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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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2017 Investments

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Grants

The GRP offers an evolving suite of grant opportunities corresponding to its initiatives. In 2017, we:

2017 Grant Awards

There were 25 new grant awards totaling $24,884,239 in 2017.

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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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2017 Grant and Fellowship Recipients*

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*Grant recipients for a single award include all individuals on the official project team, who may be located at multiple institutions in multiple states. Distribution on the map reflects this.

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Safer Offshore Energy Systems Grants 3

Topic: Preventing the Next Spill: Understanding Systemic Risk in the Offshore Oil and Gas Environment

Total Awards: 6 projects totaling $10,774,000

Grant Type: Research and Development—for projects that advance fundamental science or provide a basis for new technology development.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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ADVANCED CEMENT CHARACTERIZATION AND MODELING TO EVALUATE NOVEL ADDITIVES TO IMPROVE WELLBORE INTEGRITY

Award Amount: $671,000

Project Director: Geir Hareland (Oklahoma State University)

Project Team Affiliation: Oklahoma State University

Overview: Cement is a major material component in the construction and sealing of hydrocarbon wells. Well leakage through cement is a problem that increases maintenance costs and poses threats to surrounding communities and the environment. This project aims to improve characterization and understanding of well cement mixtures to better predict leakage potential and investigate cement additives that could reduce leakage potential and improve wellbore integrity. This information will improve the modeling capability of wellbore integrity and guide designs that can be used to reduce leakage.

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EXPERIMENTS ON MULTIPHASE FLOW OF LIVE MUDS IN A FULL-SCALE WELLBORE WITH DISTRIBUTED SENSING FOR KICK AND GAS-IN-RISER DETECTION/MITIGATION

Award Amount: $4,910,000

Project Director: Wesley Williams (Louisiana State University)

Project Team Affiliations: Louisiana State University in cooperation with Texas A&M University and Weatherford

Overview: Pressure barriers provide the primary means of preventing uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases in offshore wells. However, these barriers are only effective if they have been designed, properly operated, and maintained for the conditions of the environment in which they are employed. The project focuses on gaps in understanding about the behavior of riser gas under high temperature and pressure. Testing will be done using an existing well retrofitted with pressure and temperature sensors to produce data for validating and verifying riser gas models that inform the design of pressure barriers and techniques for preventing uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases.

HYDROCARBON INFLUX BEHAVIOR WITHIN A DEEPWATER MARINE RISER: IMPLICATIONS FOR DESIGN AND OPERATIONS

Award Amount: $1,200,000

Project Director: Ramanan Krishnamoorti (University of Houston)

Project Team Affiliations: University of Houston in cooperation with Mulberry Well Systems LLC

Overview: The formation and management of gas within deepwater marine drilling risers poses a variety of challenges and hazards for offshore energy operations. Uncontrolled riser gas build-up and release were major components of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. This project aims to improve understanding of riser gas formation and unloading (i.e., the processes involved in managing riser gas) through the development, calibration, and implementation of modeling to describe the dynamics pertaining to riser gas under different situations and operating conditions and the assessment of instrumentation that could be used to detect riser gas properties and behavior.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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MITIGATING RISKS TO HYDROCARBON RELEASE THROUGH INTEGRATIVE ADVANCED MATERIALS FOR WELLBORE PLUGGING AND REMEDIATION

Award Amount: $2,614,000

Project Director: Mileva Radonjic (Louisiana State University)

Project Team Affiliations: Louisiana State University in cooperation with SINTEF, University of Pittsburgh, and University of Texas at Austin

Overview: Leaky wellbores with inadequate well plugging materials can allow for the release of hydrocarbons into the ocean at low rates for decades, resulting in cumulative damage to surrounding areas. The goal of this project is to advance capabilities for the prevention and remediation of wellbore leakage in offshore hydrocarbon-producing wells. The project will develop and test new materials to improve or replace current materials used in the plugging and abandonment of wells and develop new methods for placing such materials.

