The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) is announcing a call for concept notes to catalyze research on sustainable transportation modes in the Midwest, thanks to a $1 million gift from the 2019 settlement of a consumer class-action lawsuit. iSEE funds will be used to launch a Research Initiative awarded $300,000 for a three-year period to develop an interdisciplinary research program with faculty from across campus that will improve their potential for attracting external support.
“We are pleased to invest in research into holistic, next-generation transportation systems that sustainably and equitably serve the mobility needs of both urban and rural communities,” said Madhu Khanna, iSEE’s Alvin H. Baum Family Fund Chair & Director. “This new initiative is aimed to address a range of open questions related to infrastructure design and planning, energy sources, multi-modal service integration, effectiveness in reducing emissions and other environmental impacts, the economic and behavioral incentives to adopt alternative modes of transportation, and the design of policies needed to accelerate this transformation.
“The goal of this Research Initiative is to coalesce expertise on campus to advance the frontiers of knowledge and be competitive for external funding.”
iSEE seeks to identify and build a curated, interdisciplinary team of three to five full-time University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty-level researchers to form a group and lead this initiative.
Proposals for short concept notes are invited from tenured/tenure track faculty for the iSEE Research Initiative on Sustainable, Low Carbon Alternatives for Meeting On-Road Transportation Needs. The first step of the application process is to submit a two-page concept note and other brief information by Feb. 27, 2023. iSEE will then organize a workshop to develop and coalesce ideas further and support a research group to lead this effort.
You can find a full description of the program and the requirements — as well as the application form — here >>>
Researchers interesting in applying are asked to notify Basia Latawiec (latawic2@illinois.edu) of their intentions. For questions, please contact iSEE Associate Director for Research Jeremy Guest (jsguest@illinois.edu).
— News release by iSEE Communications Specialist April Wendling