The Boston College Multidisciplinary Faculty Research Seminar on Climate Change receives a Schiller Institute Grant.

A broad-based group of over two dozen BC faculty representing each professional school and several Arts and Sciences departments proposes establishing a multi-year faculty research seminar highlighting climate change, and cognate energy and environmental issues. 

We seek funding for only the first, or pilot year, which includes monthly research presentations by eight to ten BC faculty.  The regular research presentations will be followed by intensive discussion in a luncheon seminar format.  Each presentation will be proceeded by the distribution of the presenters’ working paper or draft material to be reviewed in advance by the faculty participants.  Selected senior PhD students at the research stage will be invited to participate in the seminar in year one.  In subsequent years we plan to integrate research presentations by outside speakers and selected graduate students.

This project is unique in that it is multi-year--we have very specific plans to continue the project into future years, as long as funding can be generated, and it is multistage—we intend to build out to include outside speakers in year two, to include selected graduate student presenters in year two, to develop multiple sources of external support beginning as soon as possible, and to extend the project into a program that also engages very substantial collaborative research, curriculum exchange and development activities, and community outreach initiatives.  The curriculum and outreach elements are not explained in any detail in this proposal because the funding request involves only the faculty research seminar for the first year.