Indiana University Bloomington
AC-10: Support for Research

1. 2020 Sustainability Scholars Now in its second year, the 2020 Sustainability Scholars program launched in 2015. The Office of Sustainability partners with a variety of other units on campus to provide undergraduate research scholarships for 15 first and second year undergraduate students each year. Each student works with a faculty mentor and gains hands-on research experience. Total support for faculty mentors and students is approximately $26,000. 2. Sustainability Research Development Grants This award program supports collaborative efforts of Indiana University students and faculty to develop new, externally funded research programs related to sustainability. Initially, the program was only open to graduate students, but in 2014 was opened for both undergraduate and graduate student proposals. During 2015-2016, eleven projects were funded, with total support of approximately $50,000. 3. The School of Public and Environmental Affairs and Office of the Vice President for Research offer seed funding opportunities for graduate student led sustainability related research.

Indiana University's Collaborative Research Grants (IUCRG) support many fields, including support for research comprised of "innovative multi-disciplinary or multi-collaborator approaches, reliant upon quantitative methodologies of the social and behavioral sciences, to issues of local, state, national or international significance; research into effective approaches to K-12 STEM education (not curricular development) or education for sustainability". IU's Integrated Program in the Environment (IPE) brings together more than 90 faculty members – including world-renowned scientists and instructors. It reaches across 25 departments and 5 schools within IU. IPE encourages collaborations in the classroom, lab, field, outreach, and other activities. Its interdisciplinary nature reflects not only the contributions of the individual scholars, but a commitment to cooperation and shared purpose necessary to prepare the next generation of scientists and leaders. http://www.indiana.edu/~iuipe/about/index.php The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has launched its Grand Challenges initiative, an internal grant process designed to generate high impact, interdisciplinary research efforts over the next five years. Although there is no guarantee that sustainability research will be selected, given the university's strengths and the desire for interdisciplinary collaborative research, some funding support for large sustainability efforts seems likely. http://ovpr.indiana.edu/grand-challenges1/grand-challenges/

Tenure guidelines state, "With the growth of interdisciplinary research and with the emergence of exciting new fields, not all research/creative activity will fit comfortably into traditional “disciplinary” expectations or understandings. Candidates for tenure and promotion are encouraged to pursue innovation wherever it seems promising, even at the edges of disciplinary boundaries or in between them. Reviewers at all levels should be open to the possibility that work “on the edges” or straddling two fields may eventually transform research agendas in fundamental ways not always easily recognized by the home unit. A candidate’s interdisciplinarity may require that home units adapt their expectations/criteria and procedures. For example, practices for assembling review committees and soliciting external referees may need to be altered in order to insure that all aspects of research/creative activity get assessed by properly knowledgeable judges."

Resources available on the IUB Libraries website state,"The libraries at IU Bloomington contain resources on sustainable development under many classifications throughout the system and woven into virtually all major subject areas. "Sustainability is too rich, complex and diverse a topic to be confined to one area of the library or to a couple of different call numbers. "Looking for a specific sustainability-related topic? These librarians can help pinpoint Web resources and print materials that will best serve your needs in one of the deepest research libraries in North America. Christina Sheley: Business/SPEA Information Commons, sustainability as it relates to city planning, policy, business, finance and environmental science. Bob Noel: Swain Hall Library, sustainability related to engineering, energy, physics and climate change. Roger Beckman: Life sciences, chemistry; green chemistry, invasive species and biodiversity. Lou Malcomb: Geosciences, government information; water resources, hydrogeology, climate change Jian Liu: Public Health Library, sustainable consumption, food security and eco-tourism. "Documentary films on climate, food, agriculture and socioeconomics can be found in the Media and Reserves Services in the Herman B Wells Library."