Cambridge U Studies Plant-Powered Bus Shelter
(U.K.): The prototype hub at the university's botanical garden has walls of plants in pockets made of carbon fiber that receive electrons, produced as a byproduct of photosynthesis, that power a light in the shelter.
Michigan State U Bolsters Campus Sustainability Research
(U.S.): The new Sustainability Fellows Program funds research projects that investigate topics in energy, waste, water and campus member engagement for the purpose of creating a positive impact on the university's sustainability goals, build the university's reputation as a sustainable campus community, and to develop a greater connection between the sustainability department, campus operations, and academic units.
Florida Gulf Coast U to Construct Renewable Energy Research Park
The proposed 240-acre research park focusing on environmental sustainability will focus on technologies that impact the use of solar and other renewable sources, structures that combine renewable energy with electric transportation, energy storage, solar desalination of brackish water, anaerobic digestion of food waste on farms, and shade tolerant plants that can grow under solar panels.
Eight U California System Schools Collaborate to Research Climate
(U.S.): The state's university system has allocated $1.9 million in funding over four years to Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego and Santa Barbara for a coordinated approach to studying climate impacts in diverse natural and human-dominated ecosystems. Scientists from the nine campuses will form an institute, develop a strategy to synthesize climate research in a common framework, assess climate change models for California, and extend collaborative research across the school system.
Energy Dept Reveals 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition Participants
(U.S.): The U.S. Department of Energy's 2016 Collegiate Wind Competition challenges teams of undergraduate students to design and build a model wind turbine based on market research and siting considerations, develop a business plan to market their products, and test their turbines against a set of rigorous performance criteria. The twelve teams participating in the competition are Boise State University, The California Maritime Academy, California State University, Chico, Kansas State University, Northern Arizona University, The Pennsylvania State University, Universidad del Turabo (Puerto Rico), University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Massachusetts Lowell and University of Wisconsin Madison.
U California Berkeley Establishes Chair in Sustainability
(U.S.): The recently established James and Katherine Lau Distinguished Chair in Sustainability will support work that spans the areas of environment and climate, energy supply and demand, and policy and markets. It will be held by the director of the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute and will advance development of scalable solutions for our planet.
Antioch U New England Announces Peace Corps Partnership
Following a model of engaged scholarship, the recently launched program allows students conducting Department of Environmental Studies doctoral work to complete advanced graduate work during their Peace Corps service. The program consists of two years of doctoral courses and 27 months in the Peace Corps while students conduct doctoral research.
Loyola U Chicago Student Extends Growing Season on Campus Grounds
A now senior student enrolled in the university's Solutions to Environmental Problems class uses the campus' outdoor urban agricultural spaces to research ways to extend the growing season into winter in hopes of providing easy and affordable methods people can use to grow fresh produce at home.
Emory U Studies Sustainability Network
Beginning in fall of 2014, the university's Graduate Sustainability Group conducted an analysis of involvement of graduate students in sustainability by making visible the connections between individuals and groups, and are evaluating how these relationships and interactions function.
Monash U Fellow Receives United Nations Award
(Australia): Sir Bob Watson, the university's Monash Sustainability Institute Sir Louis Matheson Fellow, has received a United Nations Champions of the Earth award for his services to science and innovation by promoting the science behind ozone depletion, global warming and the impacts of biodiversity loss. The award, which is the United Nations highest environmental accolade, is awarded to those whose service to the environment is saving lives, improving livelihoods and bettering environmental governance and conservation.
U Hawai'i Research Center Adds Renewable Energy Focus
A new contract modification between the U.S. Navy and the university allows for basic and applied research and engineering, modeling and simulation, and test and evaluation of technologies for the efficient and cost-effective development, use and integration of renewable energy resources to address National Security needs and issues.
Lakehead U Establishes New Research Center
(Canada): The newly created Research Center for Sustainable Communities is focused on interdisciplinary research in the areas of social justice, political economy and environmental sustainability.
Appalachian State U Holds Research Forum
The university's first Sustainability Research Forum, designed to encourage faculty to attend with their classes, highlighted graywater reclamation and remediation at a local haircare salon, coal challenges in Appalachia and Welch communities, and a case study on agroecotourism in Cuba.
