| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 74.09 |
| Liaison | Merry Rankin |
| Submission Date | Aug. 30, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Iowa State University
AC-10: Support for Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 4.00 |
Jerry
Zamzow Assistant Vice President for Research Office of the Vice President for Research |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability? :
A brief description of the student research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites hosts an Research Experience for Undergraduates program for independent study in the area of biomaterials. http://www.cb2.iastate.edu/reu.html
The Wind Energy Initiative hosts a Research Experience for Undergraduates program for research in the various components and factors that affect harnessing the wind for energy. https://www.engineering.iastate.edu/research/eri/initiatives/strategies/wei/wesep-reu/
Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability topics?:
A brief description of the faculty research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Vice President for Research Office has developed research grand challenges for campus. Included in those are sustainability. Additionally, to be eligible for VPR funding, research groups must address the ethical, legal, societal, environmental and economic impacts of their research. The Presidential Interdisciplinary Research Initiative is eligible for research teams that are addressing on of Iowa State's research grand challenges. In 2018, one of these $250,000/yr for 3 yr awards was given to C-Change, the Consortium for Cultivating Human and Naturally Regenerative Enterprises. This program seeks to catalyze new science and engineering breakthroughs to deliver abundant, affordable and safe food to 10 billion people without compromising the Earth’s supportive capacity in the long term.
Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
A brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
There are no formal policies regarding the value of interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research during the P/T process. That said, the Senior Vice President and Provost is very supportive and encouraging of this work. Additionally, the Vice President for Research, who is part of the institutional tenure process, highly values this work. In order to receive funding from the VPR office, the research must be IDR, TDR, or MDR. The VPR will not fund single investigator/discipline research. Central funding for research is required to be IDR, TDR, or MDR in nature. These efforts have lead to many successes, including the NanoVaccine Institute, the National Institute for Anti Microbial Resistance Research and Education Institute, along with the Crop Bioengineering Center. All of these have resulted from IDR seed funding.
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The library has many tools, guides and support for researchers looking to study various topics, including sustainability. Additionally, academic departments are assigned a liaison librarian to assist faculty in the scholarly endeavors. University librarians have compiled guides on various aspects of sustainability by topic. Each guide, by topic includes links to external sources of information, publications and other pertinent information.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.