Events

Pollination Event: Food for Tomorrow

May 14, 2025 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
Pierpont Commons, North East Room

Faculty researchers are invited to join Food for Tomorrow, the Bold Challenges program’s new theme for Pollination. Designed to spark novel ideas and collaborations, Pollination Events bring together faculty from across campuses to share their work and find potential new directions. The Food for Tomorrow theme seeks researchers spanning fields such as health, agriculture, technology, sustainability and complex systems. 

We anticipate federal interest in the future of food systems; food quality,  production and access; technology innovation; nutrition, and disease prevention. This interactive Pollination event will enable researchers from diverse disciplines to share ideas, explore research synergies, and lay the groundwork for potential future funding opportunities to support food-related research. 

Bold Challenges also presents opportunities for seed funding to catalyze innovative, high-impact projects. These opportunities range from $10,000 (Pollination Awards, available to event participants) to $75,000 (Boost program); each of these opportunities includes staff support for project management and strategic planning. 

Event Highlights:

  • Discuss the external funding landscape in food-themed topics
  • Identify opportunities to combine strengths for transformative research
  • Build interdisciplinary teams to drive impact for food research at the intersections of health, agriculture, technology, sustainability and complex systems
  • Learn about seed funding opportunities to jumpstart collaborative projects

Let’s grow ideas, form cross-cutting collaborations, and shape the future of food together. Join us and be part of the conversation!

Past Events

photo of a panel event on a stage in Ruthven Hall, featuring Arthur Lupia, Maggie Allen and Greg Keoleian
photo of the February 20 Bold Challenges event, Arthur Lupia speaking into a microphone, standing in the middle of the audience
photo of Ravi Allada giving a lightning talk at the February 20 Bold Challenges event

11/15

2024

Women’s Health

11/8

2024

Climate and Health

4/5

2024

Improving Lives through Next Generation Infrastructure

3/22

2024

Creating Sustainable Energy Innovations

3/15

2024

Adapting to Changing Environments

3/8

2024

Advancing Human Health at Scale

2/20

2024

Pursuing Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities at U-M

6/28

2023

AI for the Public Good: Building AI at U-M Visioning

5/9

2022

Smart Health Care Systems for Equitable Access

5/4

2022

Sustainable and Equitable Solutions for the Housing Crisis

4/25

2022

Universal Access to Healthy Water

2/8

2022

Resilient, Equitable, and Carbon-Neutral Physical Infrastructure

1/21

2022

Better Health Outcomes through Better Built Environments