2024 SPARC Award Recipients

Energy Sovereignty From Below: Studying Renewable Energy and its Contradictions. The Case of Spain

This project investigates resistance to renewable energy development in Spain, focusing on grassroots movements advocating for "energy sovereignty from below." It aims to understand their alternative visions for a fairer and more democratic energy transition, using qualitative methods like interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. 

Ecologies of Farm Automation in the Age of AI

This project examines the impact of AI-driven automation in agriculture on labor dynamics and ecological sustainability, seeking to integrate labor considerations into the discourse on sustainable agriculture. It aims to produce scholarly publications and a grant proposal, contributing to the understanding of the relationship between automation, labor and environmental impacts in the context of global agricultural practices.

Dots and Dyes, and the Design of Hybrid Photocatalysts for Artificial Photosynthesis: Understanding Excited State Electron Transfer and Reductive Hydrogen Evolution Across Interfaces 
 
This project aims to develop a sunlight-driven system using quantum dots and metalloporphyrin dyes to enhance hydrogen production, focusing on the interfacial chemistry vital for efficient charge transfer and advancement in artificial photosynthesis.

Developing High-Resolution Paleorecords of Long-term Extreme Erosion and Precipitation Events in the Lower Great Lakes region: Deciphering Holocene Climate Change to Better Understand and Prepare for the Anthropocene

This project focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes region, using sediment analysis to study past climate variability and its effects on ecosystems and human activities. The goal is to better understand and mitigate the amplified effects of current and future climate changes in this area.

Common Variations of Sex Characteristics in Pediatric Populations

This project investigates the prevalence of variations of sex characteristics in pediatric patients and analyzes the medical responses and treatments provided to them, in the context of increasing scrutiny over irreversible cosmetic surgeries on intersex babies. 

Identifying Brain Network Trajectories and Their Role in Epileptogenesis 

This project proposes to develop methods for identifying and tracking the evolution of networks, especially brain networks after traumatic brain injury, despite the presence of noisy data. The aim is to predict network trajectories, with applications in understanding post-traumatic epilepsy.

This project aims to examine the impact of air pollution, extreme heat, and greenspace on mental health, exploring disparities and psychosocial mechanisms through retrospective and prospective studies in order to develop mitigation strategies.

This project involves creating new artworks towards an exhibition at the St. Louis Art Museum, focusing on the Exoduster Movement, a Black migration pre-dating the Great Migration. The art, combining paintings on archival photographs with metal, glass, and paper elements, explores themes of Black Utopia, self-determination, and historical events like the Homestead Act. The artist will also conduct research and educational workshops in Buffalo, connecting local history to the project. 

Toward a Climate Haven: Preparing for Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region by Combining Performance and Science

Toward a Climate Haven is a project blending sustainability science with performance art to address Western New York's role as a potential climate refuge amid its own climate uncertainties. It aims to foster public engagement and planning through activities, theatrical works, a conference, and publications, focusing on creating a socially just and ecologically sustainable community in Buffalo, a projected "climate haven" for climate migrants.