MacEwan U Releases Student Research Journal
The student-driven and managed Earth Common Journal recently featured peer-reviewed undergraduate research papers that focus on everyday activism including perceptions of organics and the sustainability of hip hop culture.
Portland State U Studies Air Quality
Researchers recently found that an increase in urban forests led to a reduction in the amount of nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant that can cause asthma, which can save approximately $6.5 million per year by avoiding missed school and work days, emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
U.S. Department of Energy Boosts Clean Energy Research
In an effort to reduce dependence on foreign oil and transition to a clean energy economy, the Energy Department recently announced an approximate investment of $55 million for 31 new projects to accelerate research and development of critical vehicle technologies that will improve fuel efficiency and reduce costs. Approximately seven institutions will benefit from this.
East Kent College Opens Center for Environmental Technologies
(U.K.): The newly opened research center provides an opportunity for students to gain skills in the renewable energy, engineering and construction sectors. The building containing the center features electrical and mechanical systems on display to cross-pollinate with curriculum, solar electric and solar thermal technology, rainwater harvesting to flush toilets, and equipment to measure both energy generated and used. The building earned Excellent by the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM).
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College Awarded New Campus Funds
(U.K.): The college's Gloucestershire Renewable Energy, Engineering and Nuclear project has been awarded five million pounds ($8.5 million) from the government for the first phase of the new campus, which will focus on engineering and technology with an emphasis on low-carbon energy generation.
U Illinois Urbana-Champaign Announces Research Funding Recipients
The university's Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment awarded a combined $540,000 to three interdisciplinary research projects: a water disinfection system, an approach to agriculture that involves woody plants as an alternative to conventional crops, and the development of stoves that use stored solar energy.
Four Universities Test Electric Mini Vehicles
Colorado State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin will receive four electric micro-vehicles to research the reduction of campus carbon emissions and foster research using sensor data. At the conclusion of the projects, all aggregated data will become anonymous and publicly available for any researcher.
U North Carolina Asheville to Create Resiliency Institute
A newly pledged $1 million dollar gift will be used to create the new McCullough Institute for Conservation, Land Use and Environmental Resiliency. The institute’s goals include working with faculty to develop certifications in environmental studies and policy as added professional credentials for university students. Three areas of focus are land use and conservation, urban planning and renewal, and sustainable agriculture.
U California Riverside Launches Energy Research Initiative
(U.S.): The university recently celebrated the formal launch of its Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative, an initiative to research the integration of intermittent renewable energy, such as photovoltaic solar panels, energy storage, such as batteries, and all types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles.
EPA Recognizes Teams of Sustainable Design Expo & P3 Competition
In a recent press release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced seven winning student teams of EPA’s People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) phase II awards for innovative and sustainable designs to help solve today’s complex environmental problems at the 10th annual National Sustainable Design Expo. The winners of the $90,000 seed funding are Cornell University; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; Iowa State University; Purdue University at Indiana; State University of New York at Stony Brook; University of Tennessee at Knoxville; and University of Wisconsin at Madison.
HKUST Holds Opening Ceremony for Energy Institute
(Hong Kong): Building upon The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's programming and research in energy, the Energy Institute offers a multi-disciplinary platform for fostering energy-related research and curricular programs within the university and community.
Antioch U New England to Create New Climate Resilience Center
(U.S.): In response to the President's Climate Data Initiative, the university's new Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience will apply data on climate change risks and impacts in ways that can facilitate more informed decisions. The center will build upon the decade of research in the areas of climate adaptation research and modeling, community engagement, and sustainable development and climate change.
Hampshire College to Establish New Food and Agriculture Center
Part of the college's Sustainability Initiative, the upcoming Center for New England Food and Agriculture will establish relationships with community and academic partners while gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges of local sourcing, and will include a pilot apprenticeship program, an internship program with local and international opportunities, and a collaborative research program with multi-institutional teams.
UC Santa Cruz Students Study On Campus Water Use Impact
As a result of the Marine Conservation class' recent research of on-campus water usage and the local watershed, a behavior change experiment was implemented to test the hypothesis that direct approaches to behavior change would have a more positive result on reducing water consumption.
