Apply for Campus Climate Lab Funding
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The Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS), in collaboration with BU Sustainability and the Office of Research, invites project proposals from BU student and mentor teams to use BU’s campuses as living labs for sustainability research. Mentors can be faculty or graduate students. These projects aim to generate new knowledge on climate change impacts, adaptation, and mitigation, with a focus on implementing just and equitable solutions.
How to Apply
Getting started: Develop an idea and form a team
All Campus Climate Lab research teams must include both student(s) and mentor(s). Mentors can be either faculty or graduate students. Collaboration with a BU Operations staff (e.g., Facilities Management & Operations, etc.) is necessary if there is a need to locate appropriate data and establish study sites on campus. Teams must align on a research idea to advance climate action, sustainability, and equity and justice on campus.
Do you have an idea for a Campus Climate Lab project and need help connecting with faculty or students, finding an Operations partner, or refining your proposal? We have several resources:
- Visit our Ideas Board, a Google Sheet where students and mentors interested in CCL can collaborate, connect, and brainstorm (accessible to BU emails only).
- To help you connect with faculty mentors, visit the IGS directory of core and affiliated faculty.
- Check back shortly to register for our next information and brainstorming session held in-person and over Zoom. The Campus Climate Lab team will be available to help develop and refine ideas before proposals are due. Participation in the brainstorming sessions is optional and will not affect the award selection.
Potential topic ideas
Below are a few examples of potential research themes and projects, some of which are drawn from the Climate Action Plan. These examples are intended to be illustrative – do not feel limited to these themes.
Learn more about ongoing and past Campus Climate Lab projects.
Life Cycle Assessment
- Carbon intensity of building materials, furniture & finishes, consumable goods, etc
- Analyze spending and emissions related to office supplies, vehicles, etc (see Climate Action Plan SCWG report for an early documentation of this)
- Analyze behavior change for Zero Waste across BU
- Build on previous CCL project “Analysis of Willingness to adopt personal care and cleaning products refill habits by undergraduate students living in BU dorms”
Equity and justice
- Identify impacts of BU waste generation on external communities
- Identify equity and justice aspects of BU energy and material use
Carbon offsets
- Develop offset program for faculty/staff and student air travel
- Study legitimacy & longevity of offsets program for an institution like BU (long-standing future-thinking org.)
Urban Heat Island Effect
- Identify best practices to reduce Urban Heat Island Effect
- Build on previous CCL project “Urban heat island effect: A study of various city surfaces and their impacts”
Air quality
- Understand impacts on reduction of air pollution (based on efficiency, electrification, transportation, etc)
Carbon sequestration
- Track, manage, and report carbon sequestration on BU properties (including Sargent Center and Tanglewood properties)
- Identify alternative mulching practices
- Identify a strategy that provides aesthetic needs of BU + carbon sequestration
- Build on previous CCL project “Influence of landscape management practices on urban greenhouse gas budgets”
Flooding prevention
- Identify best practices for land permeability to reduce flooding
- Understand effectiveness of groundwater recharge system, cistern
- Conduct research that would translate to City of Boston, Back Bay, other developers
Flooding mitigation
- Work with Campus Planning & Operations (CPO) Informatics & Strategic Initiatives, Emergency Management to identify flooding mitigation strategies
Extreme heat
- Conduct research around early warning signals, communications to neighborhoods
- Investigate culturally sensitive communications as related to extreme heat
Wind energy
- Conduct analysis of BU Wind data
- Build on CCL project “BU wind data analysis and curriculum development”
Personal transport
- Develop a personal transportation dashboard for BU community
- Identify a mobile-based system through which the BU community can make modal decisions based on real-time data including BU Shuttle, MBTA, Hubway, and traffic data
Apply: How to submit your research proposal
To be considered for funding, please submit a research proposal using this proposal template.
All proposals must be submitted as a single PDF to cclab@bu.edu. Submissions should range 2-4 pages max. We recommend that when drafting your project plan and timeline, apply for one semester of funding only and then apply for additional funding during subsequent funding cycles. Please note that if your project includes interviewing participants or conducting focus groups, please review BU’s IRB protocol and include a plan for IRB approval in your submitted proposal.
Research awards are open to students and faculty of all BU schools and colleges. Proposals will be evaluated by a team of faculty and staff reviewers drawn from IGS affiliates and BU Sustainability.
Research teams accepted into the Campus Climate Lab will be invited to participate in a luncheon to facilitate connections and exchange ideas across the diverse teams, as well as invited to events throughout the year geared toward the Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) community.
The Summer 2025 funding deadline will be announced shortly.
Funding
Funding will be commensurate with the scope of the project, with awards anticipated in the range of ~$1,000 to > $10,000 per year. Project duration can range from one semester up to one year.
Allowable expenses include student salary/stipend, research supplies, analytical costs, and publication/dissemination costs. For parity across projects, the undergraduate student hourly rate will be $15/hour with no fringe. The graduate student hourly rate will be $17/hour with 9.9% fringe.
Costs related to the implementation of findings beyond the research project do not need to be included in the project budget.
Please note that in accordance with BU’s Student Employment Office, students will need to complete an I-9 form with the faculty’s hiring department within 2 days of the project start date in order to be compensated for their work.
For more information regarding the funding process, please contact cclab@bu.edu.
Anthony Janetos Climate Action Prize
Students who participate in the Campus Climate Lab and successfully complete the requirements will be eligible for the Anthony Janetos Climate Action Prize. This prize honors and continues the legacy of Professor Anthony Janetos, who chaired the 2017 Climate Action Plan Task Force, leading to the creation of the University Climate Action Plan and the Campus Climate Lab.
This recognition will be awarded annually each spring to the student or team of students involved in a project through the Campus Climate Lab that is judged to have successfully advanced climate action each year at BU and beyond.
Timeline
Below are key events and deadlines for the Summer 2025 funding cycle:
Deadline for proposal submission: To be announced shortly.
To be considered for funding, submit a research proposal using this proposal template.