Enhancing Collaborative Research | Graham Sustainability Institute

We help faculty increase their impact by seeding new research, providing engagement expertise, and improving communication products to extend the reach of research findings and their real-world applications.

Opportunity

Learn About the Newest Catalyst Grant Projects

Five new projects advance climate change adaptation, products aimed to reduce carbon emissions, and equity and justice in sustainability interventions.

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Join a Clean Energy Conversation

The Clean Energy Conversation series is designed to catalyze collaborations by identifying areas ripe for proposals and applied research.

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Be a Dow Fellows Program Partner

If you have a project idea and are interested in working with a Dow Fellows team of graduate students please complete this brief interest form. Dow Fellows teams draw upon the expertise across campus, making this a unique interdisciplinary experience. A variety of disciplinary perspectives often results in more successful project outcomes.

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Examples

Learn how Graham supported the following projects and research efforts.

Photo credit: Heather Rousseau, Circle of Blue

Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan

About Graham's Support for:

Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan

To understand what hydraulic fracturing options exist for Michigan decision-makers today and how to minimize any negative future impacts, U-M researchers undertook a comprehensive examination of hydraulic fracturing options in the State of Michigan and identified policy approaches for decision-makers to consider.

Using the IA process of facilitating a structured dialog among scientists and decision-makers, project teams established the guiding question: “What are the best environmental, economic, social, and technological approaches for managing hydraulic fracturing in the State of Michigan?” Based on this idea, researchers from diverse disciplines gathered and assessed information to help inform decision-makers.

The project was a partnership convened by Graham and included the U-M Energy Institute, the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, and the U-M Risk Science Center. Graham spearheaded the project, convening a multisector advisory group to scope the project, facilitating an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty, running extensive public engagement and peer review processes, and leading outreach and communications.

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Top: Zach Haslick; Lower: Robert Lawton (left), Michigan Sea Grant (center and right)

Watershed Assessment of Detroit River Phosphorus Loads to Lake Erie

About Graham's Support for:

Watershed Assessment of Detroit River Phosphorus Loads to Lake Erie

In an effort to control the cyanobacteria blooms and dead zones that plague Lake Erie each summer, the United States and Canada in 2016 called for a 40% reduction in the amount of phosphorus entering the lake’s western and central basins, including the Detroit River’s contribution. Both countries then developed domestic action plans that outline strategies to meet the new Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement targets.

To support reaching these targets, a U-M Water Center-based program team characterized sources and evaluated management options for the St. Clair-Detroit River System watershed. This team, led by Water Center Director Jen Read, developed four models to simulate the dynamics of this complex, binational watershed that includes extensive urban and agricultural environments, as well as the large, shallow, productive Lake St. Clair, which receives and processes the loads upstream of the Detroit River.

A diverse project advisory group assembled by the Water Center provided feedback on the policy context, planned research approach, and resulting products. The work was funded by the Erb Family Foundation.

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Flaring & Fossil Fuels: Uncovering Emissions & Losses

About Graham's Support for:

Flaring & Fossil Fuels: Uncovering Emissions & Losses

The F3UEL (Flaring & Fossil Fuels: Uncovering Emissions & Losses) project aims to improve the understanding of emissions from natural gas flaring and offshore systems, characterizing how flares behave in the real world, identifying what portion of the offshore system is responsible for emissions, and determining how such systems can be monitored.

This work will provide updates to emissions estimates and explore new monitoring strategies for a large and neglected sector of the oil and gas industry of interest to scientists, policymakers, industry, and an engaged public invested in the impacts of our energy production supply chain.

Graham’s primary role in the project is designing and implementing the engagement strategy to optimize real-world impact. While many members of the multisector advisory board have existing relationships with the researchers, Graham handles the management of that group—from scheduling to meeting facilitation and record-keeping—allowing the researchers to participate fully as scientists. Graham also hosts a website for the project, provides translational science communications support, and coordinates with NGO partners like EDF.

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