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The Institute for a Sustainable Earth wishes you a peaceful, sustainable holiday season and a restorative semester break.
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This week, the Embassy of France and the GW Alliance for a Sustainable Future convened a timely conversation, “Paris Climate Agreement 10 Years On: What’s Changed, What’s Next?” focused on international collaboration for climate action. During the event, Dr. John Kotcher, Interim Director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication (4C), shared new insights from the center's research. He highlighted how U.S. public opinion has shifted over the past decade, with a significant rise in the number of Americans who are alarmed about climate change and strongly supportive of climate action. Dr. Kotcher noted that this trend mirrors global sentiment and emphasized that framing climate change as a public health issue remains one of the most effective strategies for engaging diverse audiences and motivating meaningful action. Dr. Kotcher was joined at the event by colleagues Daniel Reed, 4C's Associate Director, and Dr. Julianna Gwiszcz, ISE's Associate Director, all there to help represent GMU's active leadership in the global climate change scholar-practitioner community.
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Help enhance George Mason University Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity!
The Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Impact (ORIEI) Research Development Services in collaboration with George Mason University Libraries is developing a central resource of successful grant applications for all of our academic units. These grants will be stored in a private Open Science Framework platform. Only users approved by Research Development will be allowed to access grant documents.
We would appreciate if you would be willing to share your funded grant proposal within this secure repository. At a minimum we would need the narrative description of the project (e.g. “research strategy” or “project description”). All other application components (and reviewer comments) are welcomed, but optional. This is a voluntary program, and we will not share documents without investigator permission.
Permission to access grants within this repository will only be provided to George Mason University community members who agree to the following terms:
- Documents within the repository are to be used as examples for insight on optimal application development and presentation. Copying and pasting sections from these documents into proposals is NOT allowable.
- Documents are for individual use only. Do not disseminate or share with others. Your Mason collaborators must receive our permission for their own individual access.
- It is prohibited to use documents from this repository in artificial intelligence applications.
- Please note, the OSF site displays a share icon that appears to generate links from our repository to share via email and social media. These links will NOT work for individuals without permission to access our private site. We also ask you not to use. This feature is intended for public data sharing projects on OSF and does not apply (or work) for our private grant repository.
If you are willing to share your successful grant application as a resource, please email the materials to Leslie Frieden, lfrieden@gmu.edu. All materials will be confidential. In addition to the application, please provide the following information to help us categorize your grant sample using this brief intake form. There is an option on this form to indicate whether you would be available to serve as a resource for investigators wishing to learn more about the funding sponsor and grant program. If so, we would include your George Mason University email address in the supporting information for your grant sample.
Please note we intend for this to be centrally managed through Research Development Services. If you would like additional permission settings or additional terms and conditions for sharing, please contact lfrieden@gmu.edu.
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The Virginia Climate Assessment is the first comprehensive report to clearly explain what we know about Virginia’s changing climate—and what those changes mean for our economy, agriculture, transportation systems, and infrastructure.
This session is a great opportunity to hear directly from Dr. Kinter about the report’s key findings, implications, and what they mean for Virginia’s future.
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Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Month is a global initiative led by Solve Climate 2030 sparking real dialogue on climate solutions and justice in classes and in communities around the world.
Climate Justice requires all of us. Not just climate experts, but everyone, no matter your discipline. We all need to start talking about climate. We need to move from climate despair to climate repair. Together we are planting the seeds for solutions in our communities, one conversation at a time.
To learn more about Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Month 2026, consider joining an upcoming informational webinar. [Note: webinars are duplicative, so you need only attend one]:
Monday, December 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM EST. Click here to register.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 at 9:00 AM EST. Click here to register.
**If any GMU faculty, staff, students or external partners are looking for a way to contribute to Worldwide Climate and Justice Education Month in March 2026, please contact ISE Associate Director, Dr. Julianna Gwiszcz (jgwiszcz@gmu.edu), who will be coordinating ISE activities.
