What began in 2004 as five students from the Swanson School of Engineering working with a few faculty members today is a university-wide initiative. This year, 35 students across disciplines were paired with a Pitt faculty member, and for ten weeks they traded the classroom for the lab, becoming full-time researchers alongside their mentors, graduate students, and community partners.

On Wednesday, July 22, that research will be presented at the 2026 Summer Sustainability Research Symposium, where students will deliver eight-minute presentations of their projects. Free and open to the public, the event takes place on Wednesday, July 22, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., on the fifth floor of the William Pitt Union.

“It's amazing to see the students grow and learn, to see what they accomplish in ten weeks,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of administration and external relations at MCSI, who helps direct the program. “Very quickly they become experts, in their own way, on the topic they've been working on.”

Connecting students, faculty, and the community

Each fall, MCSI invites its approximately 100 sustainability-associated faculty members from across Pitt to propose research projects. In January, students can apply, selecting their top two projects. The selection committee reviews the applications and works with faculty to match students to projects.

“It's a competitive program,” Kovalcik said. “This year we had 114 applicants for our 35 spots. All the students were incredibly talented, so it’s difficult to pick who gets funded.”

From May to July, students conduct research for ten weeks and work in labs, in the field, or at computers alongside their faculty mentor and that mentor’s graduate students. In addition to research, students attend weekly lunch-and-learn events where featured speakers discuss sustainability, and they participate in two service projects. They partnered with Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Global Links to explore ways to mitigate medical waste, and they also worked in the Oakcliffe area of South Oakland to remove invasives and cut back overgrown plants and to help maintain the garden.

“The students are working full-time for their faculty member getting specific research experience, but we're also trying to give them a broader understanding of sustainability,” Kovalcik said.

This year, the program grouped students into three cohorts with University partners: Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory (water); Office of Sustainability in the Health Sciences (sustainable healthcare); and HAIL (AI and data science). “We wanted to connect students so they could explore their topic more deeply with their peers and with partner centers across campus,” said Kovalcik.

“They really learn skills that are different from what they learn in the classroom, where everything's kind of prescribed for them.” The independence, Kovalcik added, gives students a genuine taste of graduate school as well as the kind of problem-solving they will encounter in the workplace.

The relationships students build over the ten weeks can extend well beyond the summer. Faculty frequently keep strong students on in their labs, and for some, the experience can shape a career, as former summer research participant Pocket Pizzutillo’s story attests.

A transformative experience

“This summer program gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in the role of a researcher compared to my previous part-time research experience,” said Mia van Heerden, a bioengineering student who worked with Steven Little, distinguished professor and department chair of chemical and petroleum engineering. “I could take full ownership of starting and managing a new project that I had little to no knowledge about. Besides the lab work, through this program I learned to present my research in different formats.

“Outside of research, it was fascinating to learn about Pittsburgh's environmental history and the university's sustainability practices. This experience confirmed that I genuinely love the day-to-day work of research.”

Added William Peralta, an industrial engineering student who worked with Amin Rahimian, assistant professor of industrial engineering, “The research this summer provided me with the opportunity to see how individual actions can improve the sustainability efforts of a community. This includes my own research but also discussing the other efforts my peers have done. I hope to continue with sustainable efforts in my engineering career, no doubt inspired by this summer.”

“The MCSI Summer Research Program completely transformed how I see myself as an engineer,” said Sophia Prybyslavskyy, an environmental engineering student who worked with Jacob King, assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering. “In just ten weeks, I went from calibrating a pH probe and pipetting standards to building my own two-cell electrochemical setup to treat acid mine drainage.

“Collecting samples from impacted sites around Pittsburgh and analyzing them in the lab taught me how to troubleshoot real-world problems. Working on a sustainability challenge that directly impacts our region made the work incredibly meaningful. This experience strengthened my confidence as a researcher, and it has inspired me to keep pursuing solutions to water quality and environmental challenges.”

Engineering alumni and friends help fund the Summer Research Training Program in Sustainability. In addition to funding from Jack Mascaro, some students are also supported through the generosity of Charles and Linda Sorber, Doug Condon, and Frank and Daphna Lederman.

