Funding Opportunities

The Trienens Institute is dedicated to the support of student research and initiatives across the Northwestern community in the areas of sustainability and energy. 

Resnick Family Social Impact Program

As part of the Trienens Institute’s commitment to help fund student research, the Institute launched the Resnick Family Social Impact Program in 2016. The program supports student projects that address significant local and global challenges in sustainability and energy. Student teams are invited to apply for project/prototype assistance, project scale-up assistance, and travel assistance related to project development. Multidisciplinary undergraduate or graduate teams with at least one team member who is a current student throughout the duration of the project are eligible to apply. More information on the Resnick Family Social Impact Program is available here.

Northwestern Sustainability Fellowships

Approximately 16 paid Sustainability Fellowships are offerred annually for students to gain real-world experience in energy management and sustainability, furthering the University’s mission to support hands-on experiential learning and enabling students to engage with the physical environment and grow as leaders in sustainability. Two project teams of four students are selected for ten-week fellowships during the Summer and Winter academic quarters. Each fellowship cycle will have one energy-focused and one sustainability-focused project. The Trienens Institute and sustainNU oversee the fellowship program that is supported by Ameresco as a part of a five-year contract with the University.

The Trienens Institute is continuously pursuing additional funding opportunities to advance sustainability and energy solutions through Northwestern research initiatives.