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The 2024 Research & Innovation Seed Grants, awarded by CU Boulder's Research & Innovation Office (RIO) and the Office of the Provost, are funding 19 new projects for up to $50,000 each.

Now in its 16th year, the Research & Innovation Seed Grant program stimulates new and exciting areas of research and creative work on campus, as reflected in the projects of the awarded 2024 projects.

“As RIO’s flagship funding initiative, the Research & Innovation Seed Grant program continues to spark collaboration and progress across the university's research, scholarship and creative endeavors,” said Massimo Ruzzene, vice chancellor for research and innovation and dean of the institutes. 

About the 2024 program

The 2024 program attracted 85 proposals, which were evaluated by 10 review panels.

The program and projects signify an investment in the future research and scholarly or artistic vitality of the university. Awardees come from disciplines across the university—including ventures involving interdisciplinary work that will foster collaborative interaction among faculty—as well as disciplines not traditionally connected to sponsored research.

Awarded project highlights

Projects awarded in the 2024 cycle again demonstrate the rich diversity of exploration taking place at CU Boulder. Some highlights: cancer and Alzheimer’s advances in the Biomedical and Life Sciences; arts & humanities projects in Art & Art History and Cinema Studies and Moving Image Arts; a range of sustainability-related projects in the Engineering & Applied Sciences and Geological & Environmental Sciences categories; and housing, health and educational investigations in the Social Sciences & Professional Schools category. 

This year’s awards also include three projects encouraging external partnerships by leveraging matching funding from industry, national labs, universities, community nonprofits and others. This year’s winning projects featured collaborations with Brookhaven National Laboratory, NASA Ames Research Center, National Renewable Energy Lab, National Energy Technology Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory.

Long-term impact

Including the 2024 investments, the program has provided more than $17.8 million to fund 389 innovative projects across campus since 2008.  

Seed grant projects have resulted in measurable impacts including published manuscripts, artist residencies, inventions and tens of millions of additional funding dollars for CU Boulder research, scholarship and creativity.

Other seed grant impacts across campus are equally powerful. New data, partnerships and research directions are often achieved, yielding opportunities that may otherwise not be available. Funded projects also provide undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and other investigators with critical research development and creative work experiences.

For more information on this program and other funding opportunities, visit the Research & Innovation Office Seed Grant webpage or subscribe to the bi-weekly RIO Bulletin.