The detailed design manual draws on the expertise of four international authors from academia and industry. They are all members of the INBAR Bamboo Construction Task Force (BCTF), one of the leading international bodies on the structural uses of bamboo:

• Dr David Trujillo CEng, Assistant Professor in Humanitarian Engineering, School of Engineering at the University of Warwick;
• Kent Harries PhD, FASCE, FACI, FIIFC, PEng, Professor of Structural Engineering and Mechanics, University of Pittsburgh;
• Sebastian Kaminski CEng, an IStructE Fellow and a structural engineer from consulting firm Arup;
• and Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez CEng, General Manager of the Base Bahay Foundation Inc. (BASE), which is a guide sponsor with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR).

Manual for the design of bamboo structures to ISO 22156:2021 aims to help structural engineers and other architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals understand how this prolific bio-based material can be used safely, with the ISO standard and the manual limited to two-storeys because of fire concerns.

Lead author Dr David Trujillio, University of Warwick says: “This manual marks a significant milestone for the safe use of bamboo for permanent structures. Most structural design codes are developed in higher-income countries to address their own needs. Only later are they adopted or adapted by lower and middle-income countries – but the starting point is never the needs of those regions.

Professor Kent Harries, University of Pittsburgh adds: “There are some 1,600 known species of bamboo. Structurally, it has remarkable mechanical properties. It has also become a very promising bio-based resource, with growing credentials as a sustainable construction material. Nonetheless, this is hugely dependent on designing and building safe and durable structures. Our detailed manual helps to achieve this.”

Sebastian Kaminski, Arup explains: “Bamboo has great potential to contribute to a low-carbon construction sector. Bamboo engineering is a very young field compared to mainstream materials and its unique possibilities are increasingly recognised and supported by growing research and innovation. Our manual is structured to support the design engineer along the journey, from sourcing bamboo to detailed design.”

Luis Felipe Lopez, Base Bahay highlights: “The construction industry contributes nearly 40% of carbon emissions globally, and bamboo, a regenerative and durable material, is redefining how we build our structures. From being an alternative to a reliable building material, bamboo is now gaining global recognition, and the need for a comprehensive framework is essential to support design engineers and ensure the safe and proper use of bamboo in the built environment, maximising its full potential and environmental advantages.

Kewei Liu, Coordinator of the INBAR Global Bamboo Construction Programme, mentions: “The publication of this guide is of great significance in promoting the application of the current ISO 22156:2021 standard, which has been the most widely accepted international bamboo standard since the 2000s. The authors have made a remarkable contribution to the global use of bamboo construction.”

Bamboo is native to all continents apart from Antarctica and Europe, although numerous species successfully thrive across Europe. Its lifecycle makes it an attractive resource in the context of tackling the global climate emergency, as like trees it fixes carbon in its leaves, stem, roots and surrounding soil. Bamboo’s harvest does not disturb the stored carbon in the soil.

Alongside the four leading authors, the manual was also reviewed by eleven expert reviewers. It has ten chapters covering a wide range of topics including the bamboo supply chain; bamboo project management; grading and mechanical characteristics of bamboo; analysis of bamboo structures; seismic and wind hazard design using bamboo; element and connection design; durability; bamboo structural shear walls; and worked examples of bamboo’s structural use in real-life examples.

Dr David Trujillo, University of Warwick concludes: “The guide is published in the wake of the tragic Hong Kong tower block fires. We share condolences for all those impacted, and await the outcome of investigations as we cannot comment until all the facts are in. However general risk management principles advocate a risk assessment and consideration of use of flame-retardant materials on high rise and closely spaced buildings, along with fire detection and suppression.

“Importantly, and given the wide use of bamboo, this guide sets out provisions for its safe use, including for fire, covering permanent buildings and not scaffolding. Our aim is for this to be a must-use resource for the structural engineer already working with bamboo or considering its use. We also hope it will be a trusted resource for colleagues across the built environment globally, whether in industry or academia.”

