IonE’s 2025 Impact Goal Grants Fund $1.13 million in Sustainability Research
Since 2019, IonE's Impact Goals grantmaking program has supported actionable sustainability research with more than $4 million in critical funding. This year, we’re excited to announce seven new projects, which will receive a total of $1.13 million. Our 2025 projects bring the Impact Goal grant portfolio to some $5.5 million in dispersals to 52 interdisciplinary teams across the state and the University of Minnesota (UMN) system, all working toward solutions to pressing environmental challenges.
The 2025 projects include teams conducting research into new opportunities for deep winter greenhouses to dry produce, reducing losses and increasing income for small farmers; deploying (and studying) citizen science to build a better understanding of Minnesota’s changing lakes and ecosystems; and working to invent and study a new paradigm of Natively Intuitive Software and Hardware (NISH) that brings Ojibwe values, including STEAM-focused language revitalization, to data-intensive visualization and environmental decision support.
The breadth of projects that were funded this year exemplify both the creativity and range of sustainability solutions that we need to be exploring and pursuing in order to position the state competitively for the next 10 years.
Melissa Kenney, IonE’s director of research and knowledge initiatives
Each project team includes systemwide UMN researchers, as well as partners from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, including businesses, NGOs, community organizations, Tribal governments, state agencies, and more. This community-engaged approach is core to IonE’s grantmaking philosophy; partners contribute unique expertise and essential perspectives to all stages of the project – and are often key to translating the findings into action. UMN team members this year hail from the Duluth, Morris, and Twin Cities campuses, as well as system-wide Extension.
The teams work together to define a goal: the tangible outcome they want to advance through their collaborative work. Grant review teams are looking for, among other criteria, projects with “local-to-global” significance: teams working in Minnesota whose work will yield new approaches, insights, and solutions with wide-ranging relevance. Global projects with direct application within and for the state/region are also considered.
“Every year, the proposals we receive are more competitive and are bringing in more partnerships that better connect the University to our communities and industries across the state,” says Kenney. That strength is, in fact, also fueled by partnership: Since 2019, IonE has had a rewarding collaboration with the UMN Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships – an opportunity for both organizations to share knowledge, support teams in developing proposals, and formally align their complementary grantmaking programs.
In 2024, IonE expanded our investment focus areas to allow for a more dynamic, diversified portfolio of work. Learn more about our ten expanded priorities here.
Funding for the Impact Goals grant portfolio comes from a variety of sources, including core funding provided by the Institute itself; philanthropic gifts from outcomes-oriented donors; and other strategic investments from the University. Notably, this year $765,000 was awarded to teams through MnDRIVE Environment, a partnership between the University and the State of Minnesota, stewarded by IonE and the College of Biological Sciences, that aligns areas of research strength with the state’s key and emerging industries to address grand challenges.
MnDRIVE Environment–funded teams are exploring the benefits and opportunities for seaweed and seaweed-derived feed additives in animal agriculture; assessing the water and energy impacts of data centers, in order to provide decision-support tools to help small towns being approached by developers; building a model for solar-powered container farms (a way to grow high-value crops in Minnesota year-round); and advancing a patent-pending textile recycling technology, with the goal of growing local circular economies.
Brief excerpts of each of IonE’s 2025 Impact Goals funded projects can be found below. Excerpts were prepared from information project teams provided in their proposals, lightly adapted for length and consistency. At the time of publication, award acceptance from one team was still pending; this story may be updated.
Evaluating and Promoting the Multiple Sustainability and One Health Benefits of Seaweed in Animal Feed Through International Collaboration
A MnDRIVE Environment project
Domain: Food Systems
The use of seaweed in animal feed presents a number of environmental and economic benefits. However, due to inadequate supply and uncertainty of economic sustainability, compared to East and Southeast Asia, U.S. and European animal feed and livestock industries haven’t given much consideration to the use of seaweed as a significant long-term feed resource.
