UF Research Challenge Grant: Florida Waste Material Innovation, Process Improvement & Data Insights for a Circular Economy

Dr. Charlie Lane, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Solicitation:  The Office of the Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the University of Florida seeks proposals from faculty for research projects designed to explore and test innovative, sustainable waste solutions and closed-loop re-manufacturing processes as means to improve waste diversion and materials reuse within the North Central Florida region.

Call for Proposals:  This challenge grant is a call to all researchers to propose small-scale research projects with immediate application to address the recycling and waste crisis in Florida and to support material reuse and recycling with an emphasis on ultimately developing a Florida-based manufacturing sector focusing on the circular economy of materials. This opportunity supports a partnership between the University of Florida and Alachua County, with an Eco-Industrial Park serving as a research and incubation hub that targets waste materials for innovative reuse and re-manufacture. 

Proposal Development: Proposals should be tied to developing market-based solutions via one or more of the following categories:

1. Creation of new intellectual properties, businesses, and Florida manufacturing jobs
2. Development of innovative material reuse or re-manufacture processes
3. Evaluation and analysis of data as it relates to waste streams, economic impacts, and/or regional market demand for recovered materials

Considerations: Private sector partnerships – specifically in the manufacturing and processing fields – are strongly encouraged. Proposed research should attempt to close the loop of the useful lifecycles of materials. Successful proposals should also address the current challenges in processing and reusing Targeted Waste Materials by the private sector (MSW, Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D), Electronic Waste (E-Waste), and Organics). 

Funding:  Total funding available is $50,000, to be distributed among multiple awards.  The maximum award amounts will be $25,000, with the expectation that most awards will be in the range of $10,000-$12,000. Funds may be restricted from purchase of certain equipment, supplies, or software deemed to be part of indirect costs.

Eligibility:  Proposals may be submitted by any University of Florida faculty member (PI) who is eligible to submit a proposal to an external funding agency.   Courtesy, Adjunct, Visiting and OPS faculty; Assistant In, Associate In, Senior Associate In; Research Associates; and Postdoctoral Associates are not eligible to be PIs for these research awards but may participate as co-PIs or co-investigators. 

Proposals:  Proposals should provide a budget and timeline including the specified use of the funds such as faculty buy-out or salary, graduate assistants, materials, etc. 

Schedule: Deadline for submission of a proposal with a detailed budget is 5:00 PM on June 14, 2019. The proposal and all questions regarding this solicitation should be sent to Matthew Williams, Director, UF Office of Sustainability at miwilliams@ufl.edu. Applicants will be notified of the award no later than August 23, 2019. Research projects including a final project report must be completed no later than September 4, 2020.  For more information on this solicitation, please click:
http://sustainable.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Final_County-UF-EcoPark-Grant-Challenge.pdf .