Margaret A. Davidson Resilience Scholar Program
Applications for the 2024 program are now open. Please review the guide to preparing and submitting a proposal. Questions should be directed to Susannah Sheldon, Research and Fellowships Manager.
About the Fellowship
The South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium has established the annual Margaret A. Davidson Undergraduate Resilience Research Scholars Program to provide opportunities for undergraduate students from historically marginalized and underserved communities to contribute novel and innovative ideas and solutions to becoming a more resilient society.
Successful applicants will conduct a research project with a faculty member at a Consortium institution for one semester and have the option to conduct a community-based internship afterwards.
Member Institutions
The Consortium member institutions are Clemson University, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Francis Marion University, Medical University of South Carolina, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. State University, The Citadel, and University of South Carolina.
Resilience in South Carolina
The S.C. Office of Resilience is defining resilience as the ability of communities, economies and ecosystems within South Carolina to anticipate, absorb, recover, and thrive when presented with environmental change and natural hazards. Research could occur in just about any university department from Business to Biology to Engineering to Public Health, social sciences or biophysical sciences.
Research is needed in many fields. Examples are listed below but there are many more areas of work that could be included.
- Green infrastructure implementation to address a specific problem.
- Solutions for changes in stormwater quantity or quality.
- Community adaptation to sea-level rise.
- Farming adaptation to increased salinity in groundwater.
- Understanding how people respond to or are impacted by storm evacuation orders.
- Education of town staff or residents about adaptation to environmental hazards.
- Implications for commercial fisheries as the ocean warms and species shift.
How to Apply
Review the Margaret A. Davidson Resilience Scholar Guide. Connect with a faculty mentor to develop an application. Applications must be submitted by the faculty mentor in concert with the scholar applicant.
Contact Susannah Sheldon, Research and Fellowships Manager, with any questions or to submit your application materials.