Earth Science Grants

Background

With generous support from the Weston Family Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada is pleased to offer one-year Boreal Research Fellowships to graduate students pursuing their Master's or Doctoral degree. Successful applicants will receive financial support for their projects along with mentorship from WCS Canada scientists and an opportunity to network with other Fellows and Fellowship alumni. 

Weston Family Boreal Research Fellowships support field-based research that contributes to WCS Canada’s conservation objectives or priority research projects in the Ontario Northern Boreal and the Northern Boreal Mountains of BC and Yukon. We encourage research that partners with Indigenous communities in these regions. Research that takes place outside of these areas and supports WCS Canada’s vision and mission, particularly around Key Biodiversity Areas, peatlands, and species at risk in the boreal, may also be eligible.

Our Mission: To save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.

Our Vision: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on Earth.

Please refer to additional informations here.

About Us

Founded over a century ago, the BES was the first Society in the world committed to understanding our earth through ecology, the science studying the relationship between living things and their environment. That commitment remains today with a global community spanning 120 countries and a strategic mission to find ecological solutions for a planet under threat.

With the scientific foundation of our seven world-class journals, the BES has a unique ability to convene the ecological community – bringing the right people together to seek solutions for some of the most pressing challenges of our time. In particular, we support policymakers and business by providing the evidence needed to ensure scientifically robust outcomes. 

About The Grants

Providing funding of up to £2,000 for individuals, teams and organisations to engage public audiences with the excitement of ecological science.

Engaging public audiences with the relevance and importance of ecological science and careers is vital.

This grant will support BES members to deliver independent outreach, public engagement and science communication activities that engage public audiences with the excitement, importance and relevance of ecological science or enhance the experience and skills of others to communicate ecology with public audiences.

The grant will support diverse formats that reach and engage public audiences in innovative, creative and impactful ways, whether through in-person events, digital formats, or physical resources.

All Grants must be for projects that meet at least one of the top-level BES aims:

• Communicate evidence-based messaging for what ecology is, how nature works, and the use of ecological science as a solution to local and global challenges.
• Raise awareness and public understanding of ecological careers, their relevance and importance, breadth, and diversity, and show that anybody can become an ecologist.
• Share how individuals can take action to benefit the environment, themselves, and society.
• Increase the ability of others to deliver the above aims through outreach and engagement activities.

Value

The maximum award is £2,000. However, the award may be used as part-funding for larger projects involving other sponsors.

If the BES grant is being used to part-fund a project, there must be a guarantee that other funding has already been secured. If other funding has been secured for this project, the additional BES funding should add a distinctive element/activity that would not happen otherwise that will greatly enhance the outreach activities, including increased engagement and impact.

Examples of costs that can be covered

• Travel costs.
• Small equipment and IT costs.
• Marketing.
• One-off hiring costs (e.g. a freelancer to deliver an activity, a logo designer).
• Venue hire.
• Evaluation costs.

The Research Grants Program of the Smithsonian Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) and the J&J Ruinen Fellowship in Tropical Forestry funds research projects associated with the ForestGEO network of Forest Dynamics Sites. The program is intended to provide opportunities for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career researchers (researchers who have completed their PhD within the last seven years) to use existing Forest Dynamics Sites and conduct research in collaboration with scientists currently associated with these sites.

Projects supported by the Grants Program:

The Grants Program supports research directly tied to ANY ForestGEO Forest Dynamics Sites, including projects requiring fieldwork, site data analysis, or the generation of complementary data that strengthens ForestGEO programs. Projects can be field-oriented, herbarium- or laboratory-based, or analytical. Research projects can be basic or applied in nature and based around the social or natural sciences. Project duration can range from 3 months to 2 years.

Successful proposals will require the use of ForestGEO site data (the site data must be integral to the completion of the project). Applicants do not need to be associated with a site prior to applying, but each applicant will need to contact a site Principal Investigator prior to submitting a proposal.

Background

The need for financial support of marine conservation efforts is acute in many parts of the world, especially in developing nations and those with little or no access to conservation funding. The Society for Conservation Biology Marine Section initiated the Conservation Small Grants Program (CSGP) to fund worthy conservation projects around the globe. The objective of the SCB Marine Section CSGP is to advance the conservation of marine biodiversity and the communities which depend on healthy marine systems by providing funds to individuals or groups for research, conservation, and restoration activities in support of the section’s Mission and Goals:

Mission

To advance the science and practice of conserving the Earth’s marine biological diversity.

Goals

• Be a global focal point for marine conservation
• Facilitate the dissemination of the science of marine conservation through education, publications, presentations, and media outreach
• Promote marine conservation as a priority for SCB
• Inform and facilitate the implementation of marine conservation policy
• Encourage communication/action across disciplinary, national and institutional boundaries
• Create the capacity to accomplish the aforementioned goals

Why Be A Fellow?

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF) provide opportunities to outstanding scientists and engineers to learn first-hand about policymaking while contributing their knowledge and analytical skills to the federal policymaking process. Fellows serve yearlong assignments in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government in Washington. Each year, the program adds to a growing corps approximately 4,000 strong of policy-savvy leaders working across academia, government, nonprofits and industry to serve the nation and the world.

Receive a stipend.

$99,000 to $129,000 per year, along with other support including reimbursement for health care insurance.

Develop new skills.

Every fellowship includes a yearlong Professional Development program. Commencing with a two-week orientation, a series of trainings and workshops in the areas of policy and the federal government, leadership, communication, and networking and career strategies are intended to foster fellows’ development as science policy leaders. The professional development curriculum is designed around specific learning goals and objectives designed to maximize success in the fellowship and beyond.