Curtis majored in environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, but he is equally fascinated with languages, especially Japanese, which he began studying in high school. “It’s so different, linguistically, from English, and I took as many Japanese courses at Pitt as my schedule allowed,” Curtis said.

Although he received the George Washington Prize and graduated from the Swanson School of Engineering in 2024 with a 3.98 grade point average, Curtis had no intentions of attending graduate school. An internship and the possibility of studying abroad helped change that, and Curtis recently received a prestigious Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) Scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in Sustainability Sciences at the University of Tokyo. In the fall, he will immerse himself in Japanese culture and research how to ensure disaster management plans benefit all people involved.

They seemed the happiest

In 2019, when Curtis toured colleges and universities, he was always careful to talk to the engineering students and ask about their impressions of the program. While these students spoke well of their respective schools, he sensed something unique at Pitt. As he said, “The students here genuinely seemed the happiest.”

Curtis enrolled and weathered the Covid year online. When classes resumed in person, he thrived. He earned straight As and became active in the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) IDEA committee, an organization that builds community so all students and faculty can excel.

As Curtis developed as an engineer and as an active member of the Swanson School, he didn’t lose his love of language. During his sophomore year, he interviewed with Pitt’s Japanese department and began studying the language at the third-year level.

During his final year, Curtis completed his senior design project that focused on improving energy efficiency in older and historic Pittsburgh homes by replacing appliances and sealing openings. The project would provide a perfect jumping off point after earning his degree.

Envisioning a more sustainable future for all

After graduating from Pitt, Curtis interned at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), a nonprofit research organization working for a cleaner, more sustainable future. He drafted a document on fleet electrification—exploring the logistics, benefits, and other considerations of transitioning fleets of vehicles to electric.   

Curtis also drafted a paper on transportation project prioritization. When officials propose projects like upgrading a highway, repairing a bridge, or creating a new road, they assess the need, which can determine which projects are funded.

“For projects like these,” Curtis said, “there should be a scale or a matrix to prioritize the projects. Traditionally, the considerations have focused on safety and economic impact; however, some states are incorporating new ones, such as carbon emissions and equity.”  

Curtis explored how different states are incorporating these new factors and outlined best practices in project prioritization. And he grew increasingly interested in the ways organizations and governments determine how projects are funded—and how that affects marginalized communities.

For the opportunity to work with the ACEEE, Curtis in large part credits Pitt. “I was grateful because beyond the research skills I had gained, my senior design project and my involvement with the CEE IDEA committee aligned perfectly with the work I would do at the ACEEE,” he said.

Graduate school is elsewhere

Before working with ACEEE, Curtis had heard little about the methods for prioritizing projects and how important decisions are made—or about how United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are implemented.

“Up until that point,” he said, “I had a hard time imagining that equity, if it was even discussed at all, could have a point value.” The process and the ways different states or countries approach it—and how those decisions affect different people—fascinated him.

While Curtis hadn’t planned to attend graduate school, if he did, he knew that it would be abroad. “I would want to immerse myself in a different culture and gain insight from living and working somewhere else,” he said.

Inspired by his experiences at ACEEE, his continued study of the Japanese language, and his interest in Japanese perspectives on the environment and sustainability, he formed a plan. But Curtis needed to find a way to pay for a graduate education overseas.

Since 1954, through its competitive MEXT scholarship program, the Japanese government has helped more than 100,000 students from around the world realize their dream of studying at a university in Japan. Curtis discovered the scholarship and applied. He also applied to the University of Tokyo’s Sustainability Sciences program and was accepted.

This month, he received final confirmation of the MEXT scholarship, which will cover tuition and provide a stipend for living expenses. In the fall, he will begin his master’s work in a country that has long inspired him.

Curtis will research equity in natural disaster management. He will explore how governments and organizations in different countries plan for prevention, evacuation, and post-disaster efforts, and how those plans affect marginalized communities.

“I want to learn how they’re incorporating equity so that low-income and other marginalized communities are not left behind—and how management programs can ensure all people receive the support they need,” Curtis said.

This project and the opportunity to engage with people from around the world to work for a more sustainable, equitable future reflects Curtis’ belief in the purpose of engineering—to serve humanity. It speaks to the spirit with which he approached his time at Pitt, one of endless curiosity and a desire to uplift those around him.

