John Z. Duling Grant Program

The John Z. Duling Grant Program was established and funded by a bequest from the estate of John Z. Duling of Indiana, a strong advocate of research who in 1972 proposed the establishment of the ISA Research Trust. The goal of this program is to provide start-up or seed funding to support innovative research and technology transfer projects that have the potential of benefiting the everyday work of arborists. John Z. Duling Grants may be used to support exploratory work in the early stages of untested, but potentially transformative, research ideas and approaches. Examples may include application of new approaches to research questions, or application of new expertise involving novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives. For 2026, the program will focus on Propagation, Plant Selection, Development of New Varieties, and Planting/Establishment and Arboriculture Theory and Practice. TREE Fund welcomes research proposals and applications from a wide range of academic and technical disciplines, of both a qualitative and a quantitative nature. Projects are expected to be completed within one to three years with a maximum grant award of $15,000.