2024 Research Prize: Call for Submissions

2024 Research Prize: Call for Submissions is now open for entries!

2024 Research Prize: Call for Submissions: The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2024 Research Prize, inviting applications that conduct original research that contributes to the topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.”

Short description

The SOM Foundation is pleased to announce the opening of the 2024 Research Prize.

In 2018, the SOM Foundation introduced the Research Prize to cultivate new ideas and meaningful research that addresses the critical issues of our time.

Applications to this year’s Research Prize should conduct original research that contributes to the topic, “Advancing Toward a Water-Secure Future.” As shared during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference, two billion people lack access to safe drinking water; 40 percent of the world’s population is affected by water scarcity; agriculture demands alone account for 70 percent of water usage; more than 90 percent of disasters are water-related; and pressure on freshwater is projected to increase by more than 40 percent by 2050.

From macro multinational ecosystems to microclimates, there is an urgent need for bold and collaborative solutions to a myriad of existing and future water-related challenges. This year, the SOM Foundation will direct its support toward proposals that address the complex relationship between water, people, and the built environment. Creating a sustainable, equitable, and water-secure future will require innovative and multidisciplinary ideas that shape long-term policies, define comprehensive plans, and identify immediate actions.

The research must be developed in a studio and/or seminar within the academic institution. The lead faculty member(s) will be expected to work in a collaborative manner with faculty from other disciplines, leading professionals, nonprofit organizations, and/or community representatives in addition to students enrolled in the studio and/or seminar. Collaborator(s) can be based worldwide. The winning teams will be required to thoroughly document their research findings and develop conclusions or suggestions for application to professional practice.

Who may enter?

The Research Prize is open to faculty currently teaching at a professionally accredited bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or PhD program in architecture, landscape architecture, interior architecture, urban design, or engineering in the United States.

Prize:

Each year, two $30,000 prizes will be awarded to faculty-led interdisciplinary teams based in the United States to conduct original research that contributes to this year’s topic.