This intensity is only expected to climb with future warming – creating devastating effects on the health and stability of environmental justice communities, communities with predominantly people of color or those living below the poverty line, across Allegheny County. 

Engineers at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering and Mascaro Center of Sustainability Innovation (MCSI) are partnering with the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) and Landforce, an employment and environmental social enterprise, through a three-year $930,411 Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) grant to increase climate resilience in environmental justice communities through water-based cleanup projects and green infrastructure to minimize flooding and associated public health risks in environmentally burdened communities in the county. 

The Department of Emergency Services, Department of Sustainability and Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) are providing consultation for the climate resilience plans and green stormwater infrastructure designs. Allegheny CleanWays, a local nonprofit organization that works to eliminate illegal dumping and littering in Allegheny County, will oversee the cleaning of illegal dumping grounds and removing trash from waterways. 

“This partnership is emblematic of the important role universities can and should play with and in service of our communities, especially communities that are most affected by the flooding we’ve been experiencing these past few years,” said Melissa Bilec, co-director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Special Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability, and the George M. and Eva M. Bevier Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pitt.  “I feel honored and grateful to work with a talented team, and aim to demonstrate the service and talent of Pitt Engineering and MCSI.” 

Through Pitt’s sustainability capstone course – part of the undergraduate sustainability certificate and graduate degree program in sustainable engineering – students will partner with external stakeholders and determine solutions to these complex sustainability challenges. 

“We’re excited to be partnering with Pitt to achieve measurable and meaningful environmental and public health results in our environmentally vulnerable communities," said Dr. Stephen Strotmeyer, program manager, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, ACHD. "This has been a county goal since the creation of the Plan for a Healthier Allegheny to improve climate resilience and preparedness by 2027.”

As part of the grant, $93,110 will be allocated to Pitt to design small-scale green infrastructure projects that align with the climate resilience plans created by collaborations between municipal leaders and residents in environmental justice communities, the ACHD, the Steel Rivers and Turtle Creek Valley Councils of Governments (COGs), and other government and academic partners. The plans will use data from the ACHD Climate Resilience Dashboard and input from the community gathered during a series of focus groups. 

“Students will meet with government councils, municipalities, and nonprofit partners to learn about the priorities of each community. The goal is that they create designs for green infrastructure projects that are cost effective within a reasonable timeframe,” said David Sanchez, MCSI associate director and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. “These projects will be created by the community, for the community to divert stormwater and reduce the impacts of flooding.”

In addition to their physical projects, students will develop a model to estimate the amount of storm water diverted per project, the total projected environmental impact, and the estimated maintenance costs. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EJG2G program provides funding at the state, local, territorial and tribal level to support government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms. For 2023, the EPA selected 88 EJC2C cooperative agreements that receive a total of $86.1 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and annual appropriation act funding to help underserved and overburdened communities across the country.

In contrast, circular economy – a model where products and materials are by design kept in continual use – aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption.

While approaches to implement  a circular economy (CE) approach continue to be discussed at the highest levels of government and global organizations, cities and communities are at the frontlines. Getting a CE to work in practice requires collaboration between government, businesses, local stakeholders and everyone in between. 

A research team from the University of Georgia College of Engineering and the University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) and Swanson School of Engineering have been awarded a $5,000,000 cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue their efforts to build a circular economy. This Phase 2 project, Track I: SpheriCity -- Circularity from Molecules to the Built Environment in Communities, is a continuation of their Phase 1 project, “A Tale of Two Cities: Optimizing Circularity from Molecules to the Built Environment,” and is part of the NSF's Convergence Accelerator. 

“The primary goal of Phase 1 of this project was to use the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP) framework – a standardized assessment protocol used to inform decision-making on materials usage and management – to converge circularity across four different categories: molecules, plastics, organic materials, and the built environment,” said Jenna Jambeck, Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of Environmental Engineering and PI. “In Phase 2 we're making it easier for cities to conduct CAP, so community experiences can translate to eleven other locations throughout the US, eventually scaling to hundreds of cities.” 

