Climate Change Project Awards

Students walking on the shore

The Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity (URSA) Office is pleased to announce the availability of grants for up to $5,000 for undergraduate research and creative activity projects focused on climate change themes.

This grant opportunity is open to all undergraduate students who are interested in conducting scholarly work on various aspects of climate change, including but not limited to climate science, climate policy, visual or written communication of climate issues, and climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. We encourage interdisciplinary projects. 

Application Schedule

Flyer for Climate Awards

Dr. Spellman and Jessie performing a vegetation analysis within a quadrant.

Jessie Skalisky

Mentor: Katie Spellman

Wildfire and invasive species are increasing across ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ as the climate changes. Under the mentorship of Dr. Katie Spellman, Research Assistant Professor, Jessie's project developed an invasive species seedbank in soils from burns in Interior ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ with the hope that her study will reveal the long-term threat of an invasive seedbank after wildfire and will fill a knowledge gap for land managers in the state. 

"This project has provided me with research experience that I might not have gotten until much later in my career without URSA. I've developed my plant identification skills, public speaking skills, as well as poster design skills, all in one project. It has given me a chance not just to learn new skills, but to put information I've learned in the classroom to work. "

Learn more about this project.

Neimann in the lab

Logan Niemann

Mentor: Lara Horstmann

Logan Niemann received a 2023 Climate Change Project Award. His project focuses on processing and analyzing bowhead whale stomach contents and tissues in order to provide baseline data for future studies researching the presence of microplastics. Here, Niemann is pictured pouring whale stomach contents that have been chemically digested with a KOH solution into a glass vacuum filter to identify the presence of microplastics.