LSU Invests $1.8M in Transformative Research and the Arts
The LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research has invested $1.8 million in seed funding for interdisciplinary research and creative works to improve lives in Louisiana and around the world. This is the third year of Provost’s Fund investment, an internal grant program that supports the university’s fierce commitment to Scholarship First, drive LSU’s national prominence as a top research university, and increase the competitiveness of LSU scholars in their pursuit of federal and extramural funding.
“These newly funded projects exemplify the breadth and depth of innovation at LSU, spanning critical advancements in STEM and transformative contributions in the arts and humanities,” LSU Executive Vice President & Provost Roy Haggerty said. “By seeding these diverse initiatives with the intention that they go on to receive federal support or extramural recognition, we are advancing LSU’s groundbreaking research and creative endeavors that address societal challenges and enrich human understanding.”
This year’s Big Idea grant program, part of the Provost’s Fund, supports research in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, as well as in social and behavioral sciences and the arts and humanities. It also supports scholarly conferences, symposia, and seminars at LSU, with additional funds going toward conference travel and research equipment.
In total, the funded projects will engage more than 70 faculty across 10 colleges and schools on LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, extending collaboration to LSU Libraries, Center for Energy Studies, Center for Computation & Technology, LSU AgCenter, Pennington Biomedical Research Center and LSU Health New Orleans.
Examples of the funded projects include:
- Improved building and energy systems that can moderate the impact of extreme heat on local communities and vulnerable populations.
- Development of a new treatment for traumatic brain injury.
- An effort to establish a microalgae industry in Louisiana by converting abandoned rice fields—lost to saltwater intrusion—into microalgae cultivation ponds. Microalgae absorb carbon dioxide from the air and can be used as biomass for energy production and to create medicines.
- A new book on how empathy can both perpetuate and mitigate conflict by producing either contempt or affinity, and by distorting as well as enabling knowledge of oneself and the world.
- The organization of a SciArt Play Festival at LSU in April 2025, showcasing some of the nation’s best plays on scientific topics, such as genetic engineering, AI, and virology.
For a full listing of project supported through the LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research in 2025, please visit the LSU Office of Research & Economic Development website: https://lsu.edu/research/funding/internal/faculty_research_grant_program/pfirawardees.php
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