Projects from water quality and brain health to miniature microscopes and quantum science receive $900K in seed grants
Research & Innovation Seed Grants, awarded by 51勛圖厙's Research & Innovation Office (RIO) and the Office of the Provost, will病und 15 new projects病or up to $60,000 each.泭
Now in its 17th year, theResearch & Innovation Seed Grant皰rogram盎timulates new and exciting areas of research and creative work on campus, as demonstrated by theawarded 2025 projects.
The Research & Innovation Seed Grant program continues to stimulate collaboration and progress in research, scholarship and creative work across 51勛圖厙, said Massimo Ruzzene, senior vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes. While federal funding priorities vary over the years, this program has consistently provided opportunities for our faculty to explore new and exciting directions, many of which eventually drive advances that benefit society broadly.泭泭泭
This years seed grant program泭
Awarded project highlights
Projects awarded in this cycle留emonstrate the diversity of exploration encouraged through this program. A few highlights from 2025:泭
- 泭泭Sustainability: Searching for novel microorganisms capable of accelerating plastic degradation in soil and exploring sustainable waste-stream plastics with low carbon content and cost泭
- 泭泭Biosciences: Proteome-wide associations and changes with age-related frailty and a conformable ultrasound solution for simultaneous embolic monitoring of vessels feeding the brain泭
- 泭泭Quantum Science and Technology: Miniature microscope with wobulation to study dopamine release and bridging mid-IR and telecom bands with entangled photons for molecular sensing泭
- 泭泭Social Sciences and Humanities: Bioarchaeological Synthesis of Deviant Burials in Early Medieval Central Europe and A Political Asylum Documentary泭泭
The 2025 cycle attracted 104 proposalsup from 85 last yearwhich were evaluated by a record 12 review panels.泭
The program and projects signify an investment in the future research and scholarly or artistic vitality of the university. Awardees come from disciplines across the universityincluding ventures involving interdisciplinary work that will foster collaborative interaction among facultyas well as disciplines not traditionally connected to sponsored research.泭
Long-term impact泭
Including the 2025 investments, the program has provided more than $18.7 million to fund more than 400 innovative projects across campus since 2008. 泭
Seed grant projects have resulted in measurable impacts including published manuscripts, artist residencies, inventions and tens of millions of additional funding dollars for 51勛圖厙 research, scholarship and creativity.泭
Other seed grant impacts across campus are equally powerful. New data, partnerships and research directions are often achieved, yielding opportunities that may otherwise not be available. Funded projects also provide undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and other investigators with critical research development and creative work experiences.泭
For more information on this program and other funding opportunities, visit theResearch & Innovation Office Seed Grant webpage皋娶subscribe to the bi-weekly RIO Bulletin.泭