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2020-21 Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals Recipients

Congratulations to our 2020-21 Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals Recipients

This year, Global Affairs offered Grants for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals as a part of a growing partnership with the UC Davis Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Sustainability office. These team-focused grants of up to $7,500 fund global and multidisciplinary programs that enhance UC Davis’ connections to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A set of broad yet ambitious goals that address the universal need for sustainable development, the SDGs were adopted by all UN member states in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 goals—such as ending hunger, ensuring clean water, and combating climate change—provide a common global framework to achieve sustainable development across economic, social and environmental dimensions.

On campus and around the world, UC Davis faculty, students, and staff are addressing all 17 SDGs in various teaching, research, and service activities. The Grants for Advancing SDGs support work already underway and spark new partnerships. This year’s seven selected projects contribute to 11 of the 17 SDGs—locally and globally—bringing together more than 20 faculty, researchers, and students from across UC Davis and collaborating institutions worldwide.

2020-21 Grant Recipients 

Culturally Diverse Participatory Public Plant Breeding: Supporting Farmers of the Asian Diaspora

Ga Young Chung, an assistant professor of Asian American studies in the College of Letters and ScienceE. Charles Brummer, a professor of plant sciences and director of the Center for Plant Breeding in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Katharina Ullmann, director of the Student Farm in the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, earned a grant for their project addressing SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 4: Quality Education, and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Migrant Citizenship for Inclusive Societies

Jeannette Money, a professor of political science in the College of Letters and Science, and Gabriel ‘Jack’ Chin, the Edward L. Barrett, Jr. Chair and Martin Luther King, Jr. Professor in the School of Law, are using their grant to collaborate with colleagues Anna Boucher from the University of Sydney in Australia and Le Ahn Nguyen Long from the University of Twente in The Netherlands in pursuit of SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities and SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions. Their project was selected as the one particularly focused on SDG 10.3 to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome.

Groundwater Quality and Water Security Under a Changing Climate

Jasquelin Peña, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering and a CAMPOS Scholar, and Heather Bischel, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering, are teaming up with Humberto Marotta, an associate professor from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Brazil, to contribute to SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being and SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

Community Mentorship Program Pilot for Radical and Relational Approaches to Inuit Food Security

Jessica Bissett Perea, assistant professor of Native American studies in the College of Letters and Science, and Maria Marco, professor of food science and technology in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Stephanie Maroney, postdoctoral scholar and program manager for the Mellon Public Scholars Program in the Humanities Institute, are collaborating with Aviaja Hauptmann, a postdoctoral scholar from the University of Greenland, to contribute to SDG 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and SDG 17: Partnerships.

Healthier Lives, Healthier Planet

Francene Steinberg, chair and professor of nutrition in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Mark Cooper, assistant professor of community and regional development in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are using their grant to collaborate with John Mathers, professor of human nutrition at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, to further institutional partnerships and advance SDGs 2: Zero Hunger, SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being, and SDG 13: Climate Action.

Student Farms Around the World: Learning While Feeding Communities

Katharina Ullmann, director of the Student Farm in the Agricultural Sustainability Institute, Maria Cecilia Colombi, a professor of Spanish in the College of Letters and Science, and Amanda Crump, an assistant professor of plant sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are using their grant to contribute towards several SDGs: 2: Zero Hunger, 10: Reduced inequalities, 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, and 13: Climate Action.

Developing an Interdisciplinary Framework to Study the Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems in Chile and California

Fernanda Valdovinos, assistant professor of environmental science and policy in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a CAMPOS Scholar, John Largier, professor of environmental science and policy and associate director of international programs at the Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, are collaborating with their colleague Sergio Navarrete from the Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile to contribute to SDG 14: Life Below Water.