Please see FAQs for additional guidelines.

Sloan Research Fellowships support fundamental research conducted by early-career scientists.

The two-year $75,000 fellowships are awarded annually to early-career researchers whose creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments make them stand out as the next generation of leaders.

Terms of Awards

• Fellowships are for a two-year term, beginning on September 15th of the award year.
• Fellowships are paid in a single lump sum.
• The Fellowship amount is $75,000.
• Fellowship funds may be used by the fellow for any expense judged supportive of the fellow’s research including staffing, professional travel, lab expenses, equipment, or summer salary support.
• Fellowship funds may not be used for indirect costs or overhead charges.
• Fellows are obligated to notify the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation if they are changing institutions.
• Once per year, Fellows (or their institution) are obligated to submit both a substantive report (detailing what is being done) and a financial report (detailing how much money has been spent and on what).

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program

The Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Programs of the AMNH are designed to advance the training of each participant by having them pursue a specific, time-limited project in association with Museum professionals in the Museum setting. The applicant's project must fit into one or more of the main research areas of interest in the Museum's Scientific Divisions: Anthropology, Invertebrate Zoology, Paleontology, Physical Sciences (Astrophysics and Earth & Planetary Sciences), or Vertebrate Zoology.

Appointments are typically made for two years. In addition to a competitive salary and benefits, limited relocation, research and publication support is provided.

Co-Funding Opportunities/Special Funds

• 1a. Gerstner Scholars Program - Biology
• 1b. Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund - North American Fauna
• 1c. Lerner-Gray Fund - Marine Research 

If you are proposing a project that engages the mission one or more of the Museum’s special funds, you are required to submit a related abstract. Read the special fund descriptions on below carefully and apply accordingly. When proposals relate to more than one fund, multiple abstracts are required.

Gerstner Scholars Program - Biology

The Gerstner Scholars Program Generously funded by Mr. Louis V. Gerstner Jr., the Gerstner Scholars program encourages and supports groundbreaking research in biology, with an emphasis on genomics, including such topics as microbes, mammals, invertebrates, marine life, and computational biology. The work of scholars at AMNH co-supported through this competitive program will have implications for such broad themes as human and medical research that is informed by understanding the scientific composition and behavior of other species; and advancing our understanding of the evolution and diversity of species and the "tree of life." Chosen for their creative approaches to research questions that are likely to lead to important new discoveries in their respective fields, Gerstner Scholars will include biological scientists who have demonstrated outstanding performance that merits recognition early in their careers. 

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund - North American Fauna

The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund for North American Research Applicants proposing to conduct research in any phase of wildlife conservation or related fields of North American fauna - terrestrial and freshwater (rivers, lakes, streams), extant or fossil - are required to apply to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund. North America includes everything north of the Isthmus of Panama, including the Caribbean.

• There are two exceptions to this application:
• Applicants submitting research proposals on birds, even within North America, must apply instead to the Frank M. Chapman Memorial Fund Program,  not to the Theodore Roosevelt Fund.
• Applicants submitting research proposals on ocean/sea marine life and environments must apply to the Lerner-Gray Fund, not to the Theodore Roosevelt Fund.

Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research

The Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research Applicants proposing to conduct research in systematics, evolution, ecology, paleontology or zoology of marine life and environments are required to apply to the Lerner-Gray Fund for Marine Research.

• There is one exception to this application:
  • Postdoctoral applicants proposing to conduct freshwater research in North America should apply to the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund, not to the Lerner-Gray Fund.

Overview

The Huyck Preserve is a non-profit, independent field station with no formal university affiliation, supported by members and endowments. Huyck Research Grant awards are distributed each year to regional, national, and international applicants. The Huyck Preserve and Biological Research Station awards four to five Huyck Research Grants each year to selected scientists and graduate students. Over the last several decades, more than $250,000 in grants have been awarded to support research conducted at the Huyck Preserve.

Huyck Research Grants help fund research projects in a variety of disciplines that focus on the natural systems of the Huyck Preserve. A significant portion of the project must take place at the Huyck Preserve; studies performed exclusively outside of the Preserve will not be funded. We support work in basic and applied ecology, conservation biology, taxonomy, animal behavior, evolution, earth sciences, land use history, and other areas of natural science. The typical grant award is approximately $2,000, but can be as much as $3,500 for more established researchers and/or projects that involve extended residencies. Senior researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers are eligible. Funds may be used for the purchase of equipment, travel, food, and stipends for assistant/student researchers.

The Huyck Preserve will consider supporting multi-year projects. Researchers intending to extend their projects over more than one year should include in their proposal a clear, anticipated multi-year schedule for the project with a by-year budget. Approval of multi-year proposals does NOT ensure continued funding/permission to perform research at the Huyck Preserve after the first year; continued funding and permission is based on successful completion of that year's progress report and a work plan for the next year. The Huyck Preserve will make its best effort to continue funding multi-year projects at the funding level approved initially, but this will be contingent on budgetary constraints.

​As part of the Huyck Preserve's continued efforts to share scientific research with the broader community and the members that have supported research endeavors at the Preserve, Huyck Research Grant recipients are required to participate in scientific outreach while they are in residence through at least one of the following:

• A public lecture (e.g. as part of our summer Thursday Night Lecture Series, 
• an article in our bi-annual newsletter, 
• a guided public hike,
• a guest lecture for our educational programs. 

Grant recipients are also asked to submit raw data from research conducted at the Huck Preserve to add to its long-term database and to inform the Preserve of resultant publications. 

