ACSF Academic Venture Fund

About the AVF

ACSF's Academic Venture Fund (AVF) is designed to stimulate new, original, multidisciplinary research at Cornell in sustainability science, emphasizing work having the potential to involve external partners such as industry, government, foundations and other non-governmental organizations. Each year, ACSF seeks proposals from Cornell faculty across all Colleges and Schools and encompassing all disciplines contributing to sustainability.

The Academic Venture Fund is supported by generous contributions from David and Patricia Atkinson, Kathleen Marble, and the colleges.

Harmful algal bloom (HAB) off the coast of Texas

2013 AVF Selection

ACSF selected 9 projects for the 2013 AVF Awards:

• Monarchs: Conservation and Controversy
• A Toilet with Biological Pathogen Control
• Small Molecules to Vanquish Parasitic Worms
• The Cornell NutriPhone: Personalized Micronutrient Analysis
• An Environmental Flows Framework for the Andes
• Sustainable Coffee: A Better Model for Smallholder Farmers
• Biodegradation of Cattle Manure Using Fly Larvae
• Understanding Clouds for Better Climate Prediction
• What Causes Brown Tides?
  
  
  

External Collaborations

The Academic Venture Fund is intended for projects within Cornell. Interested external organizations should contact David Dieterich (ACSF Executive-in-Residence &
Director, Strategic Collaborations).

Reporting Guidelines for PI's

• Impacts of Pathogens and Pesticides on Wild Pollinators in Eastern Apple Orchards
• Improving Energy Cost and Scalability of Algal Biofuels
• A Hydrogen Test Bed at Cornell: Distributed-Scale Biorenewable Hydrogen Generation
• Sustainable Production of Staple Leafy Green Vegetable Crops in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Does a Healthy Diet Lead to a Healthy Environment?

• Probing the Micromechanics of Shale under Varying Fluid Compositions
• Developing Species-Specific and Environmentally Friendly Insect Control
• Assessing Mycotoxin Exposure in Pregnant Zimbabwean Women
• Climate Protection as a Driver for Job Creation for New York State
• Energy Harvesting from High-Density, Small-Scale Turbines in Urban Areas

• New Sales Approach for Improved Cookstoves
• Threats to Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in the Finger Lakes
• Developing a Sustainable Specialty Crop Greenhouse Industry in the Northeast
• Harnessing Genomics to Advance Biodiversity and Conservation Research
• Sustainable Disease Management for Emerging Bioenergy Crops

• Property Formalization and the Role of Technology in Tanzania
• Methane Production in Natural Gas Extraction from Shale
• Sustainable Pest Management and Yield Increase Strategies
• Gardens for New York: Ecological Literacy, Diet, and Physical Activity
• A New Framework for Evaluating Agrarian Development

2010 Awards

ACSF awarded eight grants in its 2010 Academic Venture Fund cycle, totalling nearly $600,000:

• Development of Biochar-Based Fibers for Personal Protective Equipment
• Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Risk Analysis for Carbon Sequestration
• Monitoring Air and Water Quality in Marcellus Shale Drilling Sites
• Replacing Antibiotics in the Food Animal Industry with Bacteriophages
• Thousandfold Improvement in Solar Photobioreactors Using Advanced Photonics
• Water Governance in the Mediterranean Basin and Middle East
• Self-Powered Wireless Solar Tiles for a Renewable Energy Future
• University Collaboration on Wind Energy

2009 Awards

In its Spring 2009 AVF Award cycle, ACSF awarded 5 grants, totalling over $500,000:

• Sustainability of Food Systems
• Assessing Carbon Sequestration in Complex Agricultural Landscapes
• The Impact of Green Energy Development on Rural Community Sustainability
• Micropowdered Biomass Combustion
• A Solar Cell Using Inorganic "Grass"
   
   
  

Research

• Improving the Stability and Productivity of Algal Bioreactors for Biofuel Production
• Integrated Digital Design Environment for Sustainable Architecture
• Forecasting Disease and Economic Consequences of Climate Change
• Environmental, Energetic and Economic Potential of Biochar
• Understanding aflatoxin accumulation in maize
• Vibro-Wind Technology: Alternative Wind Energy Systems for Buildings
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Workshops

• Cornell Workshop on Large Scale Wind Generated Power
• Managing Sources of Uncertainty for Sustainable Resource Management
• Building Social Networks for Biological Inventories and Information
• Urban Trees for Sustainable Cities: Workshop to Develop an Integrated Social-Ecological Sciences Research Agenda in New York City
• Environmental Sustainability in an Aging Society