J-WAFS — MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab

J-WAFS, the MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab, is an MIT-wide research lab funded by Community Jameel philanthropy. Its remit is water and food systems, and it is organized as a set of research and training streams rather than a single open competition. The lab runs three funding paths: Seed Grants for early-stage MIT research, the Solutions Program for technology commercialization, and graduate fellowships for water and food solutions, including the Rasikbhai L. Meswani Fellowship for Water Solutions. By 2024, the program reported USD 21.6 million funded, USD 16.9 million in seed grant support, 121 grants, 116 active research projects, 27 fellowships, and more than 300 researchers engaged. Eligibility is tightly held inside MIT. Seed and Solutions grants go to MIT principal investigators, while the fellowships go to MIT PhD students. Community Jameel funds the lab through MIT, so the best-fit applicants are MIT affiliates working on water or food systems research that can move from concept toward application.

Each grant below is a distinct funding opportunity with its own eligibility, scope, and deliverables.