​IEE to Announce Winners of Inaugural Research Seed Funding this Week

UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Energy Efficiency (IEE) will announce the inaugural recipients of its Research Seed Funding Program in the coming days. A committee of IEE leaders evaluated proposals and selected four of them, each will receive up to $50,000 in research funding.

The IEE is an interdisciplinary research institute committed to improving energy efficiency across three key themes: smart societal infrastructure, computing and communications, and the food-energy-water nexus. Funded by a gift from an anonymous donor, the selected proposals are innovative projects in the early stages of development that align with at least one IEE theme. The seed program is intended to produce preliminary results that the scientists can use to apply for major external funding to further fund and expand their research.

The four awarded projects involve a total of three new interdisciplinary partnerships and bring the innovative research of eight faculty, including four new junior faculty to the IEE.