RSI Explorer Grant

The RSI Explorer Grant is the Resnick Sustainability Institute's main exploratory research grant for Caltech faculty. It supports early-stage sustainability work under RSI's climate and natural-resources mission, with a focus on the four themes of Climate Science, Ecology and Biosphere Engineering, Sunlight to Everything, and Water Resources. Awards go up to $150,000 in direct costs over two years. The program is open only to Caltech principal investigators with primary divisional affiliation and the ability to do research on campus, and it accepts one application per lead PI per cycle. Proposals move through Caltech's PAM system, and the annual cycle uses spring and fall submission windows. The grant suits investigators who need a small, fast research push for exploratory work, proof-of-concept studies, process engineering, prototypes, or instrumentation. The strongest proposals look tightly scoped, tied to RSI's themes, and ready to use Caltech facilities rather than external lab space. It also fits projects that need early validation before larger external funding or longer lab commitments.

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