College of the Environment announces seed grant recipients

UW quad in the fallThis year, the College of the Environment launched a new Seed Grant Program designed to foster new cross-college collaborations that use a system-based approach to understand environmental challenges. We are pleased to announce the recipients of this inaugural funding.

Frankie Pavia (Oceanography)
Fang-Zhen Teng (Earth and Space Sciences)
Randie Bundy (Oceanography)

Development of a new analytical technique to better understand how organisms take up and modify certain chemicals from their environment, such as heavy metals like copper.

Anne Beaudreau (Marine and Environmental Affairs)
Alex McInturff (Environmental and Forest Sciences)

Research into how the combined challenges of climate change and institutional complexity affect subsistence harvesters in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

Marine Denolle (Earth and Space Sciences)
Abby Swann (Atmospheric and Climate Science)
David Montgomery (Earth and Space Sciences)

Introducing a new approach that utilizes seismic waves and optical fiber sensing technology to monitor soil moisture, closing the gap between on-the-ground sensors and airborne monitoring devices.

Lynn McMurdie (Atmospheric and Climate Sciences)
Jessica Lundquist (Civil and Environmental Engineering, Atmospheric and Climate Sciences)
Megan Dethier (Friday Harbor Laboratories)
Terrie Klinger (Marine and Environmental Affairs)

Investigating questions about the physics controlling fog and cloud cover, how they will change in the future, how they influence local ecology, and how to design climate adaptation and management strategies in the Salish Sea region.

“With these seed grants, we hope to support creative, collaborative approaches to research questions that require systems-level thinking and cross-College partnerships,” said Ginger Armbrust, the College’s associate dean for research. “I’m looking forward to seeing these projects develop over the next year and beyond.”

Seed grant funding ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 and will last for one year. Proposals were accepted from teams consisting of two or more faculty, researchers or staff from different units within the College of the Environment, in an effort to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.