From electronic waste to power interruptions, five innovative initiatives address pressing sustainability issues with tangible outcomes and community-focused approaches

Five research initiatives addressing critical sustainability challenges have been awarded funding through the Sustainability Catalyst Grant Program, managed by the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.

Covering a spectrum of subjects from PFAS identification to the prospects of sustainable fashion, these interdisciplinary, impact-oriented initiatives exemplify U-M’s dedication to collaborating with communities while promoting scalable solutions for a more equitable and resilient future.

“The Catalyst Grant Program aids in bridging the divide between scholarly research and tangible impact,” stated Jennifer Haverkamp, Graham Family Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute. “These initiatives demonstrate how collaborative, multi-sector strategies can foster significant transformation, whether that’s ensuring safer drinking water, promoting more sustainable healthcare practices, or developing resilient local economies.”

This year’s funded teams merge researchers, community organizations, industrial collaborators, and public agencies to craft solutions that are practical, inclusive, and quantifiable. Among these is an innovative effort to chart Michigan’s natural fiber ecosystem—a project that, according to principal investigator Melissa Duhaime, aspires to establish a base for what she refers to as “Fibershed Thinking.”

On campus, this initiative endeavors to forge interdisciplinary links that will equip future leaders in sustainable fashion and regenerative material systems, according to Duhaime, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

“This will manifest as new research partnerships and innovative courses aimed at training our future leaders and innovators in sustainable fashion rooted in regenerative agricultural and material ecology,” she stated.

Beyond the university, the group is collaborating with Michigan Fibershed and Fibershed.org to devise a replicable survey framework aimed at bolstering regional textile economies by pinpointing local producers, manufacturers, and supply chain deficiencies. Ultimately, the initiative hopes to influence both state and national policy and encourage industry practices to shift toward regenerative methods.

The concept had been developing for several years, Duhaime remarked, but it was the Catalyst Grant Program’s framework—and the timely convergence of the suitable partners—that enabled it to materialize.

“The emphasis the program places on translating work to the real world was a significant attraction,” Duhaime expressed. “For someone trained in a basic research environment, few opportunities exist to pivot like this. The Catalyst Program is granting me a chance to accomplish just that.”

Another initiative, led by Nikita Consul, a clinical assistant professor of abdominal radiology, seeks to minimize the carbon footprint of radiology without compromising the quality of care. With medical imaging services accounting for an estimated 1% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, her team is assessing the energy requirements of different imaging protocols while developing decision-making tools that incorporate sustainability into patient care.

Consul, a clinical radiologist with a background in engineering and sustainability, noted that the Catalyst Grant Program presented a unique opportunity to blend her historical and contemporary work.

“My enduring interest in sustainability and geological science stems from my time in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and working with the Terrascope initiative there,” she recounted. “When I discovered the email in my inbox about the Catalyst Grants, I already had a project idea in progress, and I was unafraid to step outside the conventional medical grant submission avenues to apply through Graham.”

Other initiatives included in this Catalyst Grant cycle encompass efforts to:

• Innovate a new sensor technology to identify PFAS in water, in partnership with Helen of Troy, the manufacturer of PUR water filtration products
• Evaluate the socioenvironmental effects of one of the largest e-waste recycling centers in Accra, Ghana, to inform urban policy
• Co-create a community-driven data tool aimed at monitoring and reducing energy shutoffs in Detroit, in collaboration with the Energy Equity Project and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition

Each project is crafted not only to generate fresh knowledge but also to convert that knowledge into action—supporting communities, promoting equitable outcomes, and shaping the systems that will build a more sustainable future.

To explore more about each project, please visit the Catalyst Grant webpage at graham.umich.edu/catalyst.