PASSIVE ACOUSTIC TECHNIQUE FOR DETECTING, LOCATING, AND CHARACTERIZING HYDROCARBON LEAKAGES

Award Amount: $591,000

Project Director: Zhiqu Lu (University of Mississippi)

Project Team Affiliation: University of Mississippi

Overview: As offshore deepwater oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow and expand, the risk of underwater oil spills resulting from both natural events and human accidents also increases. Real-time monitoring could help provide early detection of spills that is critical for minimizing impact. Existing monitoring techniques have significant limitations and cannot achieve real-time monitoring. This project launches an effort to develop a functional real-time monitoring system that uses acoustic technologies to detect, locate, and characterize undersea hydrocarbon leakages over large areas in a cost-effective manner.

UNOBTRUSIVE ASSESSMENT OF MACROCOGNITION PROCESSES IN TEAM DECISION MAKING

Award Amount: $788,000

Project Director: James Driskell (Florida Maxima Corporation)

Project Team Affiliations: Florida Maxima Corporation in cooperation with Institute for Energy Technology and University of Central Florida

Overview: Workers in the offshore oil and gas industry operate in high-stress situations where faulty communication or decision making can have severe consequences. This project aims to develop a tool that passively monitors and assesses verbal output in real-time communications to provide information on the cognitive states of speakers. This information could help with detecting issues that could affect decision-making processes and inform intervention and mitigation efforts to address those issues.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Thriving Communities Grants 3*

Topic: Enhancing Coastal Community Resilience and Well-Being in the Gulf of Mexico Region

Total Awards: 4 projects totaling $10,800,000

Grant Type: Research-Practice—for projects that bring together researchers, practitioners, and other perspectives to collaborate on efforts that both inform research and facilitate the use of research results.

*Note: Awarded in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

COMMUNITY AND FAMILY RESILIENCE, STRENGTH AND WELL-BEING: SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON CAMBODIAN AND LAOTIAN REFUGEE COMMUNITIES’ RESPONSES TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

Award Amount: $3,076,000

Project Director: Denise Lewis (University of Georgia)

Project Team Affiliations: University of Georgia in cooperation with Cambodian Association of Mobile and Lao Association of Mobile

Overview: Refugee and immigrant communities’ histories and cultural differences present unique vulnerabilities and challenges for achieving community resilience in response to environmental stressors and disasters. This project will engage with Cambodian and Laotian families in coastal Alabama to determine how individual, family, and community-level strengths and vulnerabilities contribute to community health and well-being and how individuals utilize social networks and formal services to respond to stressors. Culturally responsive interventions and strategies for increasing community capacity and resilience will be developed.

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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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COMMUNITY RESILIENCE LEARNING COLLABORATIVE AND RESEARCH NETWORK

Award Amount: $2,522,000

Project Director: Benjamin Springgate (Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans)

Project Team Affiliations: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans in cooperation with Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program; Community and Patient Partnered Research Network; Greater New Orleans, Inc.; Healthy African American Families II; Louisiana Community Health Outreach Network; Louisiana Department of Health; Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development; Resilient Baton Rouge; St. Anna’s Episcopal Church; Tulane University; University of California, Los Angeles; and University of Southern California

Overview: The project aims to improve resilience and mental health outcomes in six communities in southern Louisiana that are vulnerable to poor health outcomes and the impacts of disasters. By establishing a community-partnered learning collaborative and research network, this project will build the capacity to test and promote practices that can strengthen resilience. The project team will directly engage with communities within Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and coastal southern Louisiana, although the efforts and lessons are likely scalable to other Gulf states and beyond.

HOUSING RESILIENCE IN GREATER NEW ORLEANS

Award Amount: $2,266,000

Project Director: Carlos Martin (Urban Institute)

Project Team Affiliations: Urban Institute in cooperation with Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, Texas A&M University, and University of California, Berkeley

Overview: Although homes provide a first line of defense for individuals against environmental stressors and disasters, little is understood about how housing shapes community resilience. This project plans to examine housing policies and practices that affect household vulnerability to disasters along with the quality and accessibility of related tools and resources that households can use to reduce those vulnerabilities. The project will develop strategies for equitable housing programs, policies, and practices that can strengthen the resilience of communities as a whole. The focus will be on populations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in the greater New Orleans area, but the information and tools developed are intended to help build household resilience throughout the Gulf region.

