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Cargo ships docked at San Juan on the Ucayali River, Peru. (Credit: Kara Fikrig)
Funding

Catalyzing Innovative Research for Impact

At the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, we provide both short- and long-term funding, often in partnership with other organizations, for novel and sometimes high-risk, high-reward research. By reaching across the university and beyond it, we bring together resources that support sustainability breakthroughs. By backing urgently needed sustainability initiatives with flexibility and creativity, we see significant returns on investment for Cornell Atkinson, the university, and the world.

Since our founding in 2010, we have supported over 1,200 sustainability research projects, on average disbursing over $6 million in research funding annually. Our funding and other programs have engaged more than 500 faculty members across Cornell, as well as more than 250 postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduate students. From seed funding for venturesome research to supporting artists who engage imaginations, Cornell Atkinson’s programs promote sustainability with a creative, innovative spirit.

Open Funding Cycles – Application Deadlines

Explore Our Funding Programs

Academic Venture Fund

As our premier funding initiative, the Academic Venture Fund is a $1.5 million annual program that supports multidisciplinary seed grants in the $50,000-$150,000 range that have the potential to propel good ideas forward to make a measurable impact. Projects often include engagement with external partners from industry, government, nongovernmental organizations, and foundations. The call for proposals opens annually in December.

Innovation for Impact Fund

The Innovation for Impact Fund links Cornell researchers to leading external organizations working on policy and programs around the world. The IIF builds capacity and shortens response time to emerging and critical challenges. IIF awards finance joint projects with diverse NGO, governmental, and corporate partners to foster sustainable solutions for food security, energy transitions, one health, and economic development.

  • EDF & Cornell Atkinson Joint Research
    Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability joint projects focus on actionable, policy-relevant initiatives that address critical environmental and sustainability challenges. These projects must clearly outline a pathway to impact, demonstrating how they will advance the research field, influence policy, or deliver tangible climate and sustainability outcomes. The request for joint proposals for up to $200,000 per project opens annually in the summer.
  • TNC & Cornell Atkinson Joint Research
    The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability support proposals for joint collaborative research or workshops that are relevant to informing environmental policy and have achievable one-year impact goals. TNC and Cornell Atkinson are partnering to accelerate problem-solving research relevant to national and international environmental policy discussions. The request for joint proposals for up to $110,000 per project opens in the summer.
  • IIF Momentum Grants:
    Momentum Grants provide targeted, rapid-response support to advance high-potential partnerships and time-sensitive opportunities. Awards are made by invitation, enabling Cornell Atkinson to move quickly when a collaboration or emerging challenge warrants dedicated investment.

The 2030 Project: Fast Grants

The 2030 Project and Cornell Atkinson offer Fast Grants – research-to-impact seed funding to enable faculty to seize urgent and unique opportunities to provide support for impact-oriented climate research – usually in the $10,000-$25,000 range. The next call is expected to launch in early 2027.

Summer Mentored Research Grants

Summer Mentored Research Grants offer faculty-led summer opportunities for undergraduates conducting sustainability research, structured as a pair of undergraduate researchers mentored by a graduate student and faculty principal investigator. Funding of approximately $27,000 per project is available, which provides support for a graduate student mentor, two undergraduate researchers, and research costs. The call for proposals opens annually in the Fall semester.

Cornell Atkinson Postdoctoral Fellowships

Our postdoctoral program seeks creative and highly motivated early-career researchers to work in tandem with Cornell faculty and external partners to address pressing real-world needs through research and implementation of sustainable solutions. Up to four postdocs are chosen each year for three-year appointments. Applications open annually in July.

Sustainable Biodiversity Fund

Cornell graduate students from all disciplines are welcome to apply to the Sustainable Biodiversity Fund (SBF) to pursue innovative, interdisciplinary research related to protecting biodiversity. Calls for proposals open annually in the fall,  with funding of up to $7,000 per student available.

Graduate Research Grants

Cornell Atkinson’s Graduate Research Grants support Cornell graduate students and postdocs with funding for research that aligns with our primary research themes: Reducing Climate Risk, Accelerating Energy Transitions, Increasing Food Security, and Advancing One Health. Calls for proposals open annually in the fall, with funding of up to $7,000 per student available.

Semlitz Family Sustainability Fellows

The Semlitz Family Sustainability Fellows Program is designed to bring together early-career researchers and business students to prepare for careers in sustainability leadership. Through a combination of coursework, professional development, and experiential learning, Semlitz Fellows learn to make informed choices about where and how to apply sustainability-related decision-making to impact our most pressing challenges. The next call for applications is expected in winter 2027.

Summer Internships

Cornell Atkinson partners with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to provide summer internships for Cornell students who want to fully immerse themselves in project teams working at the intersection of science, policy, community, and the private sector. Collaborating with EDF offices across the country, interns emerge with an understanding of how lasting change is co-created among multiple stakeholders and with a set of real skills that allow them to contribute to the process. The next call for applications will be in winter 2027.

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