Research Grants

The Geological Society of London is a not-for-profit organisation, and a registered charity (no. 210161). Its aims are to improve knowledge and understanding of the Earth, to promote Earth science education and awareness, and to promote professional excellence and ethical standards in the work of Earth scientists, for the public good. 

Please note that you do not need to be a Fellow to apply, however if successful, you will need to become a Fellow in order to receive your grant.

The Society awards and administers a range of funds and grants for a broad scope of research activities (see individual below). The average grant has previously been about £1,500. 

Mike Coward Fund

• For fieldwork in structural geology as applied to regional tectonics

Edmund Johnson Garwood Fund

• For the encouragement of research in stratigraphy, with palaeontology, and in physical geology

Gloyne Outdoor Geological Research Fund

• For the prosecution of outdoor research preferentially of a palaeontological or stratigraphical character, and preferentially within the limits of the British Commonwealth

Annie Greenly Fund

• For detailed geological mapping

Elspeth Matthews Fund

• For members of the Society for geological field-based research anywhere in the world

Joseph Burr Tyrrell Fund

• To assist geologists of Great Britain and Ireland to travel to and in Canada; or to assist in the publication of meritorious papers by geologists of Great Britain and Ireland upon the geology of Canada; or to assist such geologists in any other way best adapted to further this object.

Robert Scott Memorial Award

• CASP (formerly known as the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Programme) has generously bequeathed an endowment in memory of Robert Scott, one of their senior geologists, who died suddenly in 2012 of leukaemia. The interest earned will be used to support a single research award of £2,200 each year

Jeremy Ingham Fund

• An annual award of up to £2,000 will be made for the encouragement of research into engineering geology

Distinguished Geologist Memorial Trust Fund

• This bursary aims to assist early career geologists, particularly those in industry, with professional development by contributing to travel costs or gaining experience. 

The Charles Bullard fellowship program supports advanced research and study by individuals who show promise of making an important contribution, either as scholars or administrators, to forestry and forest-related subjects including biology, earth sciences, economics, politics, administration, philosophy, humanities, the arts, or law.

The fellowship is a highly competitive program that only accepts 5 to 7 recipients a year from a large applicant pool.

Fellowship Scope

Research areas include forest ecology, tree physiology, soil biogeochemistry and microbial ecology, forest resource management, conservation and biodiversity, land use planning, and public policy. Fellowships are occasionally awarded in the arts and environmental humanities.

Program Affiliations

A major goal of the Bullard Fellowship program is to enhance research activities at Harvard Forest and build long-term collaborations that connect Harvard Forest with other parts of the University. Fellows can be based at the Harvard Forest or associated with other departments and centers at Harvard University. Potential fellows are encouraged to contact appropriate Harvard collaborators well in advance of the application deadline.

Potential fellows are responsible for contacting and making arrangements with appropriate Harvard collaborators, if required for their fellowship. Previous Fellows have collaborated with researchers and faculty at:

• Harvard Forest, Petersham
• Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain
• Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
• Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
• Graduate School of Business Administration
• Graduate School of Design
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy School of Government
• Harvard University Center for the Environment (HUCE)
• or a combination of these research institutions

Stipends

The Fellowships carry stipends up to $60,000; the amount of each award depends on the professional status and needs of the recipient and the duration of the Fellowship. Fellows have the option of having the award paid either to themselves or to the Fellow's employer.

In most cases, the stipend will supplement income received for devoting a period to research, e.g., sabbatical leave pay for an individual in academic life, appointments with federal support for training of individuals in federal public service, or educational leave with pay for individuals in the private sector. Fellowships are not intended to provide significant funds for original research.

Duration

Fellowships may start at any time after September 1. Fellowships are typically  Fellowships are typically 6 - 12 months in duration.  

Fellowship Location

The Bullard Fellowship is a residential program and Fellows are expected to spend a substantial portion of their Fellowship based at either Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts or at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Bullards who expect to spend more than a week or two traveling during their Fellowship should include details in their application.

• Fellows based at Harvard Forest will have a variety of resources available to assist with their Fellowship projects:
  • Research Resources: weekly seminars and lab groups (September - April), library, archives, LTER Annual symposium (March), office space, local telephone service and basic office supplies at no cost.
  • Housing: The Forest has furnished housing available for Bullards for $900-$1,600 per month for 1 to 5 bedroom units.
  • Local Transportation: Harvard Forest is located in a rural area. As there is no local public transportation, Bullards must have their own vehicle for transportation. The costs of obtaining a vehicle including insurance ($750-$1,500 annually); purchase of the vehicle ($5,000+) as well as maintenance and gas. Bullards are responsible for purchasing their own vehicle.
  • Petersham has many resources for its residents.
• Fellows based in Cambridge will need to make arrangements with their proposed collaborators for access to an appropriate office and/or lab space. Cost considerations should include research support costs (e.g. photocopying, office telephone, fax, office supplies, travel, lab/research/field supplies) and housing ($1,500-3,000/month, based upon size and location of unit). One source for housing convenient to Harvard's Cambridge campus is http://www.hio.harvard.edu/housing. 

The Leighty Foundation (TLF) is a small family foundation incorporated under Iowa law.  Directors and advisors live in Colorado, Alaska, and California.

