COS Mason researchers translating research into practice to create climate-ready communities across Virginia

COS Mason Researchers Translating Research Into Practice To Create Climate-Ready Communities Across Virginia

Four Mason researchers received funding for: “ART: Translating Research into Practice to Create Climate-Ready Communities Across Virginia.”

Leah Nichols, Executive Director, Institute for a Sustainable Earth, Research and Innovation Initiatives; James Kinter, Professor, Climate Dynamics, Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences (AOES); Director, Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies (COLA); Luis Ortiz, Assistant Professor, AOES; and Celso Ferreira, Associate Professor, Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering, are the recipients of the funding.

In partnership with the Center for Climate Strategies and the University of Kentucky, they will use the award to create university-wide programming that enables the rapid, low-cost translation of the science that local governments, community-based organizations, and local businesses need to support the development of sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient communities.

The researchers will establish a transformative new model for research translation–one that leverages the unique resources of higher education, in collaboration with community stakeholders, to address this gap and co-develop resilience to climate change.

The researchers received $5,538,776 from the National Science Foundation for this project. Funding began in Feb. 2024 and will end in late Jan. 2028.