2021 Call for Seed Proposals
List of Projects Approved Under this Call
The program awarded 13 seed project grants to proposals that will further enhance the academic collaborations among our four research areas.
NOTE: 8 seed project grants were renewed until August 31, 2023. Check it out below!
Principal research areas:
- Climate Science & Climate Change: 8 projects
- Earth Systems (Ocean to near Space): 1 project
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing: 2 projects
- Sustainable Cities: 2 projects
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Sustainable Cities
Abstract: Motivated by the need to implement data driven solutions for better environmental policymaking, we propose to develop a multidisciplinary evaluation toolkit. The toolkit bridges the gap between policy-making and data analysis, and offers policy makers an avenue to assess energy policy programs to achieve improved climate change mitigation and adaption. This study uses machine learning techniques to extract data from publicly available datasets for classification and prediction so that climate change policies and programs can be analyzed. In this way, the project integrates machine learning, sustainability, and governance. The initial policy analysis of the team combined with machine learning will generate information to support targeted interventions and tailored policy actions to empower sustainable policymaking. The toolkit will have a public interface which will enable policy makers to enter information about proposed policy programs and to assess strengths and weaknesses. The policy support tool will also allow for assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation programs building from the data-supported policy design and evaluation. With the use of predictive analytics, policy scenarios will be generated, with recommendations for the most significant enhancements needed for a policy to achieve its targets. In this way the policy toolkit will help policymakers in choosing suitable policy interventions.
MIT PIs:
Associate Professor – Janelle Knox-Hayes from Resilient Communities Lab, DUSP
PT PIs:
Prof. Vera Migueis, Senior Researcher Portuguese Center: INESC TEC; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Assistant Professor;
Prof. Vitor Leal, Researcher Portuguese Center: INEGI; Assistant Professor; Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), Assistant Professor
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2023.
Scientific Area: Digital transformation in Manufacturing; Climate Science & Climate Change;
Abstract: Electric transport is a key component of the energy revolution needed to achieve a net-zero carbon emission economy, and lithium-ion batteries are central to this electrification process. Portugal is in a unique position to gain a leadership role not only in sustainable lithium extraction, being Europe’s largest supplier, but especially in the manufacturing and distribution of advanced Lithium-ion batteries. We propose a joint research program that combines in-situ chemomechanical characterization with data analytics to inform the design of next generation of Li-ion batteries. Our research project will explore the possibility of predicting fracture events from pristine electrode samples using a novel statistical analysis tool and provide guidance to improve fabrication methods with targeted microstructural features.
MIT PIs:
Associate Professor – C. Cem Taşan – DMSE
Other MIT Collab:
Prof. Krystyn Van Vliet, Associate Provost, DMSE;
Dr. Michela Geri, MechE&DMSE, MIT, Postdoc
PT PIs:
Prof. Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez and Dr. Carlos M. Costa, Center of Physics, UMinho;
Dr. Renato Gonçalves, Center of Chemisty, UMinho
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2023.
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Earth Systems: Oceans to near Space
Abstract: Plasma-assisted technologies present numerous advantages for CO2 conversion including operation at close to room temperature and ambient conditions, adaptability to different feedstocks, direct-use of electricity, modularity and low investment and operation costs and, in theory, tunable reactivity depending on the desired outcome. Despite this advantage, most efforts so far have been limited to demonstrating conversion using a particular plasma source, in many cases leading to suboptimal results. Project IMPACT proposes an inverse approach, starting from the objective of maximizing CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels, and optimizing the energy coupling into the reactor, including chemical activation and separation stages. The project will clarify the suitability and expected efficacy of different plasma sources for CO2 conversion. The framework will provide the ability to optimize for CO2 conversion on Earth, as a key technology to address climate change by removal of this greenhouse gas and fulfilling the demand for carbon-based products, as well as CO2 conversion on Mars, as a key technology to enable a sustainable presence of humans outside of our planet.
MIT PIs:
Associate Professor – Carmen Guerra-Garcia – Aero/Astro
Prof. Ahmed Ghoniem, MechE (Co-PI)
PT PIs:
Vasco Guerra, Professor, Physics, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST);
Tiago Silva, PhD, FCT Junior Researcher, Técnico
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2023.
