Mini-Grants in Support of Environmental Research (MiSER)
Background: The Environmental Chemistry Laboratories at CESE represent significant infrastructural support for the environmental enterprise at UConn. The laboratories (https://cese.uconn.edu/environmental-chemistry-laboratories/) are staffed by proficient scientists and technicians, and house state-of-the-art instrumentation to quantify with high precision concentrations of nutrients, metals, and organics (including many emerging and persistent compounds such as PFAS, harmful algal toxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs]) in a variety of media including water (fresh and saline), soils, and tissues, and can do so at low detection limits.
Objectives: In collaboration with Institute of the Environment (IoE), CESE is conducting a Mini-Grant Competition to provide financial support to reduce the cost of analyses conducted in CESE’s Environmental Chemistry Laboratories (i.e., analyses of nutrients, metals, and organics) that directly relate to one or more of the following objectives.
- To support the development of new environmental proposals to state, federal, or private sector funding agencies.
- To enhance environmental scholarship and outreach;
- To enhance the quality of graduate student research; or
- To enhance collaboration by environmental faculty members with CESE’s Environmental Chemistry Laboratories.
Proposals with a 50% match from sources other than CESE or IoE accounts will be most competitive. Generally, total cost of analyses should not exceed $25,000, without very strong justification.
Limitations: PIs must be full time faculty members at UConn. Funds must be expended and laboratory work coordinated for completion at the CESE Analytical Chemistry Laboratories within the current fiscal year (FY-2023). Analytical costs must be based on established CESE rates. Only costs of analyses to be conducted at CESE Laboratories may be included as part of the request or part of the match. Please contact Chris Perkins, Director of CESE Environmental Chemistry Laboratories (christopher.perkins@uconn.edu or 6-4015) to obtain current rates and coordinate timelines for analyses. Rates of some standard analyses are available online “https://cese.uconn.edu/environmental-chemistry-laboratories/”.
Target Deadline: For full consideration, proposals should be submitted via e-mail (environment@uconn.edu) by 29 October 2022 at noon. Please place “MiSER Competition 2022” in the subject line of the email message.
Application Instructions and Review: We have created a streamlined application that requires approximately 2-3 pages of text (< 2,000 words) plus a budget (double space all text). General questions should be addressed to Michael Willig (michael.willig@uconn.edu). Proposals will be reviewed by members of a committee that comprises CESE - IoE Core or Affiliated Faculty Members.
Application Form: Miser-Competition-RFP-2022_Final.pdf (uconn.edu)
For more information, contact: Michael Willig or Christopher Perkins at michael.willig@uconn.edu or christopher.perkins@uconn.edu