Citizenship and Sustainability
The AT&T Technology and Environment Awards Program - Connecting Minds for a Sustainable Future
Overview
The AT&T Technology and Environment Awards Program builds on AT&T’s legacy of supporting research in fields that focus on the intersection of the economy and the environment. For the last 14 years, AT&T has invested globally in research projects that study the intersection of community needs and AT&T's business interests via the Industrial Ecology Fellowship Program, which this new program replaces. The newly redefined program will continue to fund research at leading universities that pursue advancements in our knowledge of how the environment is impacted by Information and Communications Technology (ICT), especially those products and services in which AT&T is directly involved.
The AT&T Technology and Environment Awards Program is intended to stimulate interdisciplinary research involving environmental issues, engineering, science, economics, management, business, law and public policy issues. Up to three new contributions of $25,000 each will be made in 2010. Applications will be solicited electronically.
The overarching objectives of the program are (1) to understand how Information and Communications Technologies (e.g. mobile connectivity) can affect the environment; (2) to understand how businesses can apply research findings related to ICT products and services to operate with less environmental impact and (3) to produce university faculty and students who can contribute to solving global and regional environmental problems.
Among the activities that might be considered by faculty members who wish to submit proposals are:
- Developing models and systems for understanding and quantifying the impacts of ICT services and service infrastructures, such as wireless and data connectivity, on the environment.
- Understanding how Information and Communications Technologies (e.g. mobile connectivity) reduce environmental impact and/or how businesses can apply research findings to operate with less environmental impact.
- Developing guidelines and practical economic and environmental tools for rational decision-making.
- Researching activities that impact the telecommunications industry such as greenhouse gas emissions, reuse and recycling and energy efficiencies.
Proposals To Be Considered
AT&T will consider proposals from individual or teams of faculty members. Whether support is for one individual's work or for a team, the maximum contribution to be considered for a project is $25,000.
Proposals will be considered from the following fields independently or in collaboration: physical and environmental sciences, engineering, business, public policy, management science, law and economics. Interdisciplinary proposals are especially encouraged.
Requirements
- Format: Proposals must include (a) a cover sheet identifying the principal investigator(s), with addresses, phone and fax numbers (including numbers during the summer) and e-mail address; other members of the research team with their departments and disciplines listed; and a one-paragraph abstract of the proposal; (b) a core proposal of no more than five single-spaced pages that describes the specific uses of the grant and includes statements of the impact that the work will have on science and engineering, on the educational environment and on students; (c) attachments should include a statement (of no more than one page or a short brochure, if available) on special strengths of the university in fields that are relevant to the specific proposal; (d) curriculum vita of the principal investigator(s) including selected publication lists; and (e) sources and amounts of other relevant funding.
- Topics: Proposals will be considered for support of basic and applied research and the planning and development of new interdisciplinary centers of research. Proposals that address issues involving the provision and use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will be favored in order to reflect the importance of ICT services and products in modern economies.
- Duration: Support will be provided for work this is conducted during the 2010 academic year.
- Deadline: The proposal must be submitted electronically to AT&T Program Manager Marie Robinson at mr3871@att.com by close of business on Dec. 31, 2009. If possible, please send your proposal in PDF form.
- Awards will be $25,000 each and will be paid to the university as fiscal agents, designated for the awardees involved in the project, to be used as stated in the proposal. The AT&T contribution may be applied to direct costs only (e.g., equipment, salary, supplies, etc.). No indirect costs will be covered.
- Any published research as the result of the AT&T contribution should identify AT&T as a financial contributor to the research.
- Recipients will need to provide a midyear informal status report of the research progress and an end-of-project report summarizing the impacts and benefits of the research to Marie Robinson at mr3871@att.com following the timelines listed below.
- Recipients will need to provide a public relations contact from their respective university in order to develop a media plan for announcing and/or celebrating the research.
Timeline:
- December 31, 2009
- Proposals due to Marie Robinson
- March 2010
- AT&T Technology and Environment Awards Program Awards recipients announced
- August 2010
- Submit mid-year informal status reports to Marie Robinson
- January 2011 or Conclusion of Project
- Submit detailed formal reports to Marie Robinson
