Announcing Two Futures Initiative Grant Competitions for Doctoral Research

This year the Futures Initiative is very pleased to be able to offer two separate “micro-grant” research competitions for 2022-2023. Please see the details below for the 5th Annual Dr. Louise Lennihan Arts and Sciences Grant Competition (for projects at the intersections of the humanities, arts, science, and technology) and the 1st Annual Paul C. Notari Research Grants in Environmental Studies. The awards are for $500. The deadline for all applications is March 1, 2022.

Please note: Applicants with relevant projects may apply for research funds to each competition. However, no applicant will receive more than one final award.

Paul C. Notari Research Grants in Environmental Studies

The Futures Initiative is pleased to announce the 1st Annual Paul C. Notari Research Grants in Environmental Studies. Four to six micro-grants in the amount of $500 will be awarded to eligible doctoral students at the Graduate Center who are working in any area relevant to scientific, social, cultural, legal, or policy issues in relation to environmental studies, climate change, renewable energy, pollution control, and allied areas are eligible to apply.

Topics eligible for funding: Students who are working in any area relevant to scientific, social, cultural, legal, or policy issues in relation to environmental studies, climate change, renewable energy, pollution control, and allied areas are eligible to apply. Projects will be evaluated on the quality and significance of their research, creativity, public value, potential usefulness, relevance, and contribution to equity and social justice.

Award: Grantees will receive $500 to be used for research, participation in a conference or workshop, or other support in order to present or pursue additional research. Support for research disruptions due to COVID-19 will also be considered.
Eligibility: All applicants must be PhD students in good standing, at any stage of their career, in any field, and must be enrolled for the Spring 2022 and Fall 2022 semesters. Preference will be given to late-stage candidates of their PhD program who are making satisfactory and timely progress towards completing their degrees, and who have not received an award in years past. Students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the academy are warmly encouraged to apply.
Terms: Award recipients will be asked to participate in a presentation in Fall 2022.

**APPLY HERE** Notari Grant Application **APPLY HERE**

Please contact Adashima Oyo, Deputy Director, at aoyo@gc.cuny.edu with questions.

Paul C. Notari

This Paul C. Notari Research Grant in Environmental Studies, established by Mr. Notari’s family and other anonymous donors on the occasion of his 95th birthday, honors his lifelong advocacy of access to higher education, sustainable science for the benefit of humankind, and the protection of nature and natural resources. Paul C. Notari was born in Chicago on September 8, 1926 to immigrant parents. A veteran of World War II, he was educated on the GI Bill and earned a B.S. in Physics from DePaul University and, later, a Master’s degree from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He began his career in the microwave division of Motorola and went on to work for the Business Equipment Manufacturer’s Association as well as the American Water Works Association. He then became the Director of the Technical Information Branch at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (formerly, Solar Energy Research Institute), established under President Carter. He lives in Denver, Colorado.

Learn more about Paul C. Notari: https://m.gc.cuny.edu/News/Detail?id=60400

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Dr. Louise Lennihan Arts and Sciences Grant

The Futures Initiative is pleased to announce the 5th Annual Dr. Louise Lennihan Arts & Sciences Grant Competition. Six to eight micro-grants in the amount of $500 will be awarded to eligible doctoral students at the Graduate Center to support interdisciplinary research related to the intersections of the humanities, arts, science, and technology. Research that is likely to have a public impact or result in a public-facing project is highly competitive. Students who have not previously received significant funding are especially encouraged to apply.

These awards are made possible by a generous gift from Curtis Wong, recipient of an honorary degree from the Graduate Center in 2016, as well as several anonymous donations. The competition honors Dr. Lennihan for her extraordinary service on behalf of students and faculty at the Graduate Center.

Topics eligible for funding: Interdisciplinary work at the intersections of humanities, arts, science, and technology. Projects will be evaluated on their creativity, interdisciplinarity, public value, and applicability to equity and social justice.

Award: Support of $500 to be used for research or travel to a conference, workshop, research center, library, archive, or technology center to present or pursue additional research.
Eligibility: All applicants must be PhD students in good standing, at any stage of their career, in any field, and must be enrolled for the Spring 2022 semester. Preference will be given to late-stage candidates of their PhD program who are making satisfactory and timely progress towards completing their degrees, and who have not received an award in years past. Students from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the academy are warmly encouraged to apply.
Terms: Award recipients will be asked to participate in a presentation in Fall 2022.

**APPLY HERE** Lennihan Grant Application **APPLY HERE

Please contact Adashima Oyo, Deputy Director, at aoyo@gc.cuny.edu with questions.

Curtis Wong (Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, Graduate Center, CUNY, awarded 2016), principal researcher at Microsoft Research, is an inventor and creator devoted to the future of digital media and interactive media for learning. His recent work has included leading Microsoft’s interactive spatial-temporal data visualization efforts in Excel which allows users to gain insight from the patterns of data rendered on a map over time. In 2008, he fulfilled a long-held dream: leading the vision for the WorldWide Telescope, a free, rich interactive virtual simulation that allows children of all ages to explore and understand the universe. He hopes that the Louise Lennihan Arts & Sciences Student Grants can help students to further their research.

Louise Lennihan served as Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Graduate Center from 2013 to 2016. In this role, Dr. Lennihan served as the principal academic officer of the Graduate Center, ensuring the quality and performance of all the degree-granting programs. Prior to becoming Interim Provost, she served as Associate Provost and Dean for Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr. Lennihan joined the department of Anthropology at Hunter College in 1982 and has been a member of the Graduate Center doctoral faculty since 1987, serving as the Executive Officer of the Ph.D. Program in Anthropology from 1997-2008. Trained as a cultural anthropologist at Columbia University with a focus on West Africa, Dr. Lennihan has published widely on topics related to her archival and field research in northern Nigeria.