The team, called SpheriCity, also includes seven industry, government and NGO partners.

 “We are using a network of networks approach in Phase 2.  For example, we have partnered with the Green Building Alliance and working with their amazing leadership and team to expand the reach of CAP,” said Melissa Bilec, co-director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation, Special Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability, and the George M. and Eva M. Bevier Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Pitt. Dr. Bilec is the co-principal investigator. The research team at Pitt also includes Dr. Amy Brooks, post-doctoral associate, and Nicole Bell, doctoral student.

Adding Construction and Demolition to the Original Plastics CAP 

SpheriCity is expanding the CAP developed in Phase 1 to different materials outside of only plastics and organics by creating the first version of the Construction and Demolition (C&D) Convergence CAP. 

Pittsburgh was used as a pilot location to understand what a Construction and Demolition CAP would look like when scaled to cities across the world. The methods and lessons learned for the newly updated and expanded CAP will be used for future implementations, including 11 new cities for Phase 2. 

“The goal of the C&D Convergence CAP is to further educate cities and governments on moving toward circularity and to empower users to make more informed decisions,” Bilec said. “By understanding the value of materials already in use in their area, they can develop methods to recycle and reuse construction materials through deconstruction in order to meet their goals of reducing embodied carbon and meet their zero waste goals.” 

As it continues to grow, the data will be publicly available through the Debris Tracker open access tool developed by Jambeck’s lab – joining over 7 million other data points in nearly 100 countries across the world. 

Training Today for a Less Toxic Tomorrow 

Circular economies thrive on collaboration and transparency with communities. 

SpheriCity is creating a dynamic portal that simultaneously provides CAP data collection training, open-source data sharing, and intra- and inter-community collaboration. 

The SpheriCity Portal is providing asynchronous remote training to local partners on how to conduct the integrated SpheriCity CAPs in their own communities. Additionally, the existing 51 cities that have completed plastics CAPs could expand to C&D and/or organics using the portal. Through dynamic data dashboards, this portal will also provide data and the ability to interact with it. Users will be provided the option to connect with others and participating cities, enabling dialogue to further circular economy opportunities. 

“Local knowledge and expertise are the foundation of the information that the community uses to move toward circularity,” Jambeck said

The NSF Convergence Accelerator program uses a convergence approach, bringing together teams from various fields to transition their basic research to high-impact solutions for societal challenges.

The SpheriCity Convergence Accelerator project is anticipated to continue through 2026.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) hosted the third installment of the Green Speakeasy Research Series on May 7, 2024 to explore the theme ‘Resilient Ecological Systems’ and understand how ecosystems can return to their original function after a disturbance. The event was moderated by Corinne Richards-Zawacki, director of the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology and professor of biological sciences, and Justin Kitzes, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Pitt researchers are working together to understand the level of stress caused by factors like climate change or how much human-induced habitat modification ecosystems can endure without undermining how their species interact. The speakeasy streamlined the research collaboration process and advanced impactful initiatives through casual discussion and networking.

“I was particularly intrigued by what my colleagues in the Departments of Anthropology and Geology and Environmental Science had to say,” Richards-Zawicki said. “They have different viewpoints on sustainability in living systems than we typically do in the biological sciences.”

Making Sustainable Connections

Speakers began with brief research presentations stating their openness to multidisciplinary collaboration and integrating students and the community in their work in ecological resiliency. 

The presentations emphasized the importance of integrated training and explored novel methods – such as acoustic sensors and machine learning – to assess ecological sustainability amidst urbanization and climate change impacts on ecosystem services, like plant-pollinator interactions. They also discussed research on duckweed and its applications in biotechnology, biofuel and bioremediation. Speakers underscored the relationship between urban environments, agriculture, and ecosystem health. They also stressed the need for environmental justice and sustainable land management practices to effectively tackle modern challenges. 

After a networking session, speakers answered questions from the audience as part of a panel, prompting conversations about local wetland ecosystem resiliency, effective vs. ineffective ways of raising awareness, influencing policy decisions, and community perception.

