News

Dear Colleagues, It is with great enthusiasm and excitement that we provide this update regarding the Grand Challenges Grants program, which will provide up to $30 million in institutional investments to fund initiatives and projects designed to accelerate solutions to society's largest and most complex problems.

Fresh out of undergrad and working in advertising in Chicago in the late 2000s, Catherine Knight Steele found an online escape from her cubicle—in the blogosphere. Each day, she soaked up musings on topics ranging from gossip and entertainment to beauty and motherhood, written mainly by Black women. Not only did the content fascinate and enliven her, but it began to feel essential to her sense of personhood—like home. 

Associate Professor Gary Coleman from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland received $2,573,263 from the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the genetics underlying how poplar trees sense nutrients and regulate their metabolism. The information he gains could help farmers maximize yields for poplar and similar crops.