Sydlik Awarded Grant To Advance Clean Energy Research
By Cody Januszko
Media Inquiries- Digital Communications Manager, Scott Institute
- Interim Director of Communications, MCS
- 412-268-9982
The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) advances the development of technologies, systems, and policies that will accelerate the transition to a sustainable, net-zero emissions future. With more than 160 CMU Faculty Affiliates and 15 Energy Fellows, the Scott Institute is driving the future of clean energy and climate tech at CMU. Since the Scott Institute’s founding in 2012, a core initiative has been the Seed Grants for Energy Research program. With this funding, researchers across the university receive important early-stage support for developing cutting-edge energy research.
Now in its 12th year, Scott Institute Seed Grants have provided over $3.7 million in funding to 80 research teams, which resulted in an additional $17 million in follow-on funding from government and external funding sponsors. Receiving more than $4 in additional research funding from external sources for every $1 invested by the Scott Institute demonstrates the strength of CMU’s faculty and their ideas in energy innovation.
In 2024, there were 35 Scott Institute Seed Grant submissions, requesting nearly $2.2 million in funding. This year’s seven awardees will receive a total of nearly $400,000. Five of these awardees will receive funding to initiate research that tackles issues related to decarbonization, energy equity, and resilience. The final two awardees will receive funding to update and repair essential laboratory equipment to conduct experiments that advance the world’s understanding of climate change and decarbonization.
Innovation is in Carnegie Mellon’s DNA. We are excited to support these seven awards spanning our whole campus, because all of them show a high potential to grow and lead to substantive impact on clean energy and climate innovation,” said Costa Samaras, Director of the Scott Institute.
Among this year’s recipients is Associate Professor of Chemistry Stefanie Sydlik and Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Gerald Wang. The collaborators were awarded seed funds for their project, “Decarbonizing Plastics through the Development of Polymer-Functional-Graphene-Oxide Nanocomposites.” Their research aims to help decarbonize plastics by diverting end of life waste to be used in anti-corrosion coating for energy infrastructure.
Learn more about this year’s Scott Institute Seed Grants.“Innovation is in Carnegie Mellon’s DNA.” — Costa Samaras
Stefanie Sydlik
Gerald Wang