To this end, this opportunity will provide capabilities and collaborations to develop and apply new tools and approaches for monitoring ecosystem health and forecasting ecosystem change and human responses to change. This will include, but is not limited to research focused on: improved assessments and evaluation of fisheries management strategies and actions; evaluating the impact of human activities on marine habitats and ecosystems, including characterization of those habitats and ecosystems; aquaculture techniques, impacts and safety; and social science investigations relevant for the sustainability of coastal and marine communities, both natural and human.
- Funding source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Anticipated funding amount: Up to $36,800,000
- Deadline: February 8, 2021
- Contact: Shannon Louie
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Environmental Convergence Opportunities in Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
- Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Estimated Number of Awards: 5 to 6
- Anticipated funding amount: $8,500,000
- Deadline: Preliminary proposal due: February 11, 2021; Full proposal due: May 07, 2021
- Contact: Christina Payne
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Connected Communities
Connected Community (CC) is a group of grid-interactive efficient buildings GEB with diverse, flexible end use equipment and other distributed energy resources (DERs) that collectively work to maximize building, community, and grid efficiency. Under this FOA, DOE will select a portfolio of “Connected Community” projects totaling up to $65 million in varying climates, geographies, building types, building vintages, DERs utility/grid/regulatory structures and resource bases. Through funding these projects, DOE hopes to find and share technical and market solutions that will increase demand flexibility and energy efficiency. - Funding source: Department of Energy
- Anticipated funding amount: $19,000,000
- Deadline: Full application is due March 3, 2021
- Contact
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NEW: Build and Broaden 2.0
Build and Broaden 2.0 (B2 2.0) encourages research collaborations between scholars at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and scholars in other institutions or organizations. Growing the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is a national priority. National forecasts of the impending shortage of science and engineering skills and essential research workforce underscore a need to expand opportunities to participate in STEM research. NSF has taken steps to expand participation by focusing on research communities that are not well-represented in the federal research system. Through these steps, NSF is working to expand the volume and increasing the diversity, interconnectedness, and effectiveness of STEM workforce.
- Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Estimated Number of Awards: 25 to 30
- Anticipated funding amount: $5,000,000
- Deadline: Full proposal due March 5, 2021
- Contact: Lee Walker
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NEW: Integrative Research in Biology
This solicitation invites submission of collaborative proposals that tackle bold questions in biology and require an integrated approach to make substantive progress. The research should be synergistic and produce novel, holistic understanding of how biological systems function and interact across different scales of organization, e.g., from molecules to cells, tissues to organisms, species to ecosystems and the entire Earth. Such knowledge is critical to inform solutions to societal challenges, including natural resource management, resilience to environmental change, and global food security. Outcomes from integrative research will also inform and guide the development of new technologies that drive the nation’s bioeconomy. - Funding source: National Science Foundation
- Estimated Number of Awards: 10 to 20
- Anticipated funding amount: $15,000,000 to $20,000,000
- Deadline: Full proposal due March 16, 2021
- Contact: Karen Cone
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Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences
This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Research Announcement (NRA), Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) – 2020, solicits basic and applied research in support of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). ROSES is an omnibus NRA, with many individual program elements, each with its own due dates and topics. All together these cover the wide range of basic and applied research and technology in space and Earth sciences supported by SMD. - Funding source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Anticipated funding amount: Program will fund ~1250 proposals totalling ~$600 million over the lifetime of the awards
- Deadline: April 14, 2021
- Contact: Max Bernstein
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NASA's Space Life Sciences Training Program Summer Internship for Undergraduate Students
The primary goal of the Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) is to train the next generation of scientists and engineers, enabling NASA to meet future research and development challenges in the space life sciences. The SLSTP provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to perform cutting-edge research and discover exciting careers in space biology at NASA's Ames Research Center located in Silicon Valley, California.
The 10-week program begins on June 7, 2021 and ends Aug. 13, 2021. Interns accepted into the program receive a stipend. Financial support also is provided to interns who submit an accepted abstract as first author to the annual meeting of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research.
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People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design Competition
EPA's P3 - People, Prosperity and the Planet – Program is a unique competition that is open to teams of university students working to design solutions for a sustainable future. P3 offers students hands-on experience that brings their classroom learning to life, while also allowing them to create tangible changes in their communities.This annual, two-phased research grants program challenges students to research, develop, and design innovative projects that address real world challenges involving all areas of environmental protection and public health. Phase I serves as a “proof of concept,” where teams are awarded a one-year grant of up to $25,000 to develop their idea and showcase their research in the spring at EPA's National Student Design Expo. These teams are then eligible to compete for a Phase II grant of up to $100,000 to implement their design in a real world setting.
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National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) Conference
This virtual conference combines the NCSE Annual Conference and the Second International Drawdown Conference. Together NCSE and Project Drawdown bring our synergistic missions under one cohesive umbrella -- to improve the scientific basis of environmental decision-making and to help the world reach “drawdown”— the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline, thereby stopping catastrophic climate change — as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.
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Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021
The Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2021 (SRI2021) is the world’s first transdisciplinary gathering in sustainability – it will be a space of fierce advocacy for sustainability scholarship, innovation, collaboration and action. The annual event unites global sustainability leaders, experts, industry and innovators to inspire action and promote a sustainability transformation.
SRI2021 will be a hybrid event, with a diverse and innovative online program alongside onsite participation in Brisbane, Australia. SRI2021 will take place June 12-15, 2021 with activities, networking, training and more both prior and following the event. SRI is a joint initiative of Future Earth and the Belmont Forum. Early-bird registration for SRI2021 is now open.
- Date: June 12-15, 2021
- Location: Hybrid model: online programs alongside onsite participation in Brisbane, Australia
- Registration
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The Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE) aims to connect members of the Mason community with others across the Mason community–and with other communities, policy-makers, businesses and organizations–so that, together, we can more effectively address the world’s pressing sustainability and resilience challenges.
The ISE Newsletter provides up-to-date information on conferences, funding opportunities, and research pertaining to environmental science and sustainability. The biweekly newsletter aims to facilitate information sharing among researchers, practitioners, and relevant local, national, and international organization.
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