Exciting news from The Science Foundation–we have completed our first cycle of What Ifs, a competition to fund curiosity-driven basic science research!! We received 61 complete applications; each application’s video, graphic, and 140 character prompts were reviewed by two faculty, then the top 31 of these were discussed in a series of panels with 3 experts and Science Foundation staff; panels were open to external observers including donors. The Science Foundation board then selected 7 winning applications to receive funds, based on rigorous and high-quality science, excellent communication, likelihood to inspire the public, and internal considerations of our mission and portfolio.
Our reviewers had very high standards for both scientific merit and the potential to spark curiosity. Applications that clearly described an outstanding question and how they would address it, in a compelling and engaging manner, were rated highly.
Winning “What Ifs” projects explore fundamental questions about learning, parasites, mutualists, echolocation, archaea, photosynthesis, and deep earth fungi. You can watch all seven video applications, and our introduction, here!
Thanks to all of our applicants, donors, reviewers, and friends for making this competition a success!
Maren Friesen and The Science Foundation team
The Winners!
What If Rising Heat Makes Learning Go Lopsided? by Kelsey M. Vaughn
Kelsey will use a lab experiment with fish to test whether increased temperatures impact cognition differently in predators and prey — and what the implications are for being eaten!
Can parasites recover after invasive frog removal? by Gabby Commisso
Gabby wants us to re-consider our opinion of parasites, given how important they are in shaping ecosystems. Her work will examine how removing an invasive host impacts these charismatic “inner-fauna”.
Multimodal Signaling in a Specialist Mutualism by Jade Stryker
Cycads are pollinated by specialized beetles. Jade is studying different dimensions of their communication using tests of how the beetles respond to scent and heat.
How tenrecs and other mammals evolved echolocation by Kathryn Everson
Have you heard of tenrecs? Kathryn and her team will make new recordings of these shrew-like mammals from Madagascar and look at their genome to see if their echolocation ability evolved the same way as dolphins and bats.
Archaeal Viruses: Master Manipulators of Archaea by Ines Bilkic
Ines and team want to understand transcription in archaea — weird microbes that are distantly related to bacteria (and humans) — by asking how viruses control gene expression.
Decoding Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) by Daniel Mok
Daniel’s project will use RNAseq to understand photosynthesis in leafless(!) orchids, which he became interested in as an orchid hobbyist.
Just Scratching the Surface: Deep Earth Fungi by Quinn Moon
Quinn is planning to expand our understanding of fungi deep underground by collecting samples from deep wells and then sequencing to find out who is there.
Stay tuned for our next round of “What Ifs…?”, which we are currently fundraising for!
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We’d love to hear if you have ideas or contacts you’d like to share: info@science-foundation.org.