The College of LAS is where curiosity drives impact, and the new Curiosity to Impact (C2I) Fund helps faculty members to do exactly that.
Announced in the fall of 2025, the C2I Fund is part of the college’s Strategic Investment Program. Faculty members submit proposals for the creation or revision of courses, certificates, and programs. This year, 15 proposals were awarded a total of over $1.15 million.
Three SESE programs were among the awardees:
GeoAI
Submitted by Julie Cidell, geography and geographic information science, this online graduate certificate program will be the first of its kind in the U.S. dedicated to accelerating convergence of artificial intelligence and geospatial science (GeoAI). The many learning outcomes presented include recognizing the foundational concepts underlying geospatial machine learning and AI, utilizing digital imaging processing techniques to map geographical and environmental issues, and developing end-to-end GeoAI workflows for real-world applications in transportation, disaster relief, and urban analytics.
AI for weather and climate applications
Submitted by Alicia Klees, climate, meteorology, and atmospheric science, this online graduate certificate program will equip students with a more comprehensive understanding of machine learning models and the cutting-edge, advanced statistical tools that are revolutionizing weather and climate science, and strategies for how to pair this knowledge with generative AI tools, like AI-assisted coding, analysis, and workflows.
Field forward: Redevelopment of two geology courses
Cory Pettijohn, earth science and environmental change, submitted a redevelopment of two field-methodology online courses that anchor the Environmental and Engineering Geology graduate programs. Through the production of a video library and podcasts, these redesigned courses will improve online access to field-based skill development to better evaluate contamination using geologic and hydrologic evidence and reasoning, apply field-observation logic to environmental problems, integrate climate-aware perspectives into engineering geology decision-making, and use quantitative workflows to evaluate hazards.