Mission

To carry on the Leighty family legacy of service and stewardship by leveraging our time and talents, as well as our financial resources, primarily in the areas of Earth Protection, Education, Philanthropy, and Strategic Volunteer Engagement.Focus Areas Earth Protection “Environmental” has become trite, and does not convey the profound, urgent, and necessary changes in the way our species perceives and relates to our fellow species on Earth, and to its wonderful physical systems. The Leighty Foundation is especially interested in accelerating humanity’s transition to a sustainable, equitable, benign, affordable global energy system based entirely upon renewable energy sources — driven by radiant energy from our local star, the Sun, and by geothermal. Our earliest, most rewarding investments will be energy conservation and efficiency, while we invent and invest to “run the world on renewables.” We assist science education, so that we will better understand who and what and where we humans are, and to better understand Earth and our options for cooperation within its context and limits. Thus, we intend to invest wisely in Earth Protection, with both Foundation funds and with our personal involvement. An urgent Grand Challenge is transforming the world’s largest industry from about 80% fossil to nearly 100% renewable, CO2-emission-free energy sources, as quickly as we prudently and profitably can. Prudently: with acceptable social and economic disruption. Profitably: the huge amount of capital needed will flow only to attractive opportunities for returns. Electricity systems may be inadequate or technically and economically suboptimal for this transformation. Therefore, we now need to think beyond electricity, to comprehensively consider alternatives. Hydrogen (H2) and Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) are attractive, energy carriers, storage media, and fuels – as complete renewable energy systems. The Leighty Foundation Earth Protection program focuses on the Big Three challenges of time-variable renewable generation:

• Gathering and transmission;
• Low-cost, annual-scale, firming storage;
• Distribution, integration, and end-use of energy services.

Strategic Volunteer Engagement Our nation finds itself faced with a perfect storm with shrinking resources and escalating needs. Meeting these needs will require a dramatic increase in the number of people willing to give their time and skills as well as their financial resources. However, the challenge may be less about increasing the number of people who volunteer, and more about building infrastructures which connect people with worthy opportunities, and empower them to make a meaningful difference.There is a growing awareness that even if Americans respond to the myriad of calls for service, many charities are not prepared to effectively engage them. A recent survey found that more than 30% of charities do not currently have the infrastructure to effectively deploy volunteers. Now is the time for us as funders to seize this unique opportunity to financially support nonprofits in building their capacity.

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP)

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers opportunities for independent research or study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff. Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior researchers to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts. These fellowships are offered through the Smithsonian’s Office of Academic Appointments and Internships, and are administered under the charter of the Institution, 20 U.S. Code section 41 et seq.

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program offers fellowships for research and study in the following fields and encourages applications of an interdisciplinary nature:

• Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, including an emphasis on the tropics; Anthropology, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and physical anthropology; Astrophysics and astronomy; Earth sciences and paleobiology; Evolutionary & systematic biology; Folklife; History of science and technology; History of art, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts; Materials research; Molecular biology; Social and cultural history of the United States

Background

Providing the nation’s most promising early-career scientists and engineers with flexible funding and the freedom to take risks and explore new frontiers in their fields of study.

Each year, the Foundation invites the presidents of 50 universities to nominate two early-career professors each from their institutions. Disciplines that are considered include physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, astronomy, computer science, earth science, ocean science, and all branches of engineering.

In 1988, the Packard Foundation established the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering to allow the nation’s most promising professors to pursue science and engineering research early in their careers with few funding restrictions and limited reporting requirements. The program arose out of David Packard’s commitment to strengthening university-based science and engineering programs in recognition that the success of the Hewlett-Packard Company, which he cofounded, derived in large measure from the research and development in university laboratories.

From unraveling the mysteries of aging, to studying emerging virus strains for rapid detection and prevention, to better understanding the physics of insect flight, research performed in university laboratories has the ability to profoundly impact our lives. Packard Fellows are encouraged to think big and look at complex issues with a fresh perspective. The Foundation has few paperwork requirements, and Fellows may use their funds in whatever way would best advance their research.

Research on contemplation offers a rich opportunity for understanding the mind and its capacity for change, and programs delivering contemplative training in various settings have expanded globally. Our knowledge of cognitive, physiological, and clinical effects of these practices has grown steadily, in large part due to the ongoing efforts of the Mind & Life Institute and our community of scholars. Expanding from awareness-based contemplative practices to the cultivation of virtuous, prosocial qualities and actions is clearly warranted to support not only individual well-being but also interpersonal well-being, societal flourishing, and human-earth connection.

Our mission has evolved in response to what we perceive to be a global crisis of disconnection: from loneliness and isolation to racism and tribalism, our disconnection from one another is causing tremendous suffering for people and the planet. Understanding the role of the human mind—both in creating these problems and in solving them—will be essential as we face today’s challenges. How do minds work, and how can they be transformed toward interconnection and positive action in the world?

To this end, Mind & Life is pleased to lead the development of this field through our PEACE Grants. This funding mechanism supports projects that advance our understanding of wholesome mental qualities and positive interpersonal and social action related to Prosociality, Empathy, Altruism, Compassion, and Ethics (PEACE). Our use of the “PEACE” acronym is meant to encompass a range of wholesome characteristics, including gratitude, love, forgiveness, sympathetic joy, patience, and presence to others. With this program, we invite rigorous interdisciplinary research proposals that examine one or more of the following:

• practices, methods, or interventions that may cultivate PEACE qualities,
• basic mechanisms (psychological, physiological, social, developmental, etc.) underlying PEACE qualities and their growth, and
• the development of measures to rigorously assess PEACE qualities in various contexts (both in the laboratory and in the real world).

While projects do not need to have an immediate applied component, applicants should make clear how the proposed research could support positive action in the world. In addition, we have a special interest in funding PEACE projects within the following focus areas:

• Personal Well-being—Examining how to nurture positive emotions, including love, compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness, and the impact of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and anxiety in our lives.
• Compassionate Communities—Examining how the inner workings of the mind influence the formation of the views, behaviors, and social systems that separate us, and the role of contemplative practice in creating more compassionate communities.
• Human-Earth Connection—Investigating how the union of contemplative wisdom and science can lead to greater awareness of the interconnectedness of all life—and action—to support and sustain both individuals and the earth’s living systems.

