CISR funds competitive internal awards to support innovative research.
CISR Seed Research Funding Award Call for Proposals
The Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience (CISR) is accepting applications for the CISR Seed Research Funding Award. Proposals can be developed and submitted in three tracks of seed funding:
- Track 1 awards are “Early Career” awards. These awards are designed to complement or expand research efforts that may have also been supported by start up funds for early career faculty. These proposals should provide a clear budget detailing how seed funding will complement start up funding and how these funds will be leveraged together to support research development.
- Track 2 awards are “New Directions” awards, designed to support established researchers who are pursuing new ideas or topics around sustainability and resilience themes. These proposals can be for initial research activities to establish methods, collect preliminary data, or access equipment needed for external proposal development, team formation to target specific large funding opportunities, or other creative activities that initiate new research directions in areas related to sustainability and resilience.
- Track 3 awards are “Gap” awards, designed to address gaps in personnel, data analysis, or other research needs created by sudden disruptions or instability in federal research funding streams in areas related to sustainability and resilience.
Award eligibility requires being an affiliate of CISR (CISR affiliation is open to anyone on campus) and contributing to the CISR research community by submitting future external funding proposals that result from this seed funding award through CISR.
The fall 2025 application deadline is November 21, 2025, but rolling submissions and inquiries are encouraged.
Awards are targeted in the range of $3,000 - $5,000. The timing and types of expenditures are flexible, but generally should occur before the end of summer 2026. Proposals that emphasize how this support will contribute to future research proposal development will receive priority.
In your application, please provide:
- A title indicating whether the submission is to be considered for a Track 1, 2, or 3 award.
- A brief description of your proposed work and how it relates to sustainability and/or resilience. This should include any relevant citations to explain novelty relative to current state of the art or current literature.
- A clear description on how this award will propel future research productivity in sustainability and/or resilience research, providing as much detail as possible. This should include specifically identified agencies, programs, and/or funding opportunities that will be pursued as a result of the work supported by this seed funding.
- A detailed budget and budget justification, including project start and end date and details on what additional resources, if any, are being leveraged for the proposed project. These additional resources may include other sources of funding, data or laboratory needs, etc.
Proposal narratives, budgets, and budget justifications should be submitted as a single document via email to Chelsea Schelly, cschelly@mtu.edu. Potential submitters are encouraged to reach out with questions or to pitch ideas before developing a proposal. CISR looks forward to receiving your inquiries and applications!
Past Awardees
Learn about our past research and curriculum awardees.
Research
Dr. Yousef Darestani, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, seeks to understand the impact of climate change and sea level rise on coastal infrastructure and communities in his research. In collaboration with CISR, the Michigan Transportation Institute, and researchers at Michigan Tech, Dr. Darestani will apply social, economic, and environmental sustainability indices to infrastructure life cycle analysis in this research project.
Dr. Soonkwan Hong, Business, studies food prosumption in the degrowth mode of living. During his fellowship, Dr. Hong identified suitable funding sources and opportunities with Dr. Chelsea Schelly and other colleagues.
Dr. Judith Perlinger, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, models atmospheric and aqueous chemical concentrations and atmosphere-surface exchange fluxes in her research on chemical governance and sustainability. During her fellowship, Dr. Perlinger was subcontracted by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for a Bureau of Indian Affairs Great Lakes Research Initiative.
Dr. Ana Dyreson, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, studies the performance of renewable technologies and the operation of future electric power systems with a focus on the impacts of climate change on those systems in the U.S. Great Lakes region. In her research, Dr. Dyreson uses energy analysis and grid-scale modeling. During this fellowship, Dr. Dyreson was involved in multiple projects including a proposal to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation on electrification and climate resilience.
Early Career and New Directions
Dr. Kathryn Perrine, Chemistry, works with a team of researchers studying carbon capture and conversion. This funding will allow our group to uniquely measure chemical mechanisms at complex interfaces that will answer key questions in direct CO2 capture, mitigating the effects of climate change, and advancing the fields of catalysis, materials chemistry, and degradation.
Dr. Sriram Malladi, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, researches how to leverage environmental vibrations to enhance heat sink cooling, improving energy efficiency. This award enabled Dr. Malladi to gather seed data for a National Science Foundation proposal, which was awarded. Preliminary findings were published in the American Society of Mechanical Engineering conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems in September 2023.
Curriculum
Dr. Ana Dyreson, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, developed a graduate-level course to train students on solar resource assessment and modern solar energy technologies. This course aims for students to gain familiarity with various solar energy system designs, relevant software tools, and provides hands-on opportunities at the MI Solar Regional Test Center at APS Labs.
Dr. Laura Rouleau, Social Sciences, developed a spring break study away program to Detroit focused on urban sustainability and resilience. Students explored the social, cultural, political, economic, urban, and environmental histories of Detroit through historical research and application of ArcGIS methods.
Dr. Radheshyam Tewari, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, developed sustainability and resilience modules to be added to several existing departmental courses including Quality Engineering, Production Planning, Additive Manufacturing, and Lean Manufacturing, increasing the reach of sustainability and resilience content in course offerings.
Dr. Zhanping You, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, is redeveloping an existing undergraduate Civil Engineering Materials course to include modules on sustainable materials and concepts of sustainability and resilience.
Dr. Sarah Scarlett, Social Sciences, along with PhD student Val Pulido, developed a module for use in a department course, The History of American Architecture. The new unit will integrate concepts of green building, analysis of historical technologies for heating and cooling, and historic preservation policies for rehabilitation and reuse.
Dr. Kathryn Hannum, Social Sciences, developed a spring break study abroad program to Yucatan, Mexico focusing on sustainable communities and tourism. Students engaged with local vendors and stakeholders to learn about changes and development of local communities visited throughout the program.
Dr. Kari Henquinet, Social Sciences, developed the Sustainable Development and Communities course, now a core requirement for the Sustainability, Science, and Society undergraduate major and the Sustainable Communities graduate program. The course addresses topics of global development with a focus on BIPOC American scholars and scholars from outside the U.S. and Western Europe.