INLAND FROM THE COAST: A MULTI-SCALAR APPROACH TO REGIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE RESPONSES

Award Amount: $2,936,000

Project Director: Jeff Carney (Louisiana State University Coastal Sustainability Studio)

Project Team Affiliations: Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge in cooperation with Louisiana Sea Grant and University of New Orleans

Overview: Risks from sea-level rise, land subsidence, and extreme weather are not limited to coastal areas but threaten entire inland-coastal regions. This

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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project takes a multi-scalar, multi-disciplinary approach to river flood modeling, health and well-being research, and applied community design to improve flood recovery and long-term resilience across the greater Baton Rouge inland-coastal region. The team links university researchers with engineers, building and landscape architects, planners, policy makers, and community members to improve understanding of inland-coastal environmental conditions and vulnerabilities, determine indicators of community health and well-being, and develop design and planning best practices for reducing risk and increasing adaptive capacity. While the project is focused on helping the greater Baton Rouge region emerge more resilient from the devastating 2016 floods, the resulting framework will be applicable to inland-coastal regions across the Gulf Coast and beyond.

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Capacity Building Grants 1

Topic: Enhancing Community Networks That Improve Coastal Environments, Health, and Well-Being

Total Awards: 12 projects totaling $3,163,000

Grant Type: Community Networks—to help nonprofit organizations enhance the use of science to serve community needs and address coastal challenges.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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BUILDING BRIDGES TO UNDERSTAND FISHING COMMUNITIES AND FISHERIES

Award Amount: $433,000

Project Director: Thao Vu (Mississippi Coalition for Vietnamese-American Fisher Folks and Families [MCVAFFF])

Project Team Affiliations: MCVAFFF in cooperation with University of Southern Mississippi

Overview: With this award, the project team plans to connect scientists with multiethnic fishing communities in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi to encourage a two-way information exchange. Scientists will benefit from the traditional ecological knowledge that they learn from fisher folks, while fisher folks will learn about ecosystem research and data collection methods from their academic research scientist partners. By encouraging cooperative research that connects these two groups, the project team hopes to inform scientific research and fisheries restoration priorities with more comprehensive information about coastal ecosystems and to develop solutions to address chronic challenges that fishing communities face.

BUILDING INDUSTRY ENGAGEMENT WITHIN THE GULF OF MEXICO ALLIANCE TO INCREASE IMPACTS TO REGIONAL EFFORTS

Award Amount: $150,000

Project Director: Laura Bowie (Gulf of Mexico Alliance [GOMA])

Project Team Affiliations: GOMA in cooperation with Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and Mississippi Department of Marine Resources

Overview: With this award, the project team plans to engage and build relationships with business leaders in industries connected to the Gulf’s coastal and marine environments. By encouraging more participation from these sectors in GOMA, the team hopes to facilitate the exchange of science-based knowledge, tools, and experience among government, industry, and other regional stakeholders. This exchange could improve resource management, encourage more science-based solutions to coastal challenges, and result in more accessible data available to more users.

BUILDING ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY THROUGH A COMMUNITY-BASED CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAM FOR MONITORING ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION IN LOUISIANA COASTAL PARISHES

Award Amount: $202,000

Project Director: Sharon Gauthe (Interfaith Sponsoring Committee, Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Organizing [BISCO])

Project Team Affiliations: BISCO in cooperation with Groundwork New Orleans, The LifeLine Group, RAND Corporation, and Sarpy and Associates, LLC

Overview: With this award, BISCO and its partners plan to train coastal Louisiana communities to use citizen science to monitor the environment for contaminants. They intend to pilot a training program designed to develop a citizen scientist network and create sustainable avenues for communication, collaboration, and knowledge exchange. Through community-led citizen science, BISCO and its partners hope to build BISCO’s capacity and enhance

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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community health and resilience in ways that promote equitable cross-boundary collaboration, foster scientific literacy, and encourage community-based action around environmental risks.

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BUILDING SCIENTIFIC LITERACY AND RESILIENCE THROUGH COMMUNITY CITIZEN SCIENCE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

Award Amount: $158,000

Project Director: Ellen (Stevie) Lewis (Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science [Public Lab])

Project Team Affiliation: Public Lab

Overview: With this award, the project team proposes to build a community citizen science network of Biloxi, Mobile, New Orleans, and Pensacola residents who can collect and use data to enhance environmental protection and increase community resilience. Through a series of workshops, Public Lab team will encourage communities to engage in collaborative approaches to prioritizing and answering local environmental questions. Over the course of this project, Public Lab will work to encourage collaborative learning and civic engagement via community-led scientific exploration and investigation.