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(February 28-March 3, 2026)
The 2026 Our Planet, Our Health Convention will convene health professionals, researchers, community leaders, and policy experts to tackle one of the most urgent issues of our time: the growing impact of climate change on health. Hosted by the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, a program of GMU's Center for Climate Change Communication, this event will take place both in-person and virtually from March 1-2, 2026, with an optional pre-convention partner day on February 28 and educational visits to Congress on March 3.
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Additional Funding Resources
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Have a science question at the intersection of people and nature that could benefit from interdisciplinary collaboration?
The Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) is now accepting concept notes for its next round of funding for new working groups to tackle the most pressing issues in conservation and development!
SNAPP, a global collaboration between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), is based in collaborative science and encourages working group and outcome development that are co-designed by scientists, decision-makers, and implementers. The SNAPP process brings together working groups of 12-15 members from a variety of sectors and disciplines to convene 2-3 times in person over a 24-month period. With the support of a full-time Research Fellow, between convenings members collaborate remotely; work with long-term implementation partners; develop and test tools and products; publish science outcomes; and identify emerging opportunities for tangible, lasting change.
This cycle requires submission of a concept note for review and approval prior to accessing the full proposal. If you have an interdisciplinary idea that combines existing datasets in novel ways, incorporates the perspectives of practitioners from the outset, and connects science, nature, human well-being, and action, we encourage you to apply.
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The Transatlantic Research Partnership (TRP) provides a 2-year grant to support collaborative research projects, jointly led by US-based and France-based scholars. The program fosters an interdisciplinary community of France- and US-educated researchers, enhancing mobility and amplifying the impact of their research on academia and society.
TRP serves as an incubator for ambitious initiatives and a gateway for US-educated scholars to participate in EU projects based in France, such as ERC grants, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, and Cost Actions. The program also facilitates international research practice and professional socialization for Ph.D. candidates and early career scholars.
Research activities supported by the TRP include transatlantic mobility and engagement with one or more United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more on the SDG framework, please consult the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals here.
The Call for Applications is Open
Application Deadline : February 15, 2026
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The Gulf Research Program's Science Policy Fellowship program helps scientists hone their skills by putting them to practice for the benefit of Gulf Coast communities and ecosystems. Fellows gain first-hand experience as they spend one year on the staff of federal, state, local, or non-governmental agencies in the Gulf region.
With the guidance of a mentor, fellows delve into activities like policy development, evaluation, restoration planning, grants management, and stakeholder outreach and learn what it takes to make scientific information not just useful but usable. Meanwhile, host offices get a talented technical expert with a fresh perspective and a new network of contacts across the Gulf region.
Fellows who have completed an MA, MS, or MPH/MSPH degree or who are currently enrolled in a doctoral program will receive an annual stipend of $58,000. Fellows who have completed a PhD, ScD, EngD, MD, DrPH, or DVM will receive an annual stipend of $63,000.
Applicants must be currently enrolled in a doctoral program or hold an eligible degree. Applicants currently enrolled in a doctoral program must take a leave of absence for the duration of the fellowship.
Areas of research--social and behavioral sciences, health sciences and medicine, engineering and physical sciences, earth and life sciences, and interdisciplinary scientific fields relevant to one or more initiatives of the Gulf Research Program.
Applications open: December 4, 2025
Applications close: February 26, 2026
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The Chateaubriand Fellowship is a grant offered by the Embassy of France in the United States. It supports outstanding PhD students from U.S institutions who wish to conduct part of their doctoral research in France for a period ranging from 4 to 9 months. Chateaubriand fellows are selected through a merit-based competition, with expert evaluation in France and in the United States.
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math & Health:
The Chateaubriand fellowship is a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Biology-Health (STEM) for doctoral students aims to reinforce collaboration partnership or joint projects between French and American research teams. This fellowship is offered by the Office for Science & Technology (OST) of the Embassy of France in partnership with American universities and French research organizations such as Inserm and Inria. It is a partner of the National Science Foundation’s GROW program.
Humanities & Social Sciences:
The Chateaubriand Fellowship in Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) is offered by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. The HSS program targets outstanding PhD students enrolled in U.S. institutions who seek to engage in research in France in any discipline of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The HSS Chateaubriand program is supported by Campus France which provides assistance to fellows on site.
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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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