Oregon State University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

The national Grand Challenge Scholars Program is a combined curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular program with five competencies designed to prepare the next generation of students to address the grand challenges facing society, to make our world more sustainable, secure, healthy, and joyful. Students in the OSU College of Engineering who enroll are required to complete 60 hours of service learning, and demonstrate competency in a research project focused on one of 14 Grand Challenges. Working with faculty in various colleges is encouraged to promote research on all 14, and to produce graduates who are committed to building inclusive communities and improving the world.
https://engineering.oregonstate.edu/tools-services/leadership-academy/students

In another program, the OSU Sustainability Double Degree (SDD) provides academic credit for research conducted with a research mentor. The SDD is open to students in all OSU majors and disciplines. SDD advisors and instructors often help match students with viable sustainability research mentors via a SUS 401 course. The research can be part of a project the mentor is working on or it can be the student's own idea, with approval from the mentor. Students spend roughly 80 hours on research as part of this program and complete a ~10-page paper or academic poster about their research and are asked to present their findings. Mentors evaluate work at the end of the term.
https://agsci.oregonstate.edu/sustainability/curriculum/practicum-guide-corvallisecampus-students

The Office of Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, & the Arts (Office of URSA) works to connect undergraduate students interested in conducting research or creative work experiences at OSU by providing tools and resources to engage with professionals, present in symposiums, and interact with scientific or creative communities. The Office of URSA also manages the largest undergraduate research program at OSU, URSA Engage, which connects early-career students (first-year, second-year students, and transfer students in their first year) with dedicated faculty mentors. URSA maintains a list of University Wide Research Programs. Below are examples of a few programs that focus on sustainability:
- Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience
- Sea Grant Summer Scholars Program
- Oregon Wine Research Institute Undergraduate Scholars Program
- Wood Science and Engineering Training Program

https://academicaffairs.oregonstate.edu/research/university-wide-research-programs

The OSU Research Office supports faculty sustainability research in a wide variety of ways, including with a new information hub found here: https://research.oregonstate.edu/research-centers-and-institutes-osu

Multiple OSU centers, institutes and programs house multidisciplinary teams of researchers from across OSU and other institutions, focused on sustainability research. Funding for these positions comes through these programs. Examples include the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, Institute for Natural Resources and Institute for Water and Watersheds.
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/occri/
https://inr.oregonstate.edu/
https://water.oregonstate.edu/

OSU led in the formation of Oregon BEST (Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center), an independent, nonprofit organization established by the Oregon Legislature. Today, Oregon BEST has rebranded as VertueLab and builds on Oregon’s reputation as a national innovator in sustainability, natural resources, the sustainable built environment, and clean energy.

VertueLab is a nonprofit fighting climate change by providing funding and holistic entrepreneurial support to cleantech startups. It's mission:
“To unleash innovation and entrepreneurship that will solve environmental challenges and catalyze shared economic prosperity.”

OSU's ongoing connection with VertueLab includes OSU-hosted informational sessions for VertueLab Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Support programs. The informational sessions come in three varieties:
1. Innovation Day – focused on resources available to faculty and postdocs
2. Innovation Showcase – a portion of which typically provides info on resources for students, faculty and postdocs
3. Women Researcher informational sessions

Via the OSU Accelerator, which supports the regional Innovation and Entrepreneurship ecosystem:
o OSU actively connects its researchers with relevant Federal agency opportunities and supports researchers in each step of the funding and delivery process
o The University shares entrepreneurial educational information
o A regular monthly information exchange occurs between OSU and VertueLab.

Additionally, OSU Accelerator programs ensures that program participants:
* Are in actual direct communication with prospective end users, decision makers, and stakeholders;
* Rigorously assess prospective new sustainability products and services (aka achieve good "product-market fit" and early-stage adoption strategy). https://advantage.oregonstate.edu/advantage-accelerator/partners

https://research.oregonstate.edu/ora/about/transdisciplinary-research-awards
https://research.oregonstate.edu/ord/proposal-support
https://research.oregonstate.edu/resources-transdisciplinary-research

The Valley Library at OSU has research guides and other materials that support the research community. The research guides include subject matter in specific categories like natural resources, environmental science, and renewable materials in wood science, to name a few. https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/

Additionally, ScholarsArchive at OSU makes available and stores the scholarly work of the Oregon State University community. Extensive sustainability-related materials are contained within this resource: http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/