Scientific Area: Earth Systems: Oceans to near Space
Abstract: Effective and efficient collection of synoptic data across a range of spatial and temporal scales from the oceans to near space may be readily achieved through a complex system of systems (SoS). An SoS will be designed that incorporates four levels of sensing platforms from (1) space systems (satellites), (2) airborne systems (UAVs), (3) surface systems (crewed ships and ASVs), and (4) underwater systems (AUVs). The SoS will involve a large number of assets that need to be dynamically allocated, enabling long-term observations and being able to responds to short time scale phenomena with initial unknown spatial distribution. An SoS hybrid agent-based model and discrete event simulation is in development to drive mission planning for ocean observation campaigns. By incorporating both the physics and sensing capabilities of each platform, the result of various objective functions on the planning and execution of missions can be explored.
MIT PIs:
Professor, Dept. Head Dan Hastings – Aero/Astro
PT PIs:
Joao Tasso de Figueiredo Borges de Sousa, Professor at Faculdade de Engenharia – Porto
University; Director of LSTS
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change
Abstract: We propose to show that an interactive distributed planning and operations control architecture for the energy system will enable flexible integration of large amounts of solar in a continental system at significantly lower cost than is presently possible. While focused on accommodating large growth of solar power in Southern Portugal, the approach will be applicable to other continental systems including North America. We will employ the Dynamic Monitoring and Decision Systems (DyMonDS)-based modeling, systematically scaled from a previous study of the Azores to mainland of Portugal. The end goal will be to determine how much storage and transmission needs to be added, with and without DyMonDS. We also will consider the potential impact of green hydrogen production in storage. Our colleagues in Portugal will work with their Regulator to provide realistic test system data, including the effects of smart cities participation in these grid services. The Regulator’s letter of commitment is available at request.
MIT PIs:
Senior Research Scientist – Marija Ilic – Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS)
Prof. Don Lessard, Epoch Foundation Professor of International Management, Emeritus MIT Sloan School of Management
PT PIs:
Pedro M. S. Carvalho – Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, IST;
Luis A. F. M. Ferreira, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computers, IST
Scientific Area: Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
Abstract: We propose to combine data-driven material characterization with rapid prototyping of unique custom instrumentation fixtures to enable rapid system identification and property quantification of the rheology (or ‘flow properties’) for the wide range of complex materials employed in additive manufacturing technologies within the advanced manufacturing sector. The resulting ‘material fingerprints’ uniquely identify a given material’s response to flow and will provide the first training and validation datasets for the Deep Learning-based computational project being led by my collaborator in Porto.
MIT PIs:
Professor Gareth McKinley – MechE, Hatsopoulos Microfluids Laboratory
Other MIT Collab:
Prof. A. John Hart (MechE);
Prof. J. Swan (ChemE)
PT PIs:
Dr. Célio Fernandes (U.Minho);
Prof. Miguel Nóbrega (U.Minho)
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2023.
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Earth Systems: Ocean to near Space
Abstract: Seaweed aquaculture has the potential to feed the world, fight climate change, and restore our ocean. However, the rapid growth of seaweed production is accelerating the spread of infectious diseases that harm the seaweed and lead to socioeconomic instability due to the loss of the farming income. With the funding from this proposal, we will develop a machine learning based aquaculture mon-itoring and response system that uses microbiome data to predict and prevent disease. Our system will reduce livestock losses, lead to cost savings, and promote sustainable food production. We will build our system based on microbiome data. Microbiome population and diver-sity are indicators of the health and resilience of the seaweed ecosystem because the microbiome changes and adapts swiftly to the ear-liest indication of harmful pathogens. This enables our sensor system to predict disease outbreaks before they occur and warn seaweed farmers to take timely preventative actions.
MIT PIs:
Assistant Professor Stefanie Mueller – Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
Other MIT Collab:
Prof. David Wallace, MIT MechE;
US Industry Collaborator: GreenWave
PT PIs:
Prof. Rodrigo Costa, Assistant Professor at the Department of Bioengineering, Técnico
Other PT Collab: Aqualvor; AlgaPlus
Video: Saving Seaweed with Machine Learning
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2026
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Earth Systems: Ocean to near Space
Abstract: Ocean waves represent a vast, inexhaustible and green energy resource which may be harvested for the generation of electricity and the Portuguese coastline is one of the most attractive areas due to its ample wave energy resources. Significant progress has been made towards the development of wave energy devices and in particular point wave absorbers which can be deployed as stand-alone converters in an ocean environment as oceanographic buoys and charging stations for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. The proposed project will be carried out in collaboration with Portuguese PIs from the Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa with current Exloratory Funding under the MIT Portugal Partnership. It will continue the development of innovative stand-alone wave energy converters, their control systems and hydraulic or electric Power Take-Off mechanisms. These tasks will build upon prior research funded by the 2019 MIT Portugal Partnership Round to support the goals of MPP2030.
MIT PIs:
Professor Paul Sclavounos – MechE, Director Laboratory for Ship and Platform Flows (LSPF)
PT PIs:
Luis Gato, João Henriques, Técnico
This grant was renewed until August 31, 2023.
Project Report :
2021-2023 Seed Project Report
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change;
Abstract:We propose records of two satellite remote sensing data streams to diagnose and map landscape responsiveness to climate variability and change. These two satellites form coincident mapping of surface soil moisture, vegetation fractional vegetation cover (including crops) and landscape solar radiation reflectivity) to diagnose and map landscape responsiveness to climate variability and change. In a previous collaboration the MIT and Portugal PIs (each the science lead of one of those satellite data streams) have identified a threshold in the land responsiveness that modulates the magnitude of the response. They also found pathways for feedbacks that can lead to abrupt change which forms the science goal of this proposed collaborative investigation.
MIT PIs:
Professor Dara Entekhabi – Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
PT PIs:
Dr. Isabel Franco Trigo, Instituto Portugues do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA)
Scientific Area: Sustainable Cities; Climate Science & Climate Change;
Abstract: An environmentally friendly energy storage vector, facilitating clean storage of off-peak power generation from renewable energy resources, is a key enabling technology for future Sustainable Cities. Carbon-free fuels are promising energy storage candidates due to their high energy density and potential for ultra-low greenhouse gas emissions. The use of nitrogen-based fuels for the development of an environmentally friendly zero-carbon economy is an immature research frontier with large potential, which has attracted much attention lately. While these fuels do not emit CO, VOC, or CO2, they might emit NOx, N2O, or NH3. The present proposal focuses on ammonia combustion, to obtain a better understanding of the effects working conditions have on pollutant levels by developing a state-of-the-art detailed reaction mechanism. Understanding ammonia’s combustion mechanism will allow for more efficient and cleaner engine and turbine design and utilization. This model will be refined using high-level electronic structurer calculations, and benchmarked to experimental observations. This work will lay the groundwork for future studies of other nitrogen-based fuels.
MIT PIs:
Professor William H. Green – ChemE
PT PIs:
Valter Bruno Reis e Silva, Senior Researcher, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, Portugal.
This grant was renewed until August 31, 2023.
Project Report :
2021-2023 Seed Project Report
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Earth Systems: Ocean to near Space
Abstract: Solar and wind energy are variable resources that fluctuate over time and space. Recent research has uncovered certain types of relatively rare events when these resources remain at below average values for extended time periods. These events may occur only a few times over the course of several decades but can pose a substantial challenge to energy systems that rely largely on variable renewable energy. This research seeks to elucidate the how the nature of these events will change as the climate changes. Our results will help inform strategies for mitigating these events’ impacts on a decarbonized energy system. Specifically, we seek to 1) understand how a changing climate may affect these events, and 2) probe how accurately and early these events could be predicted. Our team will draw on expertise in climate change, machine learning, and climate change mitigation across several Portuguese universities and MIT.
MIT PIs:
Associate Professor Jessika Trancik – Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
Other MIT Collab:
Prof. Paul O’Gorman, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences (EAPS);
Xiang Gao (Principal Research Scientist, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, MIT)
PT PIs:
Miguel Centeno Brito (Assistant Professor, Dept. de Eng. Geográfica, Geofísica e Energia Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa; Susana Viera (Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, Técnico
This grant is renewed until August 31, 2023.
Scientific Area: Climate Science & Climate Change; Sustainable Cities
Abstract: Portugal is vulnerable to climate-related floods and heatwaves, which are expected to introduce large economic and financial distress. In our previous MIT Portugal project, we quantified the negative impact of climate change on Portuguese subjective well-being using social media data. In this project, we ask the question: how will climate exposure hurt location attractiveness and real estate asset value if people feel it and believe in it? Real estate value adjustments linked to climate change depend heavily on stakeholder perceptions: both their sentiment drops induced by current climate events, and whether or not they believe in future climate risks. We will use NLP on millions of geotagged Twitter posts to measure climate perception in Lisbon and Porto. We will then overlay our social media-based metrics with localized environmental and housing data to create a detailed map of climate risk exposure, climate perceptions, and real estate transactions. Finally, we will extend the hedonic pricing model to price properties with our hyperlocal measures of climate risk and perception, to understand location-based links between climate risks and sentiment, location attractiveness, and asset value within the two main real estate markets in Portugal.