In this context, “contemplative” approaches encompass a wide range of practices that involve introspection and awareness of mind-body states, including various forms of meditation, embodied or movement-based practices, reflective writing, contemplative prayer, and others. Note that projects do not need to include an actual contemplative intervention, but the research must be able to inform the development of contemplative interventions, or increase our understanding of whether and how contemplative practice might promote PEACE qualities. We encourage research proposals that work across traditional disciplinary boundaries, and use methodological approaches that meet the highest standards of rigor.

Grant Information

Two levels of funding are available through this program: up to $25,000 and up to $100,000 (USD). Grants will be awarded through a competitive application and selection process. Proposed research should be completed within a 2-year period, and annual progress reports are required for grantees to remain in good standing. 

The Explorers Club

The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation.

The Explorers Club is proud to support the scientific fieldwork of groundbreaking explorers around the globe — last year our grantees came from 6 continents and 24 countries.

Fjällräven Field Grant

The Explorers Club and Swedish-based outdoor gear and clothing company, Fjällräven, have partnered to create a grant program aimed to promote excellence in field exploration through scientific research.

Our shared values of conservation, education, community and preserving the instinct to explore are the guiding principles.

This grant award supports exploration and research to better understand our environment, a changing climate, and the interconnectivity of wildlife and civilizations around the planet.

The NSF Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) hereby solicits proposals for research infrastructure that is necessary to advance understanding of the Earth System including: the structure, properties and dynamics of the solid Earth and the interactions between the solid Earth and its biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and atmosphere; the history and evolution of life; and the history and dynamics of Earth’s climate. The EAR Instrumentation and Facilities Program (EAR/IF) will support meritorious requests for instrument-based and human research infrastructure that will advance understanding of the Earth system, contribute toward training a diverse geoscience workforce, and encourage efforts to support belonging, accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (BAJEDI). EAR/IF will consider proposals for:

• Equipment Acquisition or Upgrade
• Instrumentation and/or Technique Development
• Technician Support
• Community Facility Support
• Continental Drilling Planning

EAR seeks proposals that prioritize support for the U.S. Earth science community supported by EAR core or special programs .

Our Organization

Our mission is to foster the science and art of natural resource conservation.

The Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) is the premier international organization for professionals who practice and advance the science and art of natural resource conservation. We believe sustainable land and water management is essential to the continued security of the earth and its people. Our goal is to cultivate an organization of informed, dynamic individuals whose contributions create a bright future for agriculture, the environment, and society.

Who We Are

Our community of more than 2,000 conservation leaders represents nearly every academic discipline and many different public, private, and nonprofit institutions around the world. Our skilled members include researchers, administrators, planners, policymakers, technical advisors, teachers, students, farmers, and ranchers, all who share the common goal of building a more sustainable future.

SWCS members lead at the chapter level to tackle critical conservation issues of regional and local significance. Chapter events and initiatives engage members in field tours and other learning opportunities, provide a network of experts in the area, and educate local leaders regarding environmental issues in their communities. Members of student chapters on university campuses participate in activities that foster their interests in natural resource management and prepare them for successful professional careers.

Conservation Innovation Award

The Conservation Innovation Award recognizes an outstanding activity, product, or service by a group, business firm, corporation, or organization that promotes the conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources.

Criteria:

• The effort or activity is in line with the SWCS mission
• The effort or activity contributed to bringing about better conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources and/or better understanding of natural resource conservation issues
• The effort or activity is a result of an organized program and may include the activity of an agency or government
• The effort or activity had an effect over a large area, at least a large part of a state or province, or parts of several states or provinces
• The principal effect of the effort or activity was directed to other than professional conservationists

About

Climate Change AI (CCAI) is an organization composed of volunteers from academia and industry who believe that tackling climate change requires concerted societal action, in which machine learning can play an impactful role. Since it was founded in June 2019 (and established as a US domestic non-profit on June 14, 2021), CCAI has led the creation of a global movement in climate change and machine learning, encompassing researchers, engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, companies, and NGOs.

Mission

To catalyze impactful work at the intersection of climate change and machine learning.

Purpose

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can help support climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as climate science, across many different areas, for example energy, agriculture, forestry, climate modeling, and disaster response (for a broader overview of the space, please refer to Climate Change AI’s interactive topic summaries and materials from previous events). However, impactful research and deployment have often been held back by a lack of data and other essential infrastructure, as well as insufficient knowledge transfer between relevant fields and sectors.

The relationship between AI and climate change is also nuanced, and can manifest in various ways that either contribute to or counteract climate action. Thus, the use of AI for climate action must be performed responsibly, and ideally with quantifiable impacts.

With the support of the Quadrature Climate Foundation and DeepMind, we are excited to announce funding of USD 1.2M for projects at the intersection of AI and climate change. We are also grateful to the Canada Hub of Future Earth for serving as the fiscal sponsor for this program.

Grant Information

This program will allocate grants of up to USD 150K for conducting research projects of 1 year in duration. Research projects shall leverage AI or machine learning to address problems in climate change mitigation, adaptation, or climate science, or shall consider problems related to impact assessment and governance at the intersection of climate change and machine learning.

Along with the project, the grantees must publish a documented dataset (or simulator), which was created by collating, labeling, and/or annotating existing data, and/or by collecting, simulating, or otherwise making available new data that can enable further research. We require the dataset to comply with the FAIR Data Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable).

