Early-career faculty invited to apply for seed funding for waste recovery, water reuse research
The team behind the Circular Waste Recovery and Water Reuse project — also known as c(wr)2 — is requesting proposals to its Early-Career Circularity Seed Funding Program. Seed projects should support research that extends the c(wr)2 project’s existing work, which involves studying economically viable, socially accepted and efficient anaerobic bioprocess platforms used to treat waste.
Applications are due by Friday, Oct. 30 and must be submitted online.
Any Kansas State University assistant professor who conducts research may apply. Project proposals may request up to $15,000 to reimburse eligible expenses, including faculty salaries and benefits, travel, supplies and student stipends. Projects should be completed in one year and align with one of the following research thrusts pertaining to circular waste recovery and water reuse.
- Enhanced technologies, such as the anaerobic sequencing batch reactor and the anaerobic membrane bioreactor, convert waste, such as manure, fats, oils and grease, into beneficial products such as methane, crop nutrients and water.
- Use technologies such as membranes and advanced oxidation to improve the quality of water repurposed from waste products, making it safe for higher value uses.
- Assess the adoption potential of circular reuse and recovery systems in the Great Plains states by evaluating the related economic, risk and human dimensions.
Competitive proposals should make a clear, complementary research contribution to the c(wr)2 project. Also, seed projects are encouraged to include outreach or workforce development activities. When the seed project concludes, a presentation will be delivered to the full project team, and a written project completion report will be required.
Throughout the one-year award period, early-career faculty selected to receive seed funding will collaborate with the c(wr)2 project team, which includes interdisciplinary researchers from K-State, Oklahoma State University, Seward County Community College and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This collaboration will include virtual attendance at monthly relevant thrust meetings and quarterly all-team meetings. It may include attendance at an all-hands meeting held in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2027.
The National Science Foundation’s EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Focused EPSCoR Collaborations funded the c(wr)2 project in 2025. Read more about the project.
If you have questions about the seed funding program or c(wr)2 project, then please send an email to cwr2@k-state.edu.
— Submitted by the Circular Waste Recovery and Water Reuse project team