20 Societal Problems, 20 Solutions

This article originally appeared on the Harvard Gazette website. View an excerpt below or read the full article here.

Curbing the spread of malaria, catching breast cancer before it becomes deadly, and creating an immersive archive on the Giza pyramids are the goals of just a few of the 20 faculty research projects recently awarded grants through the Frontiers of Innovation for Societal Impact Fund. 

Through Harvard’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR), the fund provided more than $4 million to boost projects that promise to tackle a societal challenge and generate industry support and collaboration. The fund is the latest example of the University’s longstanding efforts to collaborate with industry to advance scholarship and translate research discoveries into societal benefits.

“We are delighted to stand up the Frontiers of Innovation for Societal Impact Fund,” said University Provost John F. Manning. “It will support work at the forefront of innovation, leveraging the latest technologies to bring valuable new insights into their fields and to society more broadly.”

John H. Shaw, Senior Vice Provost for Research, agreed, saying, “Harvard’s success relies not only on its excellence in research, but its ability to translate that research into tangible benefits to society.” 

This year’s awardees applied for funding along two tracks. Spark awards, ranging from $50,000 to $100,000, support projects that hold promise for industry engagement. Ascend awards, ranging from $250,000 to $750,000, support the expansion of existing project areas that involve industry. Funding terms span one to two years.

“We were gratified by the range of proposals we received — from faculty in health and medicine, climate science, public policy, technological development, the arts and humanities, and beyond,” said Steven C. Currall, executive director and associate vice provost for academic-corporate initiatives in OVPR, who oversees the fund. 

The awardees were selected based on scholarly merit and a rigorous peer review process by faculty members. The selection process included extensive input from the faculty-led Corporate Engagement Steering Committee and, in the case of Ascend awards, advice by an external review panel of industry experts. Final award decisions were made by OVPR. 

SPARK AWARD

Scaling clean energy and technology research

Frank Keutsch, Stonington Professor of Engineering and Atmospheric Science and professor of chemistry and chemical biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Chris Nielsen, executive director, Harvard-China Project

Haiyang Lin, research associate in environmental science and engineering

Yang Zhao, postdoctoral fellow in environmental science and engineering

This award will cultivate industry support to broaden clean energy research applications to high-emitting, fast-growing, middle-income countries. To support this effort and enhance its real-world applicability, the Harvard-China Project on Energy, Economy, and Environment will build on ongoing engagements with global energy companies to help translate the program’s interdisciplinary research into actionable low-carbon solutions for other countries.