Research

Addressing Critical Aquatic Ecosystem & Watershed Challenges

Pennsylvania Sea Grant’s competitive research program supports researchers and students seeking practical solutions to ecological and economic challenges that affect our communities and watersheds. Since 2012, Pennsylvania Sea Grant has invested $10.4 million to support 82 competitive research projects at 29 Pennsylvania institutions. which has also led to research experiences for 216 undergraduate, 43 graduate, and 34 Ph.D. students.

Research Projects

Pennsylvania Sea Grant casts a wide net to gather input and data from partners across the Commonwealth to ensure that research projects focus on critical issues that impact our Great Lakes, coastlines, and watersheds. This research has the potential to yield solution-based results to assist decision makers, address pressing coastal and watershed issues, and develop or update statewide ecosystem management strategies.

Resources

We anticipate annoucing the 2027-2029 research funding cycle in winter 2026. At that time we’ll provide updated forms and instructions for applying. In the meantime, researchers are encouraged to visit the resources page which provides resources from the 2026-2028 funding cycle.

The Natural History Museum

Pennsylvania Sea Grant oversees the Natural History Museum at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center in Erie, PA. The museum is a depository for natural history specimens collected primarily from northwest Pennsylvania, and serves as a resource for scientific studies of the ecology of the region.