Grants

The Solar Commons (SC) Project seeks to change the current solar energy ownership model to one that supports the local community. It uses a public-facing dashboard tool to share solar savings with local, underserved communities. For more information on this project, see this article by Dana Hernandez.

Team Members: Kathryn Milun (PI), Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology, UMD and Minnesota Design Center, College of Design; Jonee Brigham, Minnesota Design Center, College of Design; Stacey Stark, Research Computing, RIO; Doug Thompson, American Indian Studies Department, UMD; Uwe Kortshagen, Department of Mechanical Engineering, CSE; Renika Love, Bois Forte Food Sovereignty Group, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Tribe; Martin Pochtaruk, Heliene, Inc.; Ellen McMahon, Research College of Fine Arts, University of Arizona; Brenda Encinas, Wright Elementary School, AZ

This project will plant more climate-adaptable trees in school or park forests and help middle schoolers understand the importance of the environment. For more information on this project, see this article by Dana Hernandez.

Team Members: Matthew van Wageningen (PI), Office of Sustainability, UMD; Gavin Buersken, undergraduate student, Eco Reps student organization, UMD; Ozzie Ramsey, undergraduate student, Eco Reps student organization, UMD; Nicole Nelson, undergraduate student, Eco Reps student organization, UMD 

This grant funded a tour of Vernon County, Wisconsin and workshop for UMD students encouraging them to consider sustainable flood hazard mitigation solutions in natural resources management. For more information on this project, see this article by Dana Hernandez.

Team Members: Kun Zhang (PI), Civil Engineering Department, SCSE, UMD; Ben Wojahn, Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department, Wisconsin; Samer Kharbush, Vernon County Land and Water Conservation Department, Wisconsin; Jen Schmitz, River to Ridge Disaster Resilience; Eric Barefoot, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Indiana University

Recipients: Julie R. Etterson, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, UMD, and Kathryn Schreiner, Large Lakes Observatory

Climate change and its accompanying ecological, societal and environmental impacts are among the most urgent topics of our time. To address this important issue, a diverse group of UMD faculty who are interested in or are currently doing climate change research and outreach will attend a two-day workshop to cultivate meaningful conversations that lead to interdisciplinary collaborations, grant proposals for basic and applied climate change science, and local citizen and professional outreach.

Recipient: Ryan Hueffmeier, Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth

A promising alternative to collecting fish for scientific study is using fish already caught by anglers. This project will enlist student workers to survey anglers at the St. Louis River Estuary near Duluth to determine feasibility of angler participation in a research program using their daily harvest. Survey data will provide information on how much participation might be expected as well as angler success and species harvested.

Recipient: Elizabeth Hill, Swenson College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota Duluth, and IonE Educator

The grant will be used to bring faculty and undergraduate researchers to the St. Louis River summit in March 2017, and to host three meetings to advance the creation of a model for leveraging student and faculty transdisciplinary research to address significant community sustainable energy needs in the Western Lake Superior Region.

Recipient: Alison Hoxie, CSE UMD and IonE Associate 

This Mini Grant project will send two graduate students to visit communities abroad that have successfully adopted renewable energy technologies, one in Switzerland and another in Germany. There, they will meet with policy-makers, educators and plant operators and learn about the successful drivers for making energy technologies more financially attractive, gain understanding about getting buy-in from community members, learn how to disseminate energy knowledge at all levels of education, and study the daily challenges and benefits of developing sustainable communities.

Recipient: Andrew Bramburger, NRRI, UMD

This study will provide baseline information on the importance of the St. Louis River Estuary as habitat for migratory, transient and permanent fish residents. Knowledge gained through this study will help to inform management of estuarine habitats and pelagic fisheries. Immediate project outcomes will include the formation of a team of expert collaborators and development of methods for examination of otoliths (ear stones), which leave a record of water chemistry that may be used to infer residency and movement patterns.

Recipient: Melissa Maurer-Jones, SCSE, UMD

Maintaining and managing sustainable water resources is critical to addressing global water scarcity and access. A group of UMD faculty who are interested in or are currently doing environmental water chemistry or water technology research will meet monthly throughout spring 2017 to facilitate and support conversations that lead to curricula development, interdisciplinary collaborations, and grant proposals for fundamental and applied water technology science.

Recipient: Aparna Katre, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Duluth

With an eye toward understanding how social ventures can empower social change for the disenfranchised, the project team will host a representative of Gram Oorja, an organization that helps implement solar and biogas micro-grids in rural villages in India, on the Duluth and the Twin Cities campuses. The representative will present a series of workshops and lectures about Gram Oorja’s vision and mission to solve energy problems and overcome challenges unique to remote villages.