MIT PIs:
Professor Siqi Zheng -DUSP, Center for Real Estate; Faculty Director, MIT Sustainable Urbanization Lab
Other MIT Collab:
Dr. Juan Palacios, Research Associate and Head of Research, Sustainable Urbanization Lab, MIT
PT PIs:
Prof. Miguel de Castro Neto, Assistant Professor and Associate Dean at NOVA Information Management School (NOVA IMS)
Scientific Area: Sustainable Cities; Climate Science & Climate Change;
Abstract: This project proposes the development of a new method for estimating the embodied energy and carbon in existing building structural systems in cities, to be used to establish benchmarks and baselines, inform policy and planning decisions, and extract lessons for future building design. Greenhouse gas emissions due to buildings come from both operational energy use and the energy and carbon embodied in construction materials and processes. While the simulation and modeling of operational energy and carbon is well established, including at the urban scale, methods for the quantification of embodied carbon, especially at the urban scale, are significantly less developed. Existing methods work either via a detailed tally of building information models (BIMs) that are not readily available for most building stock, or by applying rules of thumbs or emissions averages that have unacceptably large uncertainty ranges for structural systems. In contrast, the proposed research will pursue a data- and physics-driven approach to this problem, using a combination of supervised machine learning and structural calculations to estimate embodied carbon from urban GIS data.
MIT PIs:
Associate Professor Caitlin Mueller -Department of Architecture, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Other MIT Collab:
Prof. Christoph Reinhart, Building Technology, Department of Architecture
PT PIs:
Prof. Paulo Ferrão, IST, Industrial Ecology and Sustainability;
Ricardo Gomes, Postdoctoral Researcher, IST, Industrial Ecology and Sustainability
STATUS: CALL CLOSED
The MIT Portugal Partnership 2030 (MPP2030) is inviting submissions of project proposals for one-year seed funding at MIT. MPP2030 is a strategic international partnership between Portuguese universities and research institutions, MIT, the Portuguese government, and partners from industry and other non-academic institutions. Launched in June of 2018 and funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), its goal is to strengthen Portugal’s knowledge base and international competitiveness through a strategic investment in research, people, and ideas in areas of global relevance with significant societal impact.
For the 2021 call at MIT, we are seeking outstanding proposals in the following four data-science driven areas:
- Climate Science & Climate Change
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
*Proposals in Climate Science & Climate Change are strongly encouraged for this round of seed funding.
Eligible proposals will be considered if they are submitted by an MIT Principal Investigator by Friday 19 March 2021, 11:59 pm EST with a maximum budget of $90,000.00 USD and meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Carry out early-stage research or exploratory studies within the scope of one or more of the research areas; cross-area proposals, which credibly include and combine multiple areas, are highly encouraged
- Create critical momentum and synergies among Portuguese and MIT faculty colleagues and engage in collaborative program activities
Eligibility
The call is open to all MIT Principal Investigators (PIs) from any School, Department, Laboratory, or Center.
Only official MIT PIs are eligible to receive funding.
All proposals MUST have a Portuguese collaborator to be considered for funding. We strongly encourage collaborations with faculty colleagues, industry, and other institutions. Priority will be given to seed projects that incorporate the work of funded Portuguese Exploratory Projects (use this link to see the “Funded Projects” tab for more information).
While this funding is exclusively for MIT PIs, a 2021 exploratory call will be opening this Spring for Portuguese-only funding and collaborative efforts are ideal. See the MPP2030 website for more details on the exploratory call.
Funding & Project Term
- The maximum funding for a seed project is $90,000.00 USD
- Awarded funds are inclusive of MIT overhead fees
- Project child accounts are set up in the PIs’ DLC and managed by the financial officer in that DLC
- Funded PIs will have the option to start in June or September 2021
- Awarded funds must be spent by the Program-designated completion date
- Awarded project teams must participate in ad-hoc meeting or workshop requests, as well as the MIT Portugal Annual Conference, which is typically held at the end of September in Portugal
- Project team will be required to submit a final report within 30 days of the project end date (report template is provided by the MIT Portugal Program)
- Project teams will be required to report all publications and conference papers that result from their research to mitportugal@mit.edu
Application & Evaluation Process
- Applications must be submitted using the proposal template
- Current seed fund awardees are also eligible to receive funding with the application of a new proposal for 2021
- The submission deadline for seed fund applications is Friday 19 March 2021, 11:59 pm EST.