Projects are expected to result in a deployed project, scientific publications, or other public dissemination of results, and should include a carefully considered pathway to impactful deployment. All grant IP — e.g., the dataset/simulator produced and (if applicable) trained models or detailed descriptions of architectures and training procedures — must be made publicly available under an open license.

Relevant research includes but is not limited to the following topics:

• ML to aid mitigation approaches in relevant sectors such as agriculture, buildings and cities, heavy industry and manufacturing, power and energy systems, transportation, or forestry and other land use
• ML applied to societal adaptation to climate change, including disaster prediction, management, and relief in relevant sectors
• ML for climate and Earth science, ecosystems, and natural systems as relevant to mitigation and adaptation
• ML for R&D of low-carbon technologies such as electrofuels and carbon capture & sequestration
• ML approaches in behavioral and social science related to climate change, including those anchored in climate finance and economics, climate justice, and climate policy
• Projects addressing AI governance in the context of climate change, or that aim to assess the greenhouse gas emissions impacts of AI or AI-driven applications, may also be eligible for funding. (Studies addressing this area may be exempt from the dataset publication requirement.)

Proposals focused on using AI/ML to address climate change mitigation in the electric power sector (including, but not limited to Optimal Power Flow and related multi-level problems like Unit Commitment) may also optionally request support from a DeepMind Engineer, in addition to the financial award.

The Environmental Sustainability program is part of the Environmental Engineering and Sustainability cluster together with:

• the Environmental Engineering program and 
• the Nanoscale Interactions program.

The goal of theEnvironmental Sustainability program is to promote sustainable engineered systems that support human well-being and that are also compatible with sustaining natural (environmental) systems. These systems provide ecological services vital for human survival. Research efforts supported by the program typically consider long time horizons and may incorporate contributions from the social sciences and ethics. The program supports engineering research that seeks to balance society's need to provide ecological protection and maintain stable economic conditions. There are five principal general research areas that are supported.

• Circular Bioeconomy Engineering:This area includes research that enables sustainable societal use of food, energy, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and materials, with the reduction and eventual elimination of fossil fuel combustion that lacks carbon capture. The program encourages research that helps build the raw material basis for the functioning of society principally on biomass, drawing heavily on sustainable agriculture and forestry. Additionally, material flows must reduce or preferably eliminate waste, with an emphasis on closed-loop or “circular” processing.
• Industrial ecology:Topics of interest include advancements in modeling such as life cycle assessment, materials flow analysis, net energy analysis, input/output economic models, and novel metrics for measuring sustainable systems. Innovations in industrial ecology are encouraged.
• Green engineering:Research is encouraged to advance the sustainability of manufacturing processes, green buildings, and infrastructure. Many programs in the Engineering Directorate support research in environmentally benign manufacturing or chemical processes.The Environmental Sustainability program supports research that would affect more than one chemical or manufacturing process or that takes a systems or holistic approach to green engineering for infrastructure or green buildings. Improvements in distribution and collection systems that will advance smart growth strategies and ameliorate effects of growth are research areas that are supported by Environmental Sustainability. Innovations in management of storm water, recycling and reuse of drinking water, and other green engineering techniques to support sustainability may also be fruitful areas for research.
• Ecological engineering: Proposals should focus on the engineering aspects of restoring ecological function to natural systems. Engineering research in the enhancement of natural capital to foster sustainable development is encouraged.
• Earth systems engineering:Earth systems engineering considers aspects of large-scale engineering research that involve mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation to climate change, and other global concerns.

All proposed research should be driven by engineering principles, and be presented explicitly in an environmental sustainability context. Proposals should include involvement in engineering research of at least one graduate student, as well as undergraduates. Incorporation of aspects of social, behavioral, and economic sciences is welcomed. 

More information can be found here.

SERVIR, a joint initiative of NASA and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), fosters applications of Earth observations to help countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America assess environmental conditions to improve their planning and actions. This program element requests proposals for the SERVIR Applied Sciences Team (AST), which will improve the abilities of SERVIR regional hubs, national stakeholders, and users to apply Earth observations. The primary purpose of this Team is to provide geographic and thematic applied science expertise to regions supported by the SERVIR global network. Each AST member will propose projects to co-develop application(s) with, and transfer them to, SERVIR regional hubs to strengthen individual, organizational, and institutional capacity of hubs and their users to address users’ decision-making needs. Team members will also communicate, coordinate, and share expertise with each other and SERVIR hubs across thematic and regional interests. This program element will use a two-step submission process. A brief Step-1 proposal will be evaluated to identify proposers that NASA will invite to prepare an in-depth Step2 proposal.

•      January 29, 2025: Deadline for Track 1 "Coordination Hub" proposals
•      April 30, 2025: Deadline for Track 2 and Planning Grant proposals
•      April 29, 2026: Deadline for Track 2 and Planning Grant proposals
•      April 28, 2027: Deadline for Track 2 proposals

Focus on Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers

Synopsis of Program

Focus On Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers (FORECAST) seeks to facilitate the transition from status quo graduate career preparation to a student-centered model with a particular emphasis on building entrepreneurial and innovation capacity at emerging research institutions (ERIs). Transformers are scientists ready to tackle the challenges the nation and world are facing due to climate change. This opportunity will adopt the spirit of multiple directives for the research community; for example, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report on Earth System Science and the Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education report on Engaged Research. These directives call on the research enterprise to support the building of a robust scientific workforce ready to work with communities in addressing societal challenges. Through convergence research approaches to address societal challenges, the transdisciplinary researchers engaged in FORECAST will foster community resilience and the translation of research outcomes for societal benefits, as well as gain a broader understanding of the governmental context related to these issues. A new generation of scientists trained in "engaged research" will be expected to have a national impact in communities that may be disproportionately affected by climate change impacts. The program will build cohorts of innovative scholars from the full spectrum of diverse talent at emerging research institutions to include groups historically excluded in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Participants, who are senior students in undergraduate programs and students who are in master's degree programs, will be supported through intentional professional development activities. FORECAST participants must be US citizens or permanent residents.

