RNR Faculty Share in Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research
[18 Jan 2023] BATON ROUGE —Today, the LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research announced $1.1 million in faculty research grants to 33 different projects in support of sustained strategic priorities for the university and for Louisiana. Ranging from the discovery of new antibiotics to underground storage of hydrogen, a low-carbon alternative to oil and gas, to how to effectively remove so-called ”forever chemicals” from drinking water and the environment, the funded research projects involve 77 faculty across eight colleges and schools on LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge. This is the largest LSU investment in seed funding for faculty research in university history.
Two Faculty from the LSU College of Agriculture's School of Renewable Natural Resources were awarded seed funding from the Provost's Fund for Innovation in Research.
Dr. Terry Tiersch, Professor, was awarded in the category Faculty Research Projects Spanning Multiple Priorities - Agriculture, Biomedicine and Biotechnology, Coast and Environment, Defense and Cybersecurity and Energy . He will lead a team to optimize high-throughput, concentrated algae cryopreservation as algae increasingly are used as feedstocks for bioproducts, such as bioactive molecules, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, bioplastics, food, feed, fuels and more.
Dr. Yi-jun Xu, Professosr, was awarded in the category Faculty Leading Coastal Research Projects. He will study the direct human input of carbon to the Mississippi River from wastewater treatment plants.
Launched in 2022, the Provost’s Fund supports interdisciplinary research in five priority areas, also known as the LSU Pentagon, which includes agriculture, biomedicine and biotechnology, coast and environment, defense and cybersecurity and energy—key economic drivers for Louisiana based on existential needs—across every discipline, department, college and program.
The goal of the Provost’s Fund is to provide seed funding to help faculty implement Scholarship First, a key objective of LSU President William F. Tate IV, and transform new ideas into successful and nationally competitive research programs that are likely to attract external support and federal funding to Louisiana. LSU formally announced its Scholarship First Agenda in March 2022.
Congratulations to Dr. Tiersch and Dr. Xu!
Complete information and other awardees are detailed in the announcement published through LSU News Media | permalink