PEI researchers among recipients of Dean for Research Innovation Funds
Researchers in or associated with the Princeton Environmental Institute were among several Princeton University faculty members to be selected to receive 2018 Dean for Research Innovation Funds through Princeton’s Office of the Dean for Research. The funds are awarded annually to promising research in various subject areas and disciplines.
Researchers in or associated with the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) were among several Princeton University faculty members to be selected to receive 2018 Dean for Research Innovation Funds through Princeton’s Office of the Dean for Research. The funds are awarded annually to promising and forward-looking research in various subject areas and disciplines that promises to expand the bounds of knowledge. The projects are chosen by faculty-led committees based on the quality, originality and potential impact of the research.
“These funds represent Princeton University’s commitment to support research that pushes boundaries in new directions,” said Dean for Research Pablo Debenedetti, the Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science and professor of chemical and biological engineering. “Through these funds, Princeton researchers can take that extra risk or explore that new path that they might otherwise not have taken.”
PEI faculty and associated faculty were represented in two of the four Innovation Funds categories: campus as a laboratory and collaborations with industry. See the full list of 2018 Innovation Funds recipients on the Princeton University homepage.
The Innovation Fund for the Campus as a Lab: Faculty Research in Sustainability, Energy and the Environment is made possible by support from the Office of the Dean for Research, the Princeton Environmental Institute, the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, the High Meadows Foundation Sustainability Fund, the Office of the Dean of the College, and Facilities. The use of Princeton’s campus as a research laboratory is the focus of this fund, which aims to advance knowledge and practice in areas of sustainability, energy and the environment. Several of the projects involve undergraduate researchers teaming with faculty members and graduate students to conduct the projects.
Consumer-driven methods to reduce demand for unsustainably grown palm oil
The widely used ingredient palm oil has potentially negative environmental and health impacts. The demand for the oil has led tropical forests to be replaced with palm plantations, and the oil is high in saturated fat. A collaboration between David Wilcove, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and public affairs and the Princeton Environmental Institute, and Smitha Haneef, assistant vice president, University Services, will include undergraduate researchers who will work with Princeton’s residential dining halls as laboratories to explore options for reducing use of unsustainably grown palm oil. One goal of the project is to encourage the use of palm oils certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which promotes better environmental practices. Another goal is to examine options for replacing existing products used by the dining halls with palm oil-free alternatives. The project will also raise awareness among students about the concerns with palm oil and suggest strategies for reducing environmental harm while improving student health.
Comparing the yield and nutritional content of vegetables grown on the Princeton campus
The need for healthy, locally produced vegetables in urban areas has increased the popularity of vertical farming, where crops are grown indoors under artificial lights and fed liquid nutrients. A new project led by PEI associated faculty Stephen Pacala, the Frederick D. Petrie Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Paul Gauthier, associate research scholar in the geosciences and the Princeton Environmental Institute,
will assess the nutritional content of vertically farmed vegetables and compare them to organically grown vegetables. The researchers will use various methods in the lab to detect amino acids, nutrients, proteins and vitamins. The research team, which will involve undergraduates, will build on existing efforts by eating clubs, student groups and the colleges to study vegetables produced on campus and to share the results of these studies with the campus community.
Technological innovations to mitigate exposure to air pollution
To better inform the public and campus community about regional air quality, this project will deliver local, up-to-the-minute air quality information via a cellphone app. The research, led by PEI associated faculty members Elie Bou-Zeid and Mark Zondlo, associate professors of civil and environmental engineering, takes advantage of the University’s location in the heavily populated and industrialized greater New York region. The problem the technology addresses is that while air quality data are available online from various government agencies, the data are regional rather than local, and users find them difficult to access. Bou-Zeid and Zondlo’s project will combine two advanced pollution-sensing systems to provide readings of local air quality, allowing users to see how pollution is affected by proximity to main roads and how pollutant concentrations vary by time of day. By accessing these data via a cellphone app, individuals can incorporate air quality into their daily decisions.
The Innovation Fund for Industrial Collaborations supports collaborations between Princeton researchers and external companies with the goal of fostering basic research that eventually may become available to the public as products, technologies or services. The award requires the pledge of a matching contribution from the company in the second year of the project.
Collaboration targets virulent acne
Acne is normally an irritating but fleeting affliction, but it can turn virulent and leave lasting scars. Mohammad Seyedsayamdost, assistant professor of chemistry and PEI associated faculty, will team with scientists from Johnson & Johnson to explore new ways to understand and treat virulent acne. The Princeton researchers will search for factors that may turn on genes that drive this behavior. The Seyedsayamdost lab has developed special methods for activating and studying genes that are usually inactive, or “silent.” Using these methods, the team will study the regulatory pathways that contribute to virulence.
This story is adapted from a longer piece by Catherine Zandonella in the Office of the Dean for Research.