Sowing Innovation through Seed Grants

Nine innovative faculty research projects have been awarded Irving Institute Seed Grants, fueling exploration at the vital intersection of energy and society. Annually, the Irving Institute invites proposals aligned with our mission to support groundbreaking research. With this seed funding, faculty are empowered to develop pioneering ideas that often lead to peer-reviewed publications, attract further funding, and enrich classroom learning.

Our 2025 Irving Institute Seed Grant Awardees Follow:

Balancing Geo-Exchange Borefields

PI: Professor Carl Renshaw 

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Professor Carl Renshaw, Professor Robert Hawley, and CRREL Research Engineer Jamie Potter.

Abstract: This project will test whether Dartmouth's campus geothermal borefields can act as a seasonal "thermal battery" in a cold climate–storing excess heat injected in summer and recovering it in winter–by building a detailed 3D model of heat and groundwater movement and by analyzing field data from Dartmouth (with comparison to a similar Alaska site through a CRREL partnership). Because heating demand in cold regions often far exceeds cooling demand, borefields can gradually cool and lose performance unless their thermal loads are balanced; the team will evaluate whether rotating which borefield is used for summer heat injection, and how much heat is lost to surrounding rock and groundwater, can maintain long-term equilibrium. Outcomes will quantify storage efficiency, compare underground storage to surface tanks and supplemental heating options, guide best practices for scaling geo-exchange into cost-effective "thermal utilities," and help reduce campus and regional carbon emissions while informing broader deployment in other cold regions.

Development of a Methane Mitigation Probiotics

PI: PostDoc Leslie Day, Co-PI Professor George O'Toole

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Professor George O'Toole and PostDoc Leslie Day.

Abstract: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, although it typically receives less attention than carbon dioxide. There are many sources of methane, but most of the production is from microbes and in environments that include the gut of cattle known as the rumen. Historically, attempts to reduce methane production from the rumen have included specially prepared (but expensive) feed or chemicals that inhibit the main microbes that produce methane, called "methanogens." Furthermore, there is a risk of these methanogen-inhibiting compounds entering the milk or beef supply. Here we propose a new strategy to reduce methane that involves a probiotic that shifts the production of methane to propionate; propionate is a natural compound made by bacteria that is absorbed by the cattle to enhance milk production and growth. This probiotic would reduce the use of chemicals, be relatively inexpensive and reduce methane production while increasing feeding effectiveness and providing an economic benefit to the farmer.

Expert-in-the-Loop Large Language Models to Support Energy System Governance: The Case of Offshore Wind

PI: Research Associate Tyler Hansen, Co-PI Professor Elizabeth Wilson

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Research Software Engineer II Simon Stone, Professor Elizabeth Wilson, Research Associate Tyler Hansen, Director of Research Software Engineering William Cohen, and PhD student William Vergo.

Abstract: Offshore wind (OSW) is a critical part of East Coast states' energy plans to meet growing demand and climate goals. But achieving ambitious state targets—84 gigawatts by 2050, enough to power over 25 million homes—requires new levels of coordination across government, industry, and communities. This project develops new methods to help researchers and practitioners strengthen the institutional capacities needed to build a new energy sector. We embed AI tools—specifically large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT—within social science frameworks to transform the vast OSW policy and regulatory paper trail from a costly liability into a powerful resource. We apply these tools to more than one million pages of documents, generating insights to help address policy and regulatory challenges, public concerns, and other bottlenecks. By making these materials more accessible and usable, we aim to support smarter decisions in OSW and other complex, emerging sectors.

Global model simulations of clay mineral seeding to remove atmospheric CO2

PI: Professor Mukul Sharma

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Professor Mukul Sharma, Priyanka Banerjee, PhD, and Manzi Mudahemuka '28.

Abstract: Building on the success of previous studies involving natural clay minerals to enhance the ocean's ability to absorb and store CO₂, our project will use a state-of-the-art Earth System model to study the robustness of our clay spraying approach. These are very complex computer models having a few millions of lines of Fortran code that simulates various components of the Earth System (such as atmosphere, land, ocean glaciers). We will assess how clay spraying might impact upper ocean productivity, nutrient cycles, ocean CO₂ uptake and ocean oxygen levels. The insights from this research will be crucial for identifying which parts of the ocean are most suitable for future field experiments. Ultimately, our goal is to assess whether clay-seeding could become a viable low-cost technique to tackle climate change.

Heading to the sea ice to improve models

PI: Professor Donald Perovich

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Professor Donald Perovich is third from left and PhD student Savannah Byron is second from right.

Abstract: The Arctic sea ice cover is in decline, with a reduction in summer ice extent and a decrease in ice thickness. This loss of sea ice is causing profound weather and climate impacts that extend beyond the Arctic. Because of this, it is critical to properly represent sea ice in climate models. We will participate in a two-month long, international, icebreaker expedition from July 1 to September 2025 exploring three distinct sea ice regimes. During the expedition we will measure how much sunlight is reflected to the atmosphere, absorbed in the sea ice, and transmitted to the ocean. We will also observe how the ice melts in the summer and freezes in the early fall. After the expedition our team will analyze the results and transfer our findings to climate modeling groups.