Through international network building, collaboration, and the convening of a Virtual International Seaweed to Animal Feed Conference (VISAFC), the goal of this project is to build awareness and create new knowledge of the multiple sustainability and One Health benefits of seaweed and seaweed-derived feed additives in swine diets to reduce the environmental footprint and improve animal health in pork production systems.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Gerald (Jerry) Shurson, Department of Animal Science. University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
Team:
- Dr. Jinsu Hong, Researcher 5, Department of Animal Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Dr. Chi Chen, Professor, Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Dr. Rylie Pelton, Research Scientist, Industrial Ecology, IonE, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Dr. Christina Mulvenna, Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute, Hillsborough, Northern Ireland
- Sarah Muirhead, Managing Director, Informa Markets/Farm Progress Media, St. Charles, IL
- Rene Schepens, Director, FermentationExperts AS, Bække, Denmark and Sioux Falls, SD
- Dr. Ellen Dierenfeld, Sustainable Feed Innovations, World Wildlife Fund
From Kenya to Minnesota: Advancing Food Sovereignty Through Sustainable Value-Addition
Domain: Food systems
Globally, 13.2% of food produced for human consumption is lost in post-harvest processes. Value-added agriculture, like the drying of produce, reduces losses and increases farmer income.
In this project, a team of mechanical and biosystems engineers, farmers, food scientists, and agriculture specialists will investigate greenhouses for drying produce. The team will build upon local knowledge to optimize the performance of greenhouses dryers already in development with smallholder farmers in Kenya to provide a 50% increase in annual earnings. In parallel, the team will investigate the potential for drying among MN farmers who want to utilize their existing greenhouses when temperatures are too high for production.
Principal Investigator: Prof. Natasha Wright, Richard and Barbara Nelson Assistant Professor, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Co-Investigator: Greg Schweser, Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, University of Minnesota Extension
Team:
- Brenda Kimalel and Kennedy Kwithya Munyoki, Vine Fruits and Vegetables
- Dr. Florence Gatwiri Kiburi, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)
- Jackis Aukah, Kenya Industrial Research and Development Institute (KIRDI)
- Isaiah Ouma Omolo, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
- Daniel Musyoka, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS)
- Jennifer Hoody, PhD student, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Vasanth Balamurugan, MS Student, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Data Centers, Energy, and Water: Local Government Tools for Collective Planning and Community Decision-making in SE Minnesota
A MnDRIVE Environment project
Domain: Decision support
The water and energy demand of data centers can approximate small cities, consuming the equivalent to thousands of homes. Southeast Minnesota is attracting data center developers, offering opportunities for rural jobs and local tax revenue. However this development opportunity is also sparking worry over natural resource use and energy consumption.
This project includes an interdisciplinary team – law, policy, geology, community development, and local government – equipped to assess the local impacts of data center development. The project team will provide tools to help small towns being approached by data center developers evaluate their potential impact and initiate conversations among collective governance bodies about managing the high energy and water demands of data centers.
Principal Investigator: Elise Harrington, Assistant Professor, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Team:
- James Coleman, Professor, University of Minnesota Law School, Minneapolis, MN
- Carrie Jennings, Research and Policy Director, Freshwater & Adjunct Faculty and Affiliate, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Andi Sutton, Executive Director, Southeast Regional Sustainable Development Partnership, University of Minnesota Extension
- Al Roder, City Administrator, City of Byron
- Ragini Varma, City Administrator/City Clerk-Treasurer & EDA Director, City of Lewiston
- Bill Schimmel, City Administrator, City of Stewartville
Minnesota’s Small Lakes: Archiving Stories, Climate Observations, and Attitudes About Climate Change
Domain: Water and land
A 2022 University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource survey of Minnesotans found that 76% of Minnesotans are worried about climate change; 57% responded that they are most concerned about the impacts to the state’s lakes and rivers.
This project will use citizen scientists to collect hydrologic data from small Minnesota lakes and examine how public participation in citizen science on small lakes in Minnesota affects attitudes towards environmental change. The project will pair quantitative data with stories of life on small lakes that inform our understanding of environmental changes on those lakes.
Principal Investigator: Dr. Kristin Riker-Coleman, Assistant Professor of Geography, Department of Geography and Philosophy, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN
Co-Investigator: Dr. Kathryn Haglin, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of History, Political Science and International Studies, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN
Team:
- Patrick Ayd, Science and Operations Officer, NOAA/NWS WFO Duluth, MN
Solar Powered Container Farming: A Model for Sustainable Food Production
A MnDRIVE Environment project
Domain: Food Systems
Growing food and getting it to local communities is dependent on weather conditions and consumes energy – especially in northern climates. Producing that energy with fossil fuels is changing the climate, imperiling the ability to economically produce food which leads to food insecurity in local communities. Container farming can address many issues in local food systems by eliminating the need for large land tracts and ideal weather conditions.
