National Science Foundation awards $20 million to the Commonwealth of Kentucky
The funding through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research is focused on studying how climate change affects local communities.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky will receive $20 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation through the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). That program aims to support U.S. states and territories, also known as EPSCoR jurisdictions, that have historically received less funding for research and development.
Through the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program Track-1, Kentucky has been awarded five years of funding to study how climate change affects local communities. The project will allow researchers to find new ways to deal with these challenges, educate the community and create programs to teach future researchers.
The project, officially known as the “Climate Resilience through Multidisciplinary Big Data Learning, Prediction & Building Response Systems” (CLIMBS) program, will advance the fields of climate science, geohazards engineering, and disaster management to improve sustainability and resilience to climate change. Research and educational programs will benefit underserved communities in eastern Kentucky.
Led by the University of Kentucky, scientists from eight universities will use big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to model the impact of different climate scenarios. CLIMBS will help build climate resilience and sustainability in Kentucky’s key industries of manufacturing, data analytics, energy transition and engineering and help train a science and engineering workforce that will enable the growth of smaller industries, such as food and beverage and agriculture.
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