Hierarchical Engineering of Metal-Organic Cage Functionalized Microlattice Electrodes for Sustainable Hydrogen Production

PI: Associate Professor Will Scheideler, Co-PI Assistant Professor Miguel Gonzalez

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Assistant Professor Miguel Gonzalez and Associate Professor Will Scheideler.

Abstract: The production of green hydrogen through water electrolysis has been identified as key technology for the energy transition. It enables long-term storage of renewable energy and provides opportunities to decarbonize industrial processes such as ammonia synthesis, methanol synthesis, and metals refining. However, current water electrolyzer technologies face critical barriers towards scale-up because they rely on scarce and expensive metal catalysts but only use a fraction of the metal atoms in catalysis. Water electrolyzers also suffer from efficiency losses due to the accumulation of H₂ bubbles at the electrodes surface. To address these challenges, we propose to design hierarchically-structured catalysts that feature molecular cages with atomically-defined catalytic sites coated onto three-dimensional microlattice electrodes. Control over molecular cage structure at the nanometer scale will lead to optimal catalytic site density and activity, while defining microlattice structure at the meso-to-micrometer scale will facilitate efficient mass transport of H₂ gas generated at the electrode.

Improving Emergency Medical Care for Energy Industry Workers in Remote Settings

PI: Sarah Crockett, MD; Co-PI, Andrew Crockett, MD

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Sarah Crockett, MD on the far left, along with collaborators, and Andrew Crockett, MD on the far right.

Abstract: Current energy transition technologies are fueled by workers exposed to unique environments such as remote mines, rural forest lands, offshore windfarms, and Arctic research stations. These workplaces are often hazardous, toxic, and remote, posing direct threats to the health of energy industry workers. When traumatic injuries or medical emergencies happen in these remote locations, there is often a significant gap in medical resources between the site of the emergency and the point where workers have access to pre-hospital care. Evacuations can often take many hours. Our team proposes to bridge this gap in accessing timely emergency care by building on the success of the Tactical Medical Mine Rescue Training (TMR) developed through the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF). Through an academic partnership, we plan to bring high-level rescue training skills to U.S. mining workers. Keeping these workers safe is especially important during a time when expansion of American mineral production is being strongly promoted, in part to support the development of new energy technologies such as solar panels and batteries for power storage. In addition, we plan to work with our partners at TUBAF to expand the TMR curriculum for use in other remote occupational settings. Beyond mining rescue, we propose to develop a TMR curriculum for forestry workers who perform one of the most high-risk jobs in the US and abroad.  

Investigating the Impacts of Petrochemical-Derived Contaminants on Female Fertility: A Novel Study Integrating Exposure Assessment and Cycle Tracking

PI: PostDoc Kayla Iuliano, Co-PIs Associate Professor Megan Romano, and Assistant Professor Britt Anne Goods

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Dr. Kayla Iuliano, Associate Professor Megan Romano, and Assistant Professor Britt Anne Goods.

Abstract: This project seeks to gain a better understanding of how chemicals can impact female fertility. Some of these chemicals can mimic human hormones (known as endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs), and are derived from petroleum byproducts; their production is expected to increase over the next few decades. Scientists believe that rising rates of infertility may be due to exposure to EDCs, but there are limited studies exploring their impacts on human female fertility. This study will work to fill this research gap by recruiting women who use a fertility-awareness based method to track daily metrics of their menstrual cycle. Participants will provide urine samples, which will be analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control National Biomonitoring Laboratory for the presence of EDCs. They will also fill out an online survey about their medical history, and upload three to six of their most recent cycle charts. Analyses will be conducted to determine whether abnormal charts are more common among participants exposed to high levels EDCs.

WildfireOFF: Wildfire-Oriented Forecasting Framework for Power Grid Assessment and Mitigation

PI: Associate Professor Junbo Zhao, Co-PIs, Professor Klaus Keller, Associate Professor Vikrant Vaze, Associate Professor Jonathan Winter, and Visiting Assistant Professor Fangni Lei

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Top row from left: Professors Junbo Zhao, Vikrant Vaze, and Klaus Keller. Bottom row from left: Professors Fangni Lei and Jonathan Winter, and PostDoc Samantha Roth.

Abstract: This project will develop a data-enhanced wildfire risk assessment and mitigation framework that allows electric grid planners and operators to generate optimal strategies for enhancing grid and community resilience to wildfire events. Building on prior wildfire risk assessment work, this project will refine spatial and temporal wildfire propagation modeling and develop an innovative power grid risk mapping tool. The framework will project wildfire exposure risks to transmission lines using historical data while accounting for multiple ignition sources, including natural, human, and powerline-related causes. Using these risk analysis insights, we will develop physics-informed machine learning decision-making solutions for public safety power shutoff strategies, optimizing responses to wildfire threats while minimizing their reliability and economic impacts. The proposed tools will be validated using selected circuits and models from utility partners.