Princeton University
IN-4: Innovation 4

In summer of 2014, the Office of the Dean for Research announced the new research fund, “Innovation Fund for the Campus as a Lab: Faculty Research in Sustainability, Energy and the Environment.” The initiative supports bold new ideas that involve the use of the campus as a laboratory for scientific, engineering, humanistic, artistic or social science research on sustainability, energy and the environment. Faculty may propose up to two research projects, one for undergraduate student research and one for graduate student or postdoctoral research. One-year projects involving undergraduate students can receive up to $15,000 for research, while one-year projects for graduate students or postdoctoral researchers can receive up to $75,000 for research.

As of November 2014, funded projects include: -Place temperature and humidity sensors around campus, using low-cost, off-the-shelf electronics — Daniel Steingart, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment -Develop a comprehensive watershed modeling system and an integrated monitoring system for the campus water and energy cycles — James Smith, the William and Edna Macaleer Professor of Engineering and Applied Science; Mary Lynn Baeck, hydrometeorology programmer in civil and environmental engineering; and Eileen Zerba, senior lecturer in ecology and evolutionary biology -Model the air flow in large indoor air spaces, such as the Frick Chemistry Laboratory, and monitor the energy efficiency of Princeton's buildings from the air — Forrest Meggers, assistant professor of architecture and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment