Award winners of 2020/21 Cabot Institute Innovation Fund announced

Cabot Institute mission statement Many minds one mission

Press release issued: 6 November 2020

Winners of the Cabot Institute Innovation Fund for 2020/2021 have been announced. The funds are aimed at supporting bold, ambitious, and impactful ideas, that transcend disciplinary boundaries. It offers the Cabot Institute an opportunity to invite new ideas from our research community – those that might not receive funding from traditional sources, but which show real intellectual or practical promise.

The Cabot Institute Seedcorn Fund is an annual open call of approximately £20,000 to £30,000 derived from generous gifts and donations to the Cabot Institute. Those who apply for funds must reflect the Cabot Institute’s interdisciplinary and engaged research approach, which brings together multiple disciplines and/or non-academic partners.

We were delighted to receive applications from across the Cabot remit.

Funded projects 2020-2021

Reducing food emissions without unintended consequences on health or wider sustainability

Awarded: £6429

Investigators: Taro Takahashi (Bristol Veterinary School), Louise Rutterford (School of Biological Sciences), Angeliki Papadaki (School for Policy Studies), Jeff Brunstrom (School of Psychological Science).

Re-evaluating Chernobyl: improving our knowledge and understanding of the global radiological hazard associated with the world’s worst nuclear accident through an enhanced monitoring provision

Awarded: £3250

Investigators: Peter Martin (School of Physics), Tom Scott (School of Physics), Sarah Millington (Met Office), Neil Willey (UWE Bristol), David Corbitt (Joint Support Office of the European Commission [Ukraine]), Horst Monken-Fernandes (International Atomic Energy Agency), Sergiy Kireev (State Specialized Enterprise (SSE) EcoCentre), Lucy Antysz (Amazon Web Services).

Live music-making in the no-fly, no-contact world: musical and technological innovation towards a new sustainability

Awarded: £5095

Investigators: Neal Farwell (Department of Music, School of Arts), Paul Hill (Department of Electrical & Electronic Engineering).

Understanding agricultural azole use, impacts on local water bodies and AMR: building an interdisciplinary evidence base in Devon and Bristol

Awarded: £3986

Investigators: Susan Conlon (Bristol Veterinary School), Dhara Malavia (Centre for Medical Mycology, University of Exeter), Andrew Jones (Theology and Religion Department, University of Exeter), Ray Chan (Geography department, University of Exeter), Aimee Murray (European Centre for Environment and Human Health, University of Exeter), Nervo Verdezoto (School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University).

Sub-state climate change actors in Bristol: Hope for a just and inclusive transition?

Awarded: £2589

Investigators: Alix Dietzel (Sociology, Politics and International Studies), Alice Venn (University of Exeter)

Further information

For more information about the awards or the next round of Cabot Innovation Funds (scheduled for May 2021) please contact vicky.jones@bristol.ac.uk

If you would be interested in sponsoring the Cabot Institute Innovation Fund and helping drive discovery faster than would otherwise be possible, please visit our Donations page or email alumni@bristol.ac.uk.

We are extremely grateful to our donors, without whom, we could not support the range of excellent projects described in this report. Your generosity has helped support young researchers to develop their careers, facilitated new projects amongst award-winning scientists, pump-primed future research proposals, established global networks, and supported real-world impacts.