The University of Nevada, Reno received several major grants recently to pursue a diverse range of research projects:

The National Science Foundation awarded a $15-million, five-year grant to the University of Nevada, Reno; Desert Research Institute; University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Nevada State College to study climate change in Nevada. Nevada’s National Science Foundation Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research led the grant effort, and the Nevada System of Higher Education is providing an additional $6.6 million for the project. An interdisciplinary “dream team” of researchers will build infrastructure to measure, analyze and model the effects of climate change in Nevada and provide the information to policymakers and the public.

The University’s Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies has received a five-year, $8.7-million grant to expand its integrated Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies. The center will use the funds, awarded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, to enhance its efforts to prevent and reduce substance abuse and associated public health issues for several groups, including 18- to 24-year-olds. The funds will provide training and technical assistance to numerous clients in the West.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded more than $5 million to the University’s College of Engineering. More than $2.5 million will enable research in spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and hydrogen production at the University’s Center for Materials Reliability. Almost $2 million will begin site work for the construction of a 23,000-square-foot addition to the James E. Rogers and Louis Weiner Jr. Large-Scale Structures Laboratory at the Center for Civil Engineering Earthquake Research. The project expands the center’s capability for simulating earthquakes. The remaining $738,000 enhances the University’s ability to commercialize innovative energy technologies to further energy security and stimulate economic growth.

The campus’ Student Conduct Office and Police Services department have teamed up with local law enforcement agencies and Join Together Northern Nevada to secure a three-year, $854,000 grant aimed at reducing underage drinking at the University and the surrounding community. The Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws program, administered by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, is supplying funds for the program, Developing Initiatives with Community Coalitions, Campuses, and Enforcement. Program goals include changing social norms that encourage underage student drinking, reducing the availability of alcohol to underage students through enforcement, and enhancing existing policies and practices that address underage student drinking.