New York University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The Green Grants program encourages students, faculty, and others to perform research in sustainability by providing grants for up to $20,000 for sustainability-related research. The goal of the Green Grants program is to spark the imagination of the University community and advance our leadership in local and global environmental scholarship and practice. Since the inception of the Green Grants program in 2007, several projects have been institutionalized through student engagement initiatives, university policy change, and academic programming.  Recently, Green Grants funded a plastic shredder and sheet press machine to reduce the amount of PLA and scrap acrylic discarded by the ITP/IMA programs within Tisch School of the Arts. The equipment will help to fuel research around novel processes for recycling plastic, reduce virgin plastic use through providing readily available recycled plastic sheets that are as durable and professional looking as new plastics, and to build in a foundational priority for using recycled plastic as part of any products developed by alumni of the ITP/IMA programs. Green Grants also funded a project to improve access to microscopy, imaging, and culturing equipment for students in the NYU Mycology Group, Experimental Humanities program, and Environmental Studies program.

The NYU Office of the Provost leads the Climate Change Initiative (CCI) which brings together faculty with multiple disciplines from across the university. CCI Harnesses the expertise of faculty and NYU’s thriving research enterprise, with the aim to face climate crises head-on by fostering interdisciplinary research, innovative teaching, collaborative partnerships with government and industry, and academic and professional opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Innovative and interdisciplinary research is necessary to advance our understanding of climate change and develop strategies to mitigate its worst impacts and to adapt to an uncertain future. 

To spark new collaborations and research on climate change, the CCI Seed Funding Program offers two types of awards: (1) 4-5 awards of up to $5,000 to foster new Cross-school/Interdisciplinary Collaborations, and (2) 4-5 awards of up to $20,000 to develop Inter- or Transdisciplinary Research that will lead to securing external funding.

• The Cross-School/Interdisciplinary Collaboration Awards encourage faculty members and researchers to seek new partnerships with collaborators across NYU schools and disciplines. 

• The Inter- or Transdisciplinary Research Awards support faculty members and researchers to develop proof-of-concept and/or pilot data to support novel lines of research.

The Offices of the President and Provost have developed a set of “strategic pathways” to serve as a touchstone for leaders at all levels across the institution. NYU’s Strategic Pathways (https://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/strategic-pathways.html) include that “NYU will be distinguished by interdisciplinary, multi-school, and multi-location research and educational programs that take full advantage of our unique scale, breadth, and global network to generate high-impact research on critical issues facing the world and offer novel opportunities to students.” This pathway is intended as a starting point to help align the work of our expansive global community, including for research faculty seeking tenure.

In addition, NYU’s Promotion and Tenure Guidelines (https://www.nyu.edu/about/policies-guidelines-compliance/policies-and-guidelines/promotion-and-tenure-guidelines.html) have clearly defined pathways and guidelines for cross-appointments and multi-disciplinary activities. This explicitly stated guidance for tenure review for these faculty significantly aids interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and/or multidisciplinary research by providing unambiguous and reliable standards. 

NYU also supports faculty doing interdisciplinary research through over 12 centers and institutes which bring together faculty collaborating across disciplines, (https://www.nyu.edu/academics/scholarly-strengths/urban-initiative/collaborators-resources/centers-institutes.html).

Finally, NYU supports interdisciplinary research in sustainability through Climate Research Seed Grants through the Office of the Provost (https://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/office-of-the-provost/cross-cutting-initiatives/climate-change/climate-change-research-resources---funding.html) for which applications are expected to have at least two Principal Investigators (PIs) from different NYU schools or disciplines. To spark new collaborations and research on climate change, this program offers two types of awards: (1) 4-5 awards of up to $5,000 to foster new Cross-school/Interdisciplinary Collaborations, and (2) 4-5 awards of up to $20,000 to develop Inter- or Transdisciplinary Research that will lead to securing external funding.

NYU libraries provide support for sustainability research and learning through creating research guides. Examples include Sustainability Urban Environments, Environmental Science, and Environmental Conservation Education. The library staff provides direct support and training for students on how best practices for researching critical pedagogy.

Research guides can be found here: https://guides.nyu.edu/

https://engineering.nyu.edu/research/areas-excellence/sustainable-engineering-initiative

https://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/office-of-the-provost/cross-cutting-initiatives/climate-change/climate-change-research-resources---funding.html