The Sustainability Institute (SI) is excited to announce the annual SI Student Grant award winners for 2024. Over $40,000 in total grant funding was awarded to ten PhD, master’s and undergraduate students for innovative sustainability research and implementation projects across Ohio State.
These efforts will help advance sustainability knowledge, learning, and implementation across numerous disciplines and topics.
“It was encouraging to see the diverse range of funding proposals for this year’s grant program,” Liz Quigley, co-curricular and community initiatives program manager for the Sustainability Institute said. “Ohio State students increasingly recognize sustainability as a key element for human health and well-being, economic development, and community equity. We are excited to partner with these awardees to help advance their skills and experiences as they prepare for their future careers.”
- Animal Sciences PhD student Okezie Emmanuel is researching the ability of genetically modified microbes to break down agricultural and industrial waste streams into usable fuels and chemicals.
- Abigail Flamm is a civil and environmental engineering master’s student that is researching the treatment for arsenic contamination of private wells. Focusing on Licking County, Ohio, this work will include physical testing of well water and the dual deployment of a community education campaign and a point-of-use arsenic filtering tool to test the effectiveness and barriers to wider public adoption.
- Rinky Ghosh, a food science and technology PhD student, is studying organic waste materials, specifically coffee wastes and eggshells, as substitutes for traditional plastic film ingredients.
- Jonathan Hall is an electrical engineering PhD student studying nonlinear control for three-stage aircraft generators. This research aims to develop an on-board tool that would calm electricity use spikes that cause shortened battery life in electrified aircraft, thus extending the flight range of electrified aircraft.
- Veeramani Karuppuchamy is a food science and technology PhD student studying the use of spent brewers’ grains as a high-protein food supplement, ingredient, or product. This would create a new economic outlet for breweries and prevent the nutritionally valuable material from becoming waste.
- Natalie Kittle is an undergraduate visual communication design student collaborating with fellow SUSTAINS Living Community members to implement a Borrow-A-Cup program at Ohio State’s Columbus campus dining locations. The project will pilot the use of reusable cups for student meals, reducing single-use cup waste.
- Mechanical engineering master’s student Charlie Lenk will conduct a pilot test of hydropower devices that could inexpensively disinfect potable water supplies within water service lines. The water flow within the supply lines will power the UV LED disinfection devices.
- Lily Mank, a PhD student in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, will conduct community-based research in Columbus, Ohio to better determine what urban, disadvantaged youth desires in outdoor play areas and access to nature, and how those desires could be more effectively incorporated into outdoor play area planning processes.
- Treg Sibert in an undergraduate environment, economy, development and sustainability student that is working with a SUSTAINS Learning Community team to establish productive container gardens on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. Intended to promote urban agriculture education for north campus student residents and visitors, the produce from the gardens will be donated to help address community hunger needs.
- A PhD student studying electrical and computer engineering, Jeremiah Vannest is investigating how to extend electric vehicle battery life through alternative battery design – specifically the reduction of magnetic loss in the permanent magnets used in electric vehicles.
A team of reviewers from SI, campus sustainability offices and SI core faculty worked together to select the funded projects.
Application details for the 2025 Sustainability Institute student grant program will be announced at a later date during the 2024-2025 academic year. For more information, contact Gina Jaquet.
Story image used under license from Alina, Adobe Stock.