This project will demonstrate a model for growing high value crops in Minnesota year-round that lowers the carbon footprint, increases food system sustainability, and removes barriers from farmers under-privileged in land and capital.
Principal Investigator: Eric Buchanan, Director, Renewable Energy Program, University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota Morris
Team:
- Joel Tallaksen, Renewable Energy Scientist, West Central Research and Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, Morris, MN
- Kent Peterson, Owner, Bees and Greens, Benson MN
- Ed Brands, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies, University of Minnesota Morris, Morris, MN
- Uwe Kortshagen, Professor, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Nate Eylands, Professor, Horticulture Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Vivian Ferry, Associate Professor, Chem Eng & Material Science, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Syd Bauer and Vern Simula, Members, West Central MN Climate Network
Natively Intuitive Software and Hardware (NISH): Ojibwe Information Communication Technologies for Growing Data Storytellers Across Tribal Communities
Domain: Environmental Justice
Current modalities for translating western scientific data and insights, even with the best intentions, do not end up serving tribal communities in the long-term. Environmental justice requires reimagining dominant methods for collecting, discussing, and visualizing data.
This project team of Ojibwe and Anishinaabe language warriors, storytellers, artists, foresters, and computer scientists working alongside allied scholars, will invent and study a new paradigm of Natively Intuitive Software and Hardware (NISH) that brings Ojibwe values, including STEAM-focused language revitalization, to data-intensive visualization and environmental decision support. If successful, the extensible NISH Medicine Wheel software/hardware system could transform how scientists and stakeholder communities learn, communicate, and discover with data and each other. Results will include feedback from applications to actively studied forestry and wild rice data.
Co-Principal Investigators:
- Daniel F. Keefe, Distinguished University Teaching Professor & Professor, Computer Science and Engineering; Assistant Director Digital Design Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
- Diane Willow, Professor, Department of Art; Scholar of the College (CLA) 2022-2025, Imagine Fund Arts, Design, & Humanities Chair, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
PI-in-Training: Sean J. Dorr, 5th year Ph.D. candidate, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Member Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Marten Clan
Team:
- Gimiwan Dustin Burnette, Executive Director, Midwest Indigenous Immersion Network (MIIN)
- Michael Dockry, Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Kathleen Smith, Genwendang Manoomin, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)
- Racquel Banaszak, Ph.D. student, Department of History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN; Member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Sharing Technologies to Catalyze a Minnesota Based Circular Textile Economy
A MnDRIVE Environment project
Domain: Planetary Health
Textile waste is a global problem with an estimated 92 million tons produced annually. Of the estimated 17 million tons discarded each year in the United States, only 2.5 million tons are recycled. Turning the challenge of textile waste into a regional, Minnesota-based, circular economic engine would create a template that other locales could emulate with different recyclable materials.
This project’s goal is to lend organizations the Fiber Shredder, a patent-pending textile recycling technology, to catalyze innovation and adoption of recycled fiber-sustainably grown fiber blends and yarns to grow Minnesota based textile circular economies. Combining technologies and expertise from Grumpelstiltskin’s Fiber Mill in rural northeast Minnesota, UMD’s Fiber Shredder mechanical textile recycling technology that shears discarded apparel into fiber, UMN CFANS Forever Green perennial flax grown in Rosemount, and the UMN College of Design the team hopes to inspire and activate Minnesota organizations to build textile circular economies using their textile waste and sustainably grown perennial flax so people and planet prosper together.
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Abigail Clarke-Sather, Associate Professor, SCSE Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN
Co-PIs:
- Dr. Neil Anderson, Professor, CFANS Horticulture Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Dr. Linsey Griffin, Associate Professor, College of Design, Design Innovation, Apparel, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
- Kelsey Evans, Owner & Operator, Grumpelstiltskin’s Fiber Mill
Team:
Matt Holen, Research Associate, CFANS Horticulture Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
