Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund Supports 10 New RISD Research Projects

What if artists, scientists and community members collaborated on solutions to climate change-related problems like a lack of clean drinking water or an overabundance of industrial waste?  How might a spirit of inquiry and experimentation foster social equity within the field of sustainability research?

A host of new research projects supported by RISD’s Somerson Sustainability Innovation Fund (SSIF) are helping to answer such questions and examining everything from new materials and sustainable fishing practices to race-related drowning deaths and strategies for mitigating urban heat island effect. Named after President Emerita Rosanne Somerson 76 ID and endowed by alum Sarah Sharpe 94 GD, the SSIF offers RISD faculty, students and recent alums up to $25,000 in support of transdisciplinary research focused on sustainability. Six of the AY25–26 projects selected for funding are headed up by RISD faculty members.

“The research question driving my project is simple,” says Industrial Design Professor Peter Yeadon. “How can biodesign enable the creation of an effective atmospheric water generator (or AWG) that converts dry air into liquid water?” The project, Atmospheric Water Generator, was spurred by the approximately 2.2 billion people, mainly in the Global South, suffering from severe water shortages.