The Earth System Initiative Ignition Grant Program received its tenth $50,000 gift from individual donors, bringing the total funding for the program to $500,000. The Ignition Grant program, started in July 2006, was implemented to enable MIT scientists and engineers to explore new ideas, perform preliminary research and generate the data needed to then pursue large amounts of funding from traditional sources.

The Earth System Initiative Ignition Grant Program received its tenth $50,000 gift from individual donors, bringing the total funding for the program to $500,000. The Ignition Grant program, started in July 2006, was implemented to enable MIT scientists and engineers to explore new ideas, perform preliminary research and generate the data needed to then pursue large amounts of funding from traditional sources. 

“Each $50,000 grant not only has an immediate impact on enabling the exploration of a great idea, but we know that the more our program builds, the more great ideas present themselves so that we can build on MIT’s renowned culture of innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration” says Arunas Chesonis (CEE ’84), chair of ESI’s Directors Council and a key driver of the success of the Ignition Grant Program.

The projects funded range from simulations of global ocean ecosystems, potential impacts of artificial ocean fertilization, and environmental semiconductor design, to harnessing wave energy, designing hybrid generators for rural Africa, and researching environmentally-conscious development of the carbon nanotube industry.

One of the first two Ignition Grants awarded played a key role in the project receiving a much larger subsequent grant from the National Science Foundation.  Professor Ed Boyle, who received the first $50,000 grant for his lab’s work in measuring the potential impacts of artificial ocean fertilization, agrees that “If [graduate student] Seth John hadn’t received the Ignition Grant in August 2006, there is a high likelihood my lab would not have received NSF funding in Spring 2007.” 

The ESI Ignition Grant program is open to receiving new proposals.  Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.