U Buffalo Announces Launch of New Institute
Emerging from the university's UB 2020 strategic plan, the new Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water (RENEW) is a university-wide interdisciplinary research center focused on the intersection of environmental, societal and economic issues.
Energy Dept Hosts Geothermal Case Study Challenge
Over the course of the spring 2014 semester, student groups at participating universities will produce a series of well-researched case studies detailing the exploration, development, and geologic history of selected U.S. geothermal resource areas. Case studies produced by each student group will be added to the existing collection of data currently available on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Open Energy Information (OpenEI) platform. The top 5 highest quality case studies will be awarded paid travel to present their work in a poster session at the 2014 Geothermal Resources Council Annual Meeting in Portland Oregon, Sept. 28 – Oct. 1.
Portland State U Awards Research Grants
In an effort to advance sustainability research, the university's Institute for Sustainable Solutions and Research and Strategic Partnerships awarded up to $5,000 for 10 stimulus grants to help develop and prepare proposals for external funding for projects geared toward urban sustainability, ecosystem services, and social determinants of health.
Syracuse U Plants Climate Change Landscaping
Consisting of native species suited to its current clime and ones projected to grow there by the end of the century, the garden was designed to research climate change effects on the ecosystem.
U California Los Angeles Responds to White House Call
(U.S.): In response to the 2012 White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the university recently introduced plans to participate in the Grand Challenge Initiative with six projects focused on pressing sustainability issue. The first of six projects, "Thriving in a Hotter Los Angeles," aims for the region to use exclusively renewable energy and local water by 2050 while protecting biodiversity and enhancing quality of life. The remaining five projects will be announced over the next five years.
Northwestern U Sustainability Center Expands Scope
The university's Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern recently became an institute (formerly an initiative), and has expanded its scope to include interdisciplinary research. New research facilities to house university and visiting scholars are currently under construction and expected to open in 2014.
USDA Awards Grant to Study Trees as Bioenergy Feedstock
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture recently announced it will be awarding $10 million to a Colorado State University consortium to study the major challenges limiting the use of insect-killed trees as a sustainable feedstock for biofuel. Project partners include University of Idaho; University of Montana; Montana State University; and the University of Wyoming.
Griffith U Creates Climate Change App
(Australia): The newly released Coastal Ecosystems Response to Climate Change Synthesis Report app, which provides critical information for anticipating how climate change may impact on coastal Australia, will help the public navigate through science and make decisions about the growing climate change threat.
U Canterbury Green Roof Research Shows No Need for Water
(New Zealand): University researchers recently released that green-planted roofs do not need to be irrigated in winter or summer to thrive. Research also revealed the benefits to an on-campus river, for which they won a local award.
U Maryland Initiates Rain Garden Construction & Research
(U.S.): The soon-to-be-completed rain garden will be remediated using native plants and stored in underground cisterns for pollution monitoring. The water will be reused on the university's Public Health Garden, Teaching Garden and Community Garden.
U California Berkeley Opens Food Research Institute
Called the Berkeley Food Institute, the new interdisciplinary center brings together five colleges to foster innovative connections between research, education, policy, practice, and social movements that develop and strengthen sustainable food and agriculture systems which are healthy, just, diverse and resilient.
Valparaiso U Opens Solar Energy Research Facility
The newly dedicated and fully operational James S. Markiewicz Solar Energy Research Facility will provide undergraduates and graduates with engineering and research opportunities. Funding for the facility came from a gift from James S. Markiewicz and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Loyola U Chicago Expands Biodiesel Teaching Lab
(U.S.): After recently winning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's People, Prosperity & the Planet award competition for a proposal that included a living machine to clean biodiesel's "wash water", the university expanded its processing lab to include larger tanks with site glasses and color-coded piping.
Energy Dept. Awards $6.5M for Biofuel Research
The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that New Mexico State University will receive $5 million toward algae yield increases while California Polytechnic State University will receive $1.5 million for the research and development of algae productivity. The new investments will help develop cost competitive algae fuels and streamline the biomass supply chain for advanced biofuels.