- Proposals will be evaluated based on:
- Relevance of the proposed research for the data-science driven research areas of MPP2030 (see sections Summary and Research Areas in this document)
- Proposed synergistic program activities that increase the impact, sustainability, and visibility of MPP2030 (see section Summary in this document)
- Quality, feasibility, and originality of proposed research
- Specific collaborations with faculty colleagues, industry, and other institutions in Portugal—as well as with MIT colleagues
- Funding decisions will be made by the first week of April 2021
- All proposals will be assessed based on scientific merit and relevance
- Proposals with PT Exploratory funded partners will be prioritized
- All proposals and questions regarding the call should be submitted to mitportugal@mit.edu.
Link to templated proposal PDF or Word Document
Research Areas
The research scope of each area is described below. It is important to highlight that the research topics are not limited to the examples given in the areas’ description below. Proposals with different focuses from the ones presented, but within the scope of the areas are welcome. Additionally, all research areas should consider data-science integration. The data-science driver should target the development of tools to collect, curate, and synthesize data from public and other repositories, and to make it available more broadly and in more useful forms for public and private use, including but not limited to the public, policy makers, consumers, and businesses.
Area 1: Climate Science & Climate Change
Climate change and global warming are urgent areas of interest to humanity. Climate data, measurements, and instrumentation focused on the oceans, atmosphere, climate, and near-space enables the monitoring of Earth systems dynamics. Such data allows the understanding of how climate has changed over time, enables the development of complex climate models and provides the possibility to estimate in advance the impact of different climate control policies and strategies. With special focus on climate science and climate change, scientific Area 1 targets the study, measurement, and modeling of the complex interactive system dynamics of climate, weather, atmosphere, ocean, land, and near-space. Integrative models and methods of studying and analyzing enormous volumes of data should be implemented.
Area 2: Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
The capacity to observe Earth in its full verticality (from deep-sea to space) enables the understanding of its subsystems (oceans, land, air, and space) including complex dynamics. In this research area, the focus is on investigating Earth’s subsystems, namely its oceans, land masses, atmosphere, and near-space environment, with particular emphasis on measurements, developing technologies and capabilities, and addressing Earth’s critical subsystems from oceans to space through technological innovation, big data, autonomy, and comprehensive systems analysis. Related topic areas include the development of ocean monitoring and measurement, ocean research vessel field deployments to demonstrate novel autonomy and human-machine concept of operations (ConOps) to small-satellite technology and launch capabilities. We solicit projects that enable advances in ocean and earth science measurements, technology, and autonomous operations for exploration and science.
Area 3: Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
Today we can imagine-design-make, essentially in real-time. Human-centered design not only has inspirational effects but it also has societal relevance, having a psychological effect, which has changed how design is seen and valued. Technology, particularly digital technology and additive manufacturing are providing a set of valuable tools capable of providing new possibilities. Within this research topic, research includes multiple aspects of the digital transformation that is enabling new integrated approaches for adaptive design, manufacturing and sustainable solutions. Projects to develop cyber-physical products and systems, assuring improved user experience and value creation for society and the economy are sought. In this context, strategies for Designing at the Speed of Thought are solicited. Synergies are encouraged for research in Area 3 and Areas 1 and 2, for example, to design, manufacture and launch revolutionary Wafer Satellites and MicroSat constellations focused on land and ocean use, algae blooms, top soil erosion, and regenerative aqua- and agriculture.
Area 4: Sustainable Cities (Atlantic Interfaces)
Cities currently have the potential to serve as living-labs and as research units for large-scale environments on Earth. Advances in open data platforms, integration, and accessibility are needed for “smart, sustainable cities.” Within this area context, research involves urban science, design, and engineering with applications in areas such as energy utilization, air quality maintenance, transportation systems, internet-of-things connectivity, and smart cities. Moreover, high priority will be on the ocean-city interface with relevance to Areas 1 and 2. Coastal cities are prioritized and relevant climate change, sea-level rise, temperature and natural disaster monitoring, and development of potential solutions to emerging urban problems.
Link to templated proposal PDF or Word Document
PROGRAM
MIT Portugal Partnership 2030
PROPOSALS
Seed projects; early-stage research or exploratory studies (MIT only)
AWARD
Up to $90,000.00 USD (inclusive of overhead fees)
TERM
One-year funding
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Friday 19 March 2021, 11:59 pm EST CALL CLOSED
ELIGIBILITY
Only MIT Principal Investigators are eligible to receive funding. A coordinated “exploratory” call is opening soon for Portuguese PIs
FUNDING AREAS
Four data-science driven areas (cross-area proposals are highly encouraged):
- Climate Science & Climate Change*
- Earth Systems: Oceans to Near Space
- Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
- Sustainable Cities
*Climate Science & Climate Change proposals encouraged for 2021 call
PROPOSAL FORMAT
- Full proposal details
- Link to templated proposal PDF or Word Document