On a biannual basis, the Environmental Institute awards grants to UVA faculty in a variety of disciplines that advance solutions to tough environmental challenges. In this cycle, the Institute is pleased to announce two awards. These projects represent the novel and interdisciplinary approaches required to address some of the most pressing climate crises.
This group includes a Spark grant for a team that will work with a nonprofit organization to advance use of a mineral that captures carbon dioxide and a Rapid grant to a researcher who will learn more about hazard mitigation as North Carolina continues to recover from Hurricane Helene.
Spark Grant
Spark grants are awarded to provide seed funding for the creation of interdisciplinary teams that will go on to conduct solutions-focused research on specific environmental issues. Learn more about Spark funding here. In this funding cycle, UVA’s Environmental Institute announces the award of the following Spark grant:
Title: Evaluating Rock Dust as an Agro-mineral Amendment for Soil Carbon Capture in Loblolly and Soybean Agro-ecosystems
Team: Justin Richardson and Lisa Colosi Peterson
Description: Rock dust is a crushed byproduct of mineral resource extraction, and contains nutrient-rich, fine minerals. As rock dust weathers, it captures carbon dioxide and releases nutrients. This project will evaluate how commercially produced rock dust is as an agro-mineral to improve nutrient availability and sequestration of carbon (both inorganic and organic forms). Through a partnership with Remineralize the Earth, a nonprofit organization, the researchers will connect with rock dust producers to obtain information on economic costs, energy consumption, and carbon budget from quarry to commercial rock dust product.
Learn more about this project here.
Rapid Grant
Rapid grants are awarded by the Institute to support time-sensitive research requiring bridge funding and/or immediate impact funding. This includes research on extreme events to both inform responses to and anticipate future climate-based emergencies. It also includes time-sensitive funding needs for ongoing research aligned with the Institute's mission. UVA’s Environmental Institute announces the award of the following Rapid grant:
Title: Climate Warming, Forests and Hydroclimate Extremes in Southeast U.S. Mountains
Researcher: Larry Band
Description: Hurricane Helene resulted in catastrophic flooding and landslides in western Virginia and North Carolina in late September of last year. While heavy rains from the hurricane were forecast, the scale of destruction and impact on urban and rural communities was unexpected and devastating.
This project will build a set of remote sensing/modeling tools that leverage past research on inland flooding and community resilience to major storms to produce both long-term expectations of flood and landslide hazards and near real-time emergency hazard forecasts.
Learn more about this project here.
A committee composed of select UVA faculty reviewed all applications and made final determinations on awards. For more information about grants for research, visit funding opportunities for UVA faculty.