FACULTY & RESEARCH / COLLABORATORIES
One-year funded groups that bring together CSU faculty across disciplines.
Collaboratories bring CSU faculty across disciplines together to explore critical climate and sustainability challenges. Through discussion, synthesis, network-building, and early-stage ideation, these one-year funded groups foster inclusive engagement and deepen relationships across the School’s faculty sustainability community.
Each Collaboratory is funded for one academic year. The format is designed for the early stage of an idea: when faculty want to convene across disciplines, test framings, synthesize across literatures, or build the relationships needed to develop a larger research program. Collaboratories typically host workshops, working group meetings, and synthesis activities. Many produce a synthesis paper, framework, or position document by the end of the year, alongside the new working relationships built in the process.
Our Collaboratory is designed to support local community action that addresses emerging human-bear conflict under climate change. With a recent >200% increase in human-bear interactions in Colorado, and >400% increase in Larimer County just this year, we have joined together
Colorado growers of hemp, potatoes, and sugar beets face rising pest and disease pressure but have few sustainable, affordable tools to manage it. This Collaboratory convenes chemists, entomologists, plant pathologists, economists, Extension specialists, and state partners to explore the delivery
The Electrochemical Water Circularity Collaboratory will unite CSU researchers across engineering, environmental science, chemistry, agriculture, systems analysis, and community engagement to explore how electrochemical technologies can transform wastewater into recoverable resources. Through interdisciplinary synthesis and network-building, the group will identify
The EST-Collaboratory welcomes CSU faculty and researchers across disciplines to participate in collaborative exploration of and early-stage ideation around critical sustainability challenges at the intersection of the Environment, Society, and Technology (EST) related to technological interventions such as AI and
Agricultural practices, from farm-scale management to landscape-scale decisions, have a significant impact on biodiversity. They can either sustain and restore (agro)ecosystems or contribute to the ongoing extinction crisis. At the same time, both food production and biodiversity conservation face growing
This Collaboratory aims to establish a cross-campus community of practice (CoP) at CSU to enhance awareness of mass timber. The Collaboratory conversations will cover various aspects of mass timber, including its impact on forest health, design and construction, manufacturing, project
PolliCO brings together CSU faculty, students, staff and Extension, along with regional beekeeping and agency partners, to address a documented gap in Colorado-specific pollinator health research and support. This work is directly responsive to a CSU led 2026 statewide beekeeper
Our Collaboratory explores humans’ long-term relationship to Western lands; we will identify and evaluate historical attitudes, ideas, and land practices that have the potential to sustain western U.S. land health and productivity in the face of accelerating climate change. We
The School issues a request for proposals each academic year. Proposals are invited from CSU faculty across all disciplines.