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COASTWATCH FOR ACTION: ENGAGING ALASKA TEACHERS, YOUTH, AND COMMUNITY IN PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE TO COASTAL HAZARDS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Award Amount: $204,000

Project Director: Elizabeth Trowbridge (Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies)

Project Team Affiliations: Center for Alaskan Coastal Studies in cooperation with Alaska Sea Grant, Alaska SeaLife Center, Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and Prince William Sound Regional Citizens’ Advisory Council

Overview: With this award, the project team will develop materials to educate youth and adults in Alaskan coastal communities about the effects of oil spills and other coastal hazards related to climate change. The team plans to train teachers in Alaskan coastal communities and build a network that connects

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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responders and community preparedness professionals with educators and their students. This project is designed to build capacity in communities that have few resources to address the growing risk of coastal environmental hazards. The team anticipates that the project will foster environmental stewardship and encourage teachers and students to apply scientific concepts to real-world challenges.

ENHANCING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE BY LINKING CONSERVATION AND RESTORATION WITH COASTAL HAZARDS RISK REDUCTION VIA THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) COMMUNITY-RATING SYSTEM

Award Amount: $244,000

Project Director: Christine Shepard (The Nature Conservancy [TNC])

Project Team Affiliations: TNC in cooperation with Barber and Mann, Louisiana State University, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Overview: With this award, TNC and its partners plan to work with three Gulf of Mexico communities to develop tools that can help them identify and select projects that restore habitats, enhance coastal resilience, and earn FEMA community rating system points that reduce flood insurance rates. TNC and its partners will share case studies and lessons learned from this process via GOMA’s Coastal Resilience Team and TNC’s Coastal Resilience Network. They anticipate that this project will increase communities’ capacity to make strategic investments in natural solutions that help protect them from storm and flood impacts. This work could benefit coastal communities in the Gulf of Mexico and across the United States.

EXPANDING COASTAL COMMUNITY CAPACITY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION

Award Amount: $359,000

Project Director: Tracie Sempier (Gulf of Mexico Alliance [GOMA])

Project Team Affiliations: GOMA in cooperation with Louisiana Sea Grant and Northern Gulf of Mexico Sentinel Site Cooperative

Overview: With this award, project team members plan to work on key environmental and economic challenges associated with flooding. They will develop a survey for Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience Community of Practice members, a network of coastal communities and outreach and extension professionals working together on climate change adaptation in coastal zones, to prioritize actions for community project implementation, form working groups, collaborate with local communities to execute next steps, and develop video case studies to share best practices and lessons learned. This project is intended to help coastal communities become more resilient by pairing climate scientists with practitioners, local decision makers, and other technical experts to solve real-world problems related to coastal flooding, saltwater intrusion, and climate communication.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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MAKING MONITORING MATTER: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION IN THE HOUSTON-GALVESTON AREA

Award Amount: $182,000

Project Director: Nathan Johnson (Galveston Bay Foundation)

Project Team Affiliations: Galveston Bay Foundation

Overview: With this award, the project team plans to implement a water-monitoring action plan that will provide local stakeholders and policy makers with access to long-term ecological datasets for Galveston Bay. By communicating this information to the greater Houston community, the project team hopes to help address chronic and acute challenges that Galveston Bay faces, including oil spills, shipping traffic, development, commercial fishing, and climate change. Working with local partners, the team will extend its regional network while fostering scientific literacy, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, and communicating the value of Bay-wide monitoring efforts.

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STRENGTHENING GULF COAST RESILIENCE BY ENGAGING, EDUCATING, AND EMPOWERING VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

Award Amount: $377,000

Project Director: Joseph E. Taylor (Franklin’s Promise Coalition)

Project Team Affiliations: Franklin’s Promise Coalition in cooperation with The Corps Network, University of Arizona, and University of Florida–Gainesville

Overview: With this award, the project team plans to engage people from two sectors—the seafood industry and underserved youth—in environmental stewardship and disaster readiness activities, with the goal of strengthening coastal resilience in Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. By participating in science literacy, leadership, and training activities, the team anticipates that project participants will return to their communities better prepared to help their neighbors become more resilient to disasters and environmental change. The team plans to evaluate what effects these individuals have on their peers using social network analysis.

