The Cabot Institute Seedcorn Fund’s aim is an annual call to pump prime new and exciting environmental research, to support new interdisciplinary connections and establish new research areas. We are delighted to share details of the funded projects below.
This year we also launched a new funding call – the Accelerator Fund – for recent recipients of Cabot Institute Seedcorn Funding. The purpose of the fund is to enable successful pilot projects to lay a solid foundation for major grants from external funders. We are excited to share details of the first two projects supported through this fund, below.
Both funds are made possible thanks to generous gifts and donations to the Cabot Institute.
Successful Seedcorn Fund projects 2025
Tropical hydrology and resilience in vegetation under extremes
Investigators: Dr Rodolfo Bezerra Nobrega (School of Geographical Sciences); Dr Tommaso Jucker (School of Biological Sciences); Professor Martin De Kauwe (School of Biological Sciences)
Battery sorting proof-of-concept
Investigators: Dr Yannick Verbelen (School of Physics); Dr David Megson-Smith (School of Physics)
A rewilding survey: assessing attitudes towards rewilding in Scotland
Investigators: Dr Lauren Blake (Bristol Veterinary School); Mia Arundel (School of Biological Sciences); Dr Chris Clements (School of Biological Sciences); Prof Jane Memmott (School of Biological Sciences); Sarah Hunter (School of Geographical Sciences);Dr James Palmer (School of Geographical Sciences); Dr Max Stockdale (School of Geographical Sciences)
Advancing River Bathymetry Mapping Through Physics-Informed Neural Networks and SWOT Satellite Observations
Investigators: Youtong Rong (School of Geographical Sciences); Dr Yanchen Zheng (School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering); Dr Jiangchao Qiu (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Prof Jeff Neal (School of Geographical Sciences); Prof Paul Bates (School of Geographical Sciences)
Valuing Nature-Based Infrastructure Systems (NBIS) - Connecting the Culm
Investigators: Dr Neil Carhart (School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering); Prof Colin Taylor (Emeritus) (School of Civil, Aerospace and Design Engineering); Dr Ges Rosenberg (School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering); Dr Qiujie Shi (School of Geographical Sciences)
Pumice and plastics: Techniques in volcanology applied to assessing the distribution of oceanic microplastics
Investigators: Dr Lewis Alcott (School of Earth Sciences); Dr Samuel Mitchell (School of Earth Sciences); Prof Alison Rust (School of Earth Sciences); Chimnaz Emrah (School of Geographical Sciences)
Joint modelling of air pollution exposure and risk of dementia
Investigators: Dr Ana Goncalves Soares (Bristol Medical School); Dr Ensor Rafael Palacios (University of Bath); Prof Kate Tilling (Bristol Medical School); Dr Gareth Griffith (Bristol Medical School); Dr Maryam Makanvand (Bristol Medical School); Dr Theresa Smith (University of Bath); Dr Eunice Lo (School of Geographical Sciences); Prof Patrick Kehoe (Bristol Medical School)
Accelerator Fund projects 2025
Forest futures empowering Amazonian children to safeguard heritage and biodiversity
Investigators: Dr Camilla Morelli (Department of Anthropology and Archaeology); Dr Shirley Famelli (School of Geographical Sciences); Sophie Marsh (animator)
Food systems in protracted crises: applying a new conceptual framework
Investigators: Dr Lauren Blake (Bristol Veterinary School); Dr Mehroosh Tak (SOAS University of London) .