PROGRAM AREAS: Biomedical Research | Environment | Education | Helping Hands | Chairman's Grants

Environment

Our goal is to foster the translation of academic innovations for real-world implementation to address climate change.

We support researchers in developing solutions to reduce methane emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Reducing methane emissions today is the fastest opportunity we have to address climate change and dramatically reduce the rate of global warming. Our grants support research and development specifically in reducing methane from agricultural sources, one of the largest contributors of methane emissions globally.

Our Environment program also makes grants to tackle plastic pollution. Over 11 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year. We support solutions to reduce the production of single-use plastics and rethink and reuse plastic, with a focus on supporting solutions within the city of Boston, and research fellowships.

“Climate change is the defining issue of our time. By supporting researchers working on developing solutions to reduce methane and plastic emissions, we can slow down global warming within years and ensure a healthier planet for future generations. ” - ELIZABETH R. GERSTNER

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Featured Grantee

Photo Credit: Dr. Dipti Pitta

Dipti Pitta, B.V.Sc; M.V.Sc; Ph.D, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Dipti Pitta is an Mark Whittier and Lila Griswold Allam Associate Professor of Ruminant Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding the functional role of rumen microbes in nutrient metabolism, enteric methane production, and early-life interventions in dairy cattle. Gerstner Philanthropies provided Pitta with funding to continue her work to imprint the rumen function and prevent the colonization of methanogens in dairy calves. This project builds on her earlier findings, which demonstrated that administering probiotics to calves resulted in reduced stress, improved body weight, and lower methane emissions. The current study seeks to validate the long-term effectiveness of methane mitigation in these calves as they mature, and to scale up probiotic supplementation for widespread commercial application on livestock farms.

Our Grantees

Major Environment Grants

Grants listed below may be from the Gerstner Family Foundation or another Gerstner family philanthropic vehicle. Amounts may reflect cumulative annual grants or multi-year grants. To see annual amounts, please see listings of grants paid each year.

Genetic and management solutions to reduce methane emissions from dairy cattle

Francisco Peñagaricano, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison | Visit Website

This grant supports Professor Peñagaricano’s research to develop and implement genomic evaluations for methane emission traits and implement predictions of methane emissions based on milk spectra data.

$869,000
Scaling feed Interventions to reduce methane from dairy livestock

Environmental Defense Fund | Visit Website

This grant supports the expansion of the scientific foundation of methane emissions solutions in the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS), the scaling of CNCPS use for methane reduction, and the integration of CNCPS into MMRV tools.

$600,000
Development of genetic selection tools for enteric methane emissions reductions

Sara Place, Ph.D, Colorado State University | Visit Website

This grant supports Dr. Place’s research in collecting methane emission phenotypes from beef cattle and building genetic selection prototypes.

$ 253,301
Global-Scale Low-Cost Home Production Using Recycled Polymers

David E. Hardt, Ph.D. and A.J. Perez, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Visit Website

This grant supports Professor Hardt’s and Dr. Perez’s research to use recycled consumer plastics to locally 3D print environmentally friendly homes in distributed micro-factories.

$500,000
Collaborative Fund Grantmaking

Plastic Solutions Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors | Visit Website

This grant supports the Plastic Solution Fund's grantmaking.

$1,000,000
Activate Fellowship

Activate Global Inc, Berkeley, CA | Visit Website

This grant supports the Activate fellowships of Eli Hornstein, founder of Elysia Creative Biology, and Ian Goodine and Ethan Walko, co-founders of rStream

$1,000,000
Application of Early-Life Interventions to Curb Methane Emissions from US Dairy Herds

Dipti Pitta, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania | Visit Website

This grant supports Dr. Pitta's research to imprint the rumen function and prevent methanogen colonization in dairy calves with the potential of permanently curbing methane emissions from dairy herds in the United States.

$508,884
In situ microplastics sensor: A method to quantifying microplastics in water

Anna PM Michel, Ph.D., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute | Visit Website

This grant supports Dr. Michel's research to develop a field-portable microplastics sensor.

$299,999
Enteric Fermentation R&D Accelerator

The Global Methane Hub, Windward Fund | Visit Website

This grant supports the Global Methane Hub's initiative in accelerating progress in developing breakthrough technologies to reduce enteric methane emissions.

$5,000,000
Enteric methane mitigation: Advancing seaweed and bromoform feeding from novelty to practice

Joseph W. McFadden, Ph.D, Cornell University | Visit Website

This grant supports Prof. McFadden’s research to evaluate the safety and efficacy of bromoform feed additives that reduce enteric methane emissions.

$993,613
Valorization of Post-Consumer Plastic Waste

Geoffrey W. Coates, Ph.D, Cornell University | Visit Website

This grant supports Prof. Coates's research to apply compatibilizers to enable recycling of underutilized mixtures of post-consumer plastic waste such as plastic containers and soda bottle caps.

$499,548
Collaborative fund grantmaking: Agriculture research

The Global Methane Hub, Windward Fund | Visit Website

This grant supports the Global Methane Hub’s grantmaking, specifically for research in reducing agricultural methane emissions.

$1,500,000
Climate change mitigation: Scaling conversion of low-level methane

Desirée Plata, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Visit Website

This grant supports Prof. Plata’s research to continue development of a catalyst to convert low-level methane in high throughput reactors and field test in dairy barns.

$750,000