Global Change Center Awards First Seed Grant

In Fall 2014, The Global Change Center (GCC) at Virginia Tech released its first call for proposals to support Faculty Seed Grants; interdisciplinary research that will lead to collaborative proposals submitted to extramural funding sources. Priority was given to funding proposals that advance the collaborative, interdisciplinary mission of the GCC.

In January, a team of VT researchers led by Dr. Cayelan Carey received ~$18,000 for their project titled, “Managing human needs and ecosystem services in drinking water reservoirs confronted with global change.”

The team, which includes Dr. John Little,  Dr. Quinn Thomas, and Dr. Madeline Schreiber will examine the effects of altered climate on nutrient cycling and food web dynamics of four drinking-water reservoirs that supply Roanoke. Southeastern U.S. reservoirs are experiencing both increased toxic cyanobacterial blooms and higher metal concentrations, threatening the long-term sustainability of water quality.

“We are excited to help facilitate these sorts of interactions among VT faculty and students”, says William Hopkins, Director of the GCC. “Each year we seek to make investments in our faculty that will position them to pursue larger grants to solve some of the most important problems facing the environment and society. Our first seed grant award supports a project that exemplifies what the GCC intends to accomplish”.