FORECAST proposals will fall into three categories: Track 1, Track 2, and FORECAST Planning grants.

• Track 1 will support one Coordination Hub, to coordinate support for rising seniors from emerging research institutions (ERIs) or historically excluded and underserved groups as part of a national cohort to participate in structured professional development opportunities.
• Track 2 projects will support cohorts of Master's degree students at ERIs. Mentorship and capacity building should be central to the cohort approach.
• FORECAST Planning grant proposals will build capacity at ERI institutions and with the appropriate partners to undertake the activities necessary to establish a future FORECAST track 2 cohort.

The biodiversity found in nature is essential for healthy ecosystems and human well-being. However, the disruption and decline of Earth’s biodiversity is currently occurring at an unprecedented rate. The resulting shifts in biodiversity dynamics — including changes in the scope and structure of biodiversity — are increasingly significant but not well understood. Shifting biodiversity dynamics (i.e., shifts in scope, structure, and interactions of biodiversity) in turn influence functional biodiversity, which includes the roles of traits, organisms, species, communities, and ecosystem processes in natural systems. Changes in biodiversity dynamics and functional biodiversity are components of future planetary resilience under environmental change, including climate change. The connection between functional biodiversity and biodiversity dynamics on a changing planet is the main focus of the Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP) program. The program encourages proposals that integrate ecological and evolutionary approaches in the context of the continual gain, loss, and reorganization of biodiversity on a changing planet. To advance a comprehensive understanding of functional biodiversity requires a highly integrative approach – including consideration of spatial and temporal dimensions from the organismal to the ecosystem level, and from recent to deep timescales.

The BoCP program is a cross-directorate and international program led by NSF that invites submission of interdisciplinary proposals addressing grand challenges in biodiversity science within the context of unprecedented environmental change, including climate change. Successful BoCP proposals will test novel hypotheses about functional biodiversity and its connections to shifting biodiversity on a changing planet, with respect to both how environmental change affects taxonomic and functional biodiversity, as well as how the resulting functional biodiversity across lineages feeds back on the environment. Proposals that seek to improve predictive capability about functional biodiversity across temporaland spatial scales by considering the linkages between past, present, and future biological, climatic, and geological processes are also encouraged. While this focus complements several core programs at NSF, it differs by requiring an integrative approach to understanding functional biodiversity as it relates to shifting biodiversity under changing environmental conditions. 

The program supports both US-only collaborative proposals and proposals with international partnerships with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) of Brazil, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. International collaborative proposals are to be submitted jointly, with the US PIs submitting to NSF and the collaborating Chinese, Brazilian, or South African PIs submitting to their appropriate national funding agencies. These agreements do not preclude other international collaborations (see solicitation for additional details).

About

The Higher Education Program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce its third Call for Letters of Inquiry for the Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education initiative, continuing its investment in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and in the establishment of partnerships between MSIs and graduate programs nationwide.

Grantees awarded via this initiative will engage the expertise of MSIs—and the unique experiences of their faculty and students—to model effective systems and practices that remove barriers and create opportunities for equitable learning environments in STEM graduate education so all students can thrive. Grant awards will support sharing MSIs’ institutional know-how on equitable undergraduate and graduate education, as well as modeling that know-how to create systemic changes that enhance pathways from MSIs to master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics at partner institutions.

In addition to establishing seamless pathways, successful projects will address policies, processes, and practices that reinforce existing systems that are barriers to student access and success in graduate education. These projects could include efforts to examine or redesign graduate recruitment, admission policies and processes, mentoring practices, departmental climate, or other gatekeeping (or gateway) structures to and through STEM graduate education.

Since the barriers to equitable pathways do not end once students are admitted to graduate programs, Sloan is looking for evidence that projects will promote and enhance existing efforts to reduce and eliminate policies, procedures, and institutional climates and cultures that prevent students from successfully attaining a graduate degree.

Planning Grants

Planning grants will support work between two or more institutions (one of which must be an MSI) that are seeking to set the stage for the establishment of a partnership or set of partnerships that engage and model the expertise of the MSI to yield systemic change, but which first require an assessment of the need and timing for partnership activities. Projects must demonstrate a clear roadmap to partnership through a well-defined set of planning activities.

About

The Higher Education Program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce its third Call for Letters of Inquiry for the Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education initiative, continuing its investment in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and in the establishment of partnerships between MSIs and graduate programs nationwide.

Grantees awarded via this initiative will engage the expertise of MSIs—and the unique experiences of their faculty and students—to model effective systems and practices that remove barriers and create opportunities for equitable learning environments in STEM graduate education so all students can thrive. Grant awards will support sharing MSIs’ institutional know-how on equitable undergraduate and graduate education, as well as modeling that know-how to create systemic changes that enhance pathways from MSIs to master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics at partner institutions.

In addition to establishing seamless pathways, successful projects will address policies, processes, and practices that reinforce existing systems that are barriers to student access and success in graduate education. These projects could include efforts to examine or redesign graduate recruitment, admission policies and processes, mentoring practices, departmental climate, or other gatekeeping (or gateway) structures to and through STEM graduate education.

