In a pilot collaboration between CITRIS at UC Santa Cruz and the campus’s Innovation & Business Engagement Hub, the 2023 Interdisciplinary Innovation Program (I2P) will fund three projects targeting climate resilience. Grants of up to $40,000 will support research aimed at developing solutions to California’s climate challenges.
Magy Seif El-Nasr, chair of the Department of Computational Media, will lead a team to explore how serious games can be used to incentivize climate-conscious behavioral change at the juncture of the policy and household levels. Brent Haddad, professor of environmental studies, is her co-principal investigator on the project.
Electrical and computer engineer Yu Zhang’s team seeks to integrate microgrids and battery storage in community power systems with the goal of developing a more resilient, sustainable energy infrastructure in the face of increased energy demands and climate change. Chemistry and biochemistry professor Shaowei Chen and Pat Mantey, emeritus professor of electrical and computer engineering, will be co-principal investigators.
Steve McGuire, professor of electrical and computer engineering, will lead a project developing analytical pipelines to leverage sensor information used in field robotics for vegetation assessment. The technology will improve the accuracy of these assessments in order to enhance understanding of the future of our ecosystems. Greg Gilbert, professor of environmental studies, is his co-principal investigator.