SUPPORTING THE ISLE DE JEAN CHARLES COMMUNITY RESETTLEMENT THROUGH CROSS-BOUNDARY NETWORKS AND KNOWLEDGE SYNTHESIS

Award Amount: $200,000

Project Director: Alessandra Jerolleman (Lowlander Center)

Project Team Affiliations: Lowlander Center in cooperation with Evans + Lighter, Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw, Inc., MASS Design Group, Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative, and Tulane University

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Overview: With this award, the project team plans to develop cross-boundary networks of professionals and experts to support the Isle de Jean Charles Band of Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw as the community resettles from southeastern Louisiana to land that is less environmentally vulnerable. By pilot-testing an approach that synthesizes scientific, professional, and community knowledge—as well as outreach and educational activities—the project team hopes to create a model that other coastal communities can adapt to address the social and environmental challenges that they face.

SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS DURING DISASTER

Award Amount: $414,000

Project Director: Chandra Brown (Lifelines Counseling Services [formerly Family Counseling Center of Mobile, Inc.])

Project Team Affiliations: Lifelines Counseling Services in cooperation with University of South Alabama

Overview: The project team plans to use this award to provide disaster-related trauma and mental health training for community members, mental health professionals, and social service providers; to support a train-the-trainer model to sustain this network over time; and to partner with the University of South Alabama to develop mental health trauma training courses in existing undergraduate and graduate programs. Through this project, Lifelines Counseling Services will work to increase community resilience and reduce the stigma associated with seeking mental health services in southwestern Alabama.

USING ISLAND INSTITUTE CROSS-BOUNDARY CONNECTIONS TO BUILD DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN MAINE AND BEYOND

Award Amount: $240,000

Project Director: Suzanne Arnold (Island Institute)

Project Team Affiliations: Island Institute in cooperation with Bowdoin College and University of Maine at Machias

Overview: With this award, the project team plans to partner with coastal communities to determine the risks they face from storms and sea-level rise and the strategies they can use to increase their resilience. Working with a network of 150 participants, the team will create multimedia case studies, provide community-based support and training, and share project impacts and lessons learned through national networks. The team’s goal is to ensure that fishing communities in Maine and beyond can continue to make their living from the sea.

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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Collaboration Grants 1

Topic: Seed grants for the Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellows to collaborate on projects that take their research in previously unexplored directions.

Total Awards: 3 projects totaling $147,239

Grant Type: Collaboration—to support cross-disciplinary research among the Gulf Research Program’s network of Early-Career Research Fellows.

ASSESSING THE USE OF TWO RAPID SENSING TECHNIQUES TO DETERMINE OIL CONTENT AND SOURCE OF PERSISTENT OIL IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT

Award Amount: $73,821

Co-Project Directors: Anna Michel (2015 Early-Career Research Fellow; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) and Helen White (2015 Early-Career Research Fellow; Haverford College)

Project Team Affiliations: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and Haverford College

Overview: Oil enters marine environments from a variety of sources, including oil exploration and extraction, accidental spills, and natural seeps on the ocean floor. Once oil enters these environments, its residues can persist and migrate for decades, intermixing with oil residues introduced at various times from various sources. Identifying the source of oil residues is important for addressing specific sources and for understanding the cycling and long-term fate of oil in the marine environment. However, present techniques for doing so are time consuming and require technical expertise. This project aims to develop a quick and reliable method requiring minimal expertise that can be used to detect and distinguish oil residues from different sources through chemical signatures. Ultimately this technique could result in a tool for use by first responders and coastal communities dealing with oil spills.

Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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POLYMER THIN FILMS AS SENSORS OF ATMOSPHERIC PARTICLE PH TO PREDICT IMPACTS ON CLIMATE AND AIR QUALITY

Award Amount: $49,566

Co-Project Directors: Julie Albert (2015 Early-Career Research Fellow; Tulane University) and Kerri Pratt (2016 Early-Career Research Fellow; University of Michigan)

Project Team Affiliations: Tulane University and University of Michigan

Overview: Atmospheric aerosol particles are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the atmosphere. These particles are introduced from both natural sources (e.g., volcanoes, dust storms, vegetation) and human activities (e.g., vehicle emissions, power plants, industrial processes) and can significantly impact climate, air quality, and human health. In the Gulf of Mexico and other areas with offshore energy production, oil and gas extraction operations are a major source of atmospheric aerosol particles. Presently, much remains unknown about the formation, transport, interaction, and toxicity of these particles, particularly submicron particles that can be difficult to detect or analyze, and their effects on coastal communities. This project aims to develop a sensor to better characterize properties of submicron atmospheric particles. This information can then be used to improve the understanding and prediction of the impact of aerosol particles on air quality, human health, and climate, particularly in coastal communities.

SURFACE MODIFICATIONS TO UNDERWATER GLIDERS FOR THE DETERRENCE OF REMORAS

Award Amount: $23,852

Co-Project Directors: Jordon Beckler (2016 Early-Career Research Fellow; Mote Marine Laboratory) and Julie Albert (2015 Early-Career Research Fellow; Tulane University)

Project Team Affiliations: Mote Marine Laboratory and Tulane University

Overview: Underwater gliders are playing an increasingly essential role in ocean exploration. Unfortunately, glider missions in the coastal waters of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico often fail because remoras, a type of fish also known as “suckerfish,” attach themselves to the gliders, causing them to sink. This interaction ends the glider missions and creates challenging situations for retrieval of the devices. Little is presently known about the mechanisms involved in remora interactions with gliders, such as where the remoras attach to the glider structure and where and when interactions are most likely to occur. This lack of understanding limits finding solutions to the problem. This project aims to improve glider operation success in the Gulf of Mexico by trying to determine where, when, and how remoras attach to gliders and by using that information to build mechanisms into glider design that can help reduce the occurrence of remora attachment.

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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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2017 Grant Opportunities

Awards for all of the 2017 grant opportunities will be announced in 2018.

HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS GRANTS 3

Topic: Integration of Monitoring and Evaluation into Environmental Restoration Projects to Improve Outcomes in the Gulf of Mexico

Awards Available: $2–4 million

Grant Type: Research-Practice—for projects that bring together researchers, practitioners, and other perspectives to collaborate on efforts that both inform research and facilitate the use of research results.

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THRIVING COMMUNITIES GRANTS 4

Topic: Improving Risk-Based Evaluations to Support a Public Health Response to the Next Oil Spill

Awards Available: $1–3 million

Grant Type: Research-Practice—for projects that bring together researchers, practitioners, and other perspectives to collaborate on efforts that both inform research and facilitate the use of research results.

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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH DISASTER RECOVERY GRANTS 1

Topic: Assisting Scientific Research Efforts Impacted by Gulf Coast Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

Awards Available: $2 million

Grant Type: Scientific Research Disaster Recovery—to help with the repair, replacement, or recovery of equipment, data, or other research materials damaged or lost as a result of disasters.

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CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS 2

Topic: Advancing Scientific and Environmental Literacy in Children and Youth

Awards Available: $3 million

Grant Type: Education—for projects that increase scientific and environmental literacy and problem-solving skills in children and youth.

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Existing Grant Awards Active/Completed in 2017

There were 24 existing grant awards, totaling $10,364,834, from previous years that were active in 2017, 8 of which reached completion.

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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Suggested Citation:"Grants." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. The Gulf Research Program Annual Report 2017. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25223.
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Each year, the Gulf Research Program (GRP) produces an annual report to summarize how funds were used. These reports review accomplishments, highlight activities, and, over time, will assess metrics to determine how the program is progressing in accomplishing its goals. The 2017 annual report is the fourth report in this series.

The GRP is an independent, science-based program founded in 2013. Through grants, fellowships, and other activities, it seeks to enhance oil system safety and the protection of human health and the environment in the Gulf of Mexico region and other areas along the U.S. outer continental shelf with offshore oil and gas operations.

This report captures key developments and successes in 2017. The GRP continues to build on its past work and seeks to learn, think about, and plan for how and where it can have the greatest cumulative and lasting impacts.

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