Transdisciplinary Exploration and Discovery

Whitman professor

Transdisciplinary research "integrates academic researchers from different unrelated disciplines and non-academic participants" in knowledge discovery and creation, combining "interdisciplinarity with a participatory approach." [1]

Mini-Grant Research Program

windmill

To promote research in sustainable enterprise, the SEP annually awards mini-grants of up to $7,500, which may be used for stipends, research assistants, materials, travel, and other expenses. All faculty, Ph.D. students, and other researchers from SU, SUNY-ESF and the SyracuseCoE with interest in sustainable business concepts, practices, metrics and assessments are invited to apply. In keeping with the SEP's emphasis on transdisciplinary collaboration and integration, investigators from at least two disciplines are required for each proposal. Projects that are highly likely to have a meaningful impact - publication in a reputably scholarly or practitioner journal, attracting external support, and/or practical implementation - are given priority.

In 2011, grants were awarded for:

  • "Effectiveness of Post-Consumer Food Waste as a Means for Nutrient Recovery and Waste Reduction When Used as Fish Feed in an Aquaponic System," to Doug Daley (SUNY-ESF, environmental resources engineering) and Kimberly Schulz (SUNY-ESF, environmental and forest biology);
  • "Building the Capacity of Urban Food Projects in Syracuse, NY," to Evan Weissman (PhD candidate, Maxwell), Matthew Potteiger (SUNY-ESF, landscape architecture), and Jonnell Allen Robinson (SU, geography);
  • "Effectiveness of LID Technologies for Stormwater Management in CNY," to Carli Flynn (PhD student, LCS), Mallory Squier (PhD student, LCS), Cliff Davidson (SU, civil & environmental engineering), and Ted Endreny (SUNY-ESF, environmental resources engineering).

In 2010, grants were awarded for:

  • "Sustainable Modular Building System," to Don Carr (SU, industrial design) and Paul Crovella (SUNY-ESF, sustainable construction management);
  • "Instrumentation for Demonstration and Exhibit Cases to Promote Sustainability Projects and Products," to Edward Lipson (SU, physics), Craig Watters (Whitman, entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises) and Paul Gelling (SenSyr, LLC); and
  • "Sustainable Struvite Production with Anaerobically Digested Dairy Manure," to Wendong Tao (SUNY-ESF, environmental resources engineering) and Sharon Moran (SUNY-ESF, environmental studies).

In 2008-2009, grants were awarded for:

  • "Cow2Sheraton: Sustainable Recycling for Institutional Food Waste Biomass," David Johnson (SUNY-ESF, Environmental Chemistry) and Amanda Nicholson (Whitman School, Retail Management)
  • "LEED-Certified Wood Supply," Rene Germain (SUNY-ESF, Forest & Natural Resources Management) and Pat Penfield (Whitman School, Supply Chain Management)
  • "Technologies for Sustainable Water: Innovations & Architects" Sharon Moran (SUNY-ESF, Environmental Studies), Brenda Nordenstam (SUNY-ESF, Environmental Studies) and Tim Stenson (SU, Architecture)

 

1. This definition is adapted from Bärbel Tress, Gunther Tress & Gary Fry, "Defining Concepts and the Process of Knowledge Production in Integrative Research," chapter 2 in From Landscape research to Landscape Planning: Aspects of Integration, Education and Application, Proceedings of the Frontis Workshop (Wageningen, The Netherlands, June 2004), http://library.wur.nl/frontis/landscape_research/02_tress.pdf.