Micro-Grants Community-Based Research
Devised by the BBISS and sponsored by the Kendeda Building Advisory Board, the Micro-Grants Research Program solicits proposals
for very small scale ($50 to $500), short term, sustainability related, research studies to be conducted by members of the Georgia Tech community. Community investigators are encouraged to explore ways in which the Georgia Tech campus can continue to innovate, demonstrate, prove, and promote the adoption of best and next practices in regenerative design and operations. Researchers were also encouraged to use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for research design. All members of the Georgia Tech community are encouraged to apply. The program especially sought proposals from students and staff that had little or no prior research experience.
The program has four objectives:
- to expand scientific thinking and the understanding of the research process amongst those not (yet) directly involved in scientific research;
- to bolster the use of the campus as a living laboratory;
- to give voice to people and communities outside of research that have culturally novel perspectives on problems and their possible solutions, and to create new pathways for partnering with them; and
- to seed novel ideas and nurture nascent investigators.
2023 Micro-Grants Awardees
Awardees presented their findings at the second Micro-Grants Community-Based Research symposium, held on April 12, 2024 in the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.
- Nola Charles, Jaila Kimbro, and Hannah Kate Cass
"GT Be the Bridge"
Be the Bridge Presentation - Maryam Almaian and Dr. Patrick Kastner
"Augmented Architecture"
Augmented Architecture Presentation - Nicole Allen and Elaina Render
"An Investigation into the Cultivability and Regenerative Potential of Various Vegetables and Herbs"
Regenerative Herbs & Veggies Presentation - Donghyun (Daniel) Choi, Abhinav Shubham, and Manpreet Hora
"Data Analytics on Science-Based Targets Initiatives"
Science-Based Targets Presentation - Niha Yendamuri, Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe, and Gray Simmons
"Low-Cost Current Transformer Sensor"
Current Transformer Sensor Presentation - Malte Weiland, Jeannette Yen, Tamsin Leavy, Alan Booker, Gary McNay, Lakshya Sharma, Julie Chen, and Perrin Brady
"Horticulture & Permaculture Workshop"
Creative Gardening Presentation - Jake Churchill, Victoria Pozzi, Dimitri Kalinin, Zihang Zhang, and Dr. Rich Simmons
“'Cleaning' Solar Energy"
Cleaning Solar Energy Presentation - Michael Pena, Kenneth Grant, and Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
"Adjustable Occupancy Sensor Mounting Solution"
Occupancy Sensor Mounting Solution Presentation - Tanmayee Udas, Hruday Shah, Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe, Dr. Scott Duncan, and Gray Simmons
"Monitoring Indoor Ventilation Efficacy using Inexpensive, Accurate, and Modular Outdoor Air Quality Stations"
Outdoor Air Quality Sensors Presentation - Daniel Wochnick, Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe, Evan Goldstein, and Gray Simmons
"Low-Cost Building Occupancy Sensor"
Low-Cost Building Occupancy Sensor Presentation - Arnav Patidar, Ronak Agarwal, Sohan Malladi, and Shyamanth Kudum
"BinVision - Recycle Smarter"
BinVision Presentation
2022 Micro-Grants Awardees
Awardees presented their findings at the second Micro-Grants Community-Based Research symposium, held on April 18, 2023 in the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design.
- Alex Lomis, Devi Patel, and Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
"Design and Development of a Low-Cost and Highly-Scaleable Occupancy Counter to Optimize the Utilization of HVAC Resources"
Low-Cost Building Occupancy Sensor Presentation - Kaitlyn Tran, Shivani Potdar, and Amanda Janusz
"Bird Safe Campus"
Bird Safe Campus Presentation - Ricardo Martinez
"Chiropterans at Georgia Tech"
Chiropterans Presentation - Elizabeth Umanah
"Reimagining Eco-Friendly Parking Lot Design Through Simulations"
Parking Lot Simulation Presentation - Lujain Diab, Ally Kimpling, Jenna Sitta, Marcus Morris, Skylar Ryan, Dr. Jennifer Leavey, and Steve Place
"A Greener Grey: “Ironing” Out Issues in Greywater Systems"
Kendeda Greywater System Presentation - Jun Wang and Yilun Zha
"Kendeda’s Educational Role in Waste Management and Recycling"
Kendeda's Role in Waste Management Presentation - Siddharth Sivakumarun
"Investigating Capacity for Regenerative Energy through Foot Traffic"
Piezoelectric Presentation - Alexandra Rodriguez Dalmau and John Fortner
"Recognition of Insect Species in the Georgia Tech campus with Machine Learning"
Insect Recognition Machine Learning Presentation - Gray Simmons, Kevin Leach, and Dr. Jung-Ho Lewe
"IOT Climate Sensor Development for HVAC Efficiency Analysis"
Climate Sensor Presentation - Kaylin Cross, Pranav Jothi, Maanas Kumar, Brian Wu, Savannah Howard, and Sheng Dai
"Prototyping Bio-inspired Geothermal Energy Recovery for Space Heating and Cooling"
Bio-inspired Geothermal Presentation
2021 Micro-Grant Awardees
Awardees presented their findings at the first Micro-Grants Community-Based Research symposium, held at the end of the Fall 2021-22 academic semester.
- Athena Verghis and Rishi Pathak – CEE Undergrads
"Recognizing and Removing Invasive Plant Species Through Computer Vision and Deep Learning" - Purna Pratiti Saha - ISyE Undergrad
"Quantifying the Per-capita Single-use Waste Impact from Food and Beverage in GT Campus"
Single Use Waste Impact Presentation - Akhil Chavan and Lalith Polepeddi - Research Scientists, Global Change Program
"Monitoring Biodiversity in the EcoCommons"
Monitoring Biodiversity Presentation - Elliot Hodge - CHEM Undergrad
"Edible Campus: A Model for Georgia Tech"
Edible Campus Presentation - Brooke Rothschild-Mancinelli, Rebecca Guth-Metzler, Katherine Nguyen, Aaron Silva Trenkle, and Michelle Wong – IBB Graduate Students
"BBUGS Pollinator Garden"
BBUGS Pollinator Garden Presentation