Since the barriers to equitable pathways do not end once students are admitted to graduate programs, Sloan is looking for evidence that projects will promote and enhance existing efforts to reduce and eliminate policies, procedures, and institutional climates and cultures that prevent students from successfully attaining a graduate degree.

Grants up to $500,000 will be awarded to U.S. higher education institutions and organizations developing equitable pathways to STEM graduate education

Seed Grants

Seed grants will support work between two or more institutions (one of which must be an MSI) that are seeking to build upon or formalize an established partnership or set of partnerships by launching one or more pilot activities. These projects should include a plan to assess the viability and effectiveness of pilot activities.

About

The Higher Education Program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce its third Call for Letters of Inquiry for the Creating Equitable Pathways to STEM Graduate Education initiative, continuing its investment in Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and in the establishment of partnerships between MSIs and graduate programs nationwide.

Grantees awarded via this initiative will engage the expertise of MSIs—and the unique experiences of their faculty and students—to model effective systems and practices that remove barriers and create opportunities for equitable learning environments in STEM graduate education so all students can thrive. Grant awards will support sharing MSIs’ institutional know-how on equitable undergraduate and graduate education, as well as modeling that know-how to create systemic changes that enhance pathways from MSIs to master’s and doctoral degree programs in astronomy, biology, chemistry, computer science, data science, Earth sciences, economics, engineering, marine science, mathematics, physics, and statistics at partner institutions.

In addition to establishing seamless pathways, successful projects will address policies, processes, and practices that reinforce existing systems that are barriers to student access and success in graduate education. These projects could include efforts to examine or redesign graduate recruitment, admission policies and processes, mentoring practices, departmental climate, or other gatekeeping (or gateway) structures to and through STEM graduate education.

Since the barriers to equitable pathways do not end once students are admitted to graduate programs, Sloan is looking for evidence that projects will promote and enhance existing efforts to reduce and eliminate policies, procedures, and institutional climates and cultures that prevent students from successfully attaining a graduate degree.

Grants up to $500,000 will be awarded to U.S. higher education institutions and organizations developing equitable pathways to STEM graduate education

Implementation Grants

Implementation grants will support work between two or more institutions (one of which must be an MSI) that are seeking to augment or scale an already well-established partnership or set of partnerships. Such projects will have preliminary data or evidence of their effectiveness, or potential effectiveness, in widening educational pathways.

Francisco J. Varela Research Grant

The Mind & Life Institute is seeking applications for the Mind & Life Francisco J. Varela Grants for Contemplative Research (Varela Grants). The Varela Grants are an integral component of Mind & Life’s support of contemplative sciences—a growing field that aims to investigate contemplative practices through research in diverse disciplines ranging from basic and clinical sciences to social sciences and the humanities. Beginning in 2004 and named for one of Mind & Life’s co-founders, neuroscientist Francisco J. Varela (1946–2001), these grants of up to $25,000 (USD) are awarded annually to developing scientists and scholars who have recently attended the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute.

Francisco J. Varela believed that contemplative training offers us novel methods for investigating human experience. He also believed that the embodied, phenomenological perspective can best provide insight into the nature of the human mind. In his vision, contemplative training not only provides a new domain for scientific study, but can also help advance scientific theories and models of consciousness, emotion, cognition, and self. For example, empirical examinations of contemplative techniques can be applied to emotion regulation, attention, memory, spontaneous thought, automatic/implicit processing, and associated neural plasticity; such research can greatly contribute to our understanding of these processes and their development. Furthermore, while contemplative practices are being used increasingly in mainstream real-world settings, much remains to be learned regarding the physiological, behavioral, and subjective correlates of these practices, the relationship between the elements of contemplative interventions and desired outcomes, and differences in outcomes across populations and contexts. In all of these areas, contributions from the humanities and social sciences are invaluable in providing contextual grounding for the study of these practices.

The Varela Grants fund rigorous examinations of contemplative practices with the ultimate goal that findings derived from such investigations will provide greater insight into contemplative practices and their application for reducing human suffering and promoting flourishing. Mind & Life views the Varela Grants as an essential feature of its overall strategy of building an interdisciplinary understanding of the mind and human behavior. These grants are a key vehicle for increasing the number of exemplary scientists, scholars, and clinicians involved in contemplative research. Strong proposals will meet the highest standards of rigor in the applicant’s field of expertise.

Proposals must demonstrate relevance to the mission of the Mind & Life Institute. In addition, we have a special interest in supporting projects related to three broad topic areas:

• Personal Well-being—Examining the potential of contemplative wisdom and practices in nurturing positive emotions, including love, compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness, and the impact of alleviating negative emotions such as fear, anger, and anxiety in our lives.
• Compassionate Communities—Examining how the inner workings of the mind influence the formation of the views, behaviors, and social systems that separate us, and the role of contemplative wisdom and practices in creating more compassionate communities.
• Human-Earth Connection—Investigating how the union of contemplative wisdom and science can lead to greater awareness of the interconnectedness of all life—and action—to support and sustain both individuals and the earth’s living systems.

In this context, “contemplative” wisdom and practices are defined in a broad sense—including various forms of meditation, mindfulness, compassion, loving-kindness, gratitude, introspection and awareness of mind-body states, contemplative prayer, and embodied or movement-based practices such as yoga, qi-gong, and other indigenous and traditional practices from various contexts and cultures that may include dancing, drumming, and more.

Funding

Grants of up to $25,000 (USD) are awarded annually through a competitive application and selection process. Proposed research should be completed within a 2-year period, and annual progress reports are required for grantees to remain in good standing.