The interactions of humans with their environment and with each other play a critical role in the containment of pandemics. These interactions are intensified in the built work environment where a considerable agglomeration of people is present, making epidemic control a key consideration in building operation. The work environment in health facilities is even more critical for the protection of health providers and patients. We are seeking project proposals that would find innovative solutions to mitigate the imposed effects of the pandemic of Covid-19 virus on our work environment and hence the focus of this special call targets the following two themes:
- Smart, safe, comfortable personal protection equipment and devices for occupant and care provider use or wear in a sterile environment and public space, including classrooms, study library spaces, open office spaces, malls, etc
- Innovative, affordable, energy efficient solutions towards a safe and healthy built environment with a focus on
- novel ventilation systems to reduce disease transmission and cross contamination;
- enhancement of indoor air quality with the use of smart monitoring systems for the detection of specific contaminants and or potentially infected occupants among other solutions;
- smart management system of building occupancy to ensure the applicability of safety standards, and practical and effective handling of occupancy logistics.
Sought solutions need to be safe, energy efficient and affordable. Innovation, efficiency, and the development and deployment of advanced technologies with associated energy costs in the above two themes is expected.
General Guidelines - Support five or six projects focused on one or two topics in this one-time research call cycle depending the value of submitted proposals.
- Faculty in collaborative research teams bid on project deliverables in ways that ensure expected outcomes of each project.
- The funding per project is up to a maximum of $15,000 for the duration of one year.
- The budget categories are subject to the same restrictions of URB with the exception of personnel where the hiring of graduate research assistants, PhD students, or research assistants is not constrained by the same limit. The budget cannot be used for conference travel, summer pay, or course buyout.
Proposal Submission Guidelines Faculty members are required to adhere to the following guidelines when submitting their grant applications:
- Project title
- Background, problem statement and justification
- Objectives of the research
- Research methods
- Expected results and explanation of how the research meets the objectives of the Masri Institute.
- Tentative schedule and budget.
- Principal Investigator (PI) and study team information on expertise and role
- Two-page CVs of PI and team members
- The proposal should be concise and limited to five pages only not including references (similar to a concept note with achievable deliverables).
Scheduled Project Start Date: September 1, 2020.
All proposals must be received at MI online submission system by 5:00 PM, June 22, 2020. No exceptions or extensions will be granted.
Proposals should not have major overlap with previously funded projects, and should not be submitted to other internal funding sources at AUB.
Description, conditions, and evaluation methods are provided in the attached project call.
*Note that the proposal transmittal form should be completed and sent to OGC as per regular internal URB funding routing process.
Funded projects will commence on September 1, 2020 and will be required to submit an annual report to the institute email at
masri-i@aub.edu.lb or upload on the website.
The funded research projects are expected to generate quality publications that should acknowledge the support from the Munib and Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources