Catalyst grants fuel groundbreaking sustainability projects across michigan and beyond

From e-waste to electricity shutoffs, five new projects tackle urgent sustainability challenges with real-world impact and community-driven solutions

Five research projects tackling key sustainability issues have received funding through the Sustainability Catalyst Grant Program , administered by the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.

With topics ranging from PFAS detection to the future of sustainable fashion, these interdisciplinary, impact-driven efforts reflect U-M’s commitment to partnering with communities and advancing scalable solutions for a more just and resilient future.

“The Catalyst Grant Program helps bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact,” said Jennifer Haverkamp , Graham Family Director of the Graham Sustainability Institute. “These projects exemplify how collaborative, cross-sector approaches can catalyze meaningful change, whether that’s creating safer drinking water, more sustainable health care practices or resilient local economies.”

This year’s funded teams bring together researchers, community organizations, industry partners and public agencies to develop solutions that are practical, inclusive and measurable. Among them is a novel effort to map Michigan’s natural fiber ecosystem—a project that, according to principal investigator Melissa Duhaime , aims to lay the foundation for what she calls “Fibershed Thinking.”

On campus, the project seeks to build cross-disciplinary connections that will prepare future leaders in sustainable fashion and regenerative material systems, said Duhaime, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

“This will look like new research collaborations and new courses designed to train our future leaders and innovators in sustainable fashion rooted in regenerative agro- and material ecology,” she said.

Off campus, the team is working with Michigan Fibershed and Fibershed.org to develop a replicable survey framework that strengthens regional textile economies by identifying local producers, manufacturers and supply chain gaps. Ultimately, the project aspires to inform state and national policy and shift industry norms toward regenerative practices.

The idea had been germinating for years, Duhaime said, but it was the structure of the Catalyst Grant Program—and the convergence of the right partners at the right time—that made it come together.

“The priority that the program places on the real-world translation of the work was an immense draw,” Duhaime said. “For someone trained in a culture of basic research, there are few opportunities to make such a pivot. The Catalyst Program is offering me an opportunity to do just that.”

Another project, led by Nikita Consul , clinical assistant professor in abdominal radiology, aims to reduce the carbon footprint of radiology without compromising the quality of care. With medical imaging services responsible for an estimated 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, her team is evaluating the energy demands of various imaging protocols and developing decision-making tools that integrate sustainability into patient care.

Consul, a clinical radiologist with a background in engineering and sustainability, said the Catalyst Grant Program offered a rare opportunity to connect her past and present work.

“I have a longstanding interest in sustainability and geological science that dates back to my days in chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and semesters of work with the Terrascope initiative there,” she said. “When I received an email in my inbox about the Catalyst Grants, I already had an idea I was working through, and I was not afraid to branch out of the usual medical grant submission channels to apply through Graham.”

Other projects in this Catalyst Grant cycle include efforts to:

• Develop a novel sensor technology to detect PFAS in water, in collaboration with Helen of Troy, manufacturer of PUR water filtration products
• Analyze the socioenvironmental impacts of one of the world’s largest e-waste recycling hubs in Accra, Ghana, to guide urban policy
• Co-create a community-based data tool to track and reduce energy shutoffs in Detroit, in partnership with the Energy Equity Project and the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition

Each project is designed not only to generate new knowledge, but to translate that knowledge into action—supporting communities, advancing equitable outcomes and helping shape the systems that will define a more sustainable future.

To learn more about each project, visit the Catalyst Grant webpage at graham.umich.edu/catalyst .