“The networking and subsequent discussion seeded many questions for our panelists,” Kitzes said. “It helps build confidence when you’re able to do a practice run asking a question to a small group before asking it to everyone in the room.”

Martha Miskanic, a research specialist in Pitt’s Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, is working on earning a certificate in sustainability. She said this was the perfect event for her to attend.

“I’ve been looking for events like this to get involved with sustainability research again,” Miskanic said. “As an undergraduate at Chatham University, I did sustainability research and interviewed Mason Heberling about the herbarium. This was a great way for me to reconnect with him and others in the field I want to be involved in.”

The speakeasy concluded with a discussion of positive cultural traditions in western Pennsylvania for sustaining biodiversity and establishing a positive community view of land management practices. Practices include refraining from lawn mowing during May to help springtime pollinators and deer hunting to manage deer populations and maintain forest biodiversity.

The Green Speakeasy Research Series originated after findings by a Faculty Ad Hoc Committee for sustainability strategic planning – led by Melissa Bilec, MCSI co-director and William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering – showed University research strengths in four broad areas with an overarching theme of environmental and climate justice. These research strengths include environmental discourse, resilient ecological systems, regenerative solutions respecting planetary boundaries, and thriving futures in the face of regional change. Each research area has a speakeasy showcasing faculty expertise that helps prompt connections with faculty and students interested in contributing to that community. 

Speakers for this event included:

• Corinne Richards-Zawacki, director of the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology and professor of biological sciences
• Justin Kitzes, assistant professor of biological sciences
• Tia-Lynn Ashman, distinguished professor of biological sciences
• Mason Heberling, associate curator of botany, Carnegie Museum of Natural History
• Shishir Paudel, plant ecologist, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
• Patrick Shirey, assistant professor of geology and environmental science 
• Martin Turcotte, assistant professor of biological sciences
• Emily Wanderer, associate professor of anthropology

The Green Speakeasy Research Series will conclude with “Regenerative Solutions Respecting Planetary Boundaries” early in the fall 2024 semester. It is open to Pitt faculty, staff and graduate students.

“I want to offer my sincere congratulations to all of the MCSI Research Seed Grant and John C. Mascaro Faculty Awardees,” said Melissa Bilec, co-director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We are continually impressed with the creative and impactful sustainability research being done by Pitt faculty. At the Mascaro Center, our goal is to help faculty jump-start projects that will lead to high-quality work. Our Seed Grant program has earned over $35 million in federal follow-on funding – a testament to the effectiveness of supporting innovative sustainability research, the leadership of our faculty and our potential global impact on critical challenges.”

Research Seed Grants in Sustainability

• Inhee Lee, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, “Ultra-low-power, Reliable Semiconductor Chip & System Design for Ecological Climate Change Studies with Small Animals
• Paul Leu, professor of industrial engineering and BP Faculty Fellow, “Pioneering Sustainable and Transparent Glass Formulations for Climate Resilience”
• Professor and Interim Chair Daniel Mosse, Assistant Professor Stephen Lee and Teaching Assistant Professor Nadine von Frankenberg, Department of Computer Science, “Sustainable (Campus) Buildings through Sensing and Human-Building Interaction”

John C. Mascaro Faculty Awards

• Sarah Chesney, assistant professor of science/STEM education, Pitt Johnstown, “The Pitt-Johnstown STEM Endorsement for Current K-12 Teachers”
• Eric Paljug, clinical associate professor of business administration, “Developing and Launching a Course in Sustainability in the Supply Chain”
• Ryan Shi, assistant professor of computer science, “AI-based Volunteer Engagement for Crowdsourcing”

Leonard Peters Faculty Fellow

One new faculty member has been invited to join the current class of Leonard Peters Faculty Fellows who help envision, create and implement core MCSI programs.

• Joaquin Rodriguez, assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering

The 2024 Pitt Sustainability Awards Luncheon celebrated six Pitt Sustainability Awardees, the second annual Erika Ninos Student Sustainability Leadership Awardee, and sixteen undergraduate and six graduate Pitt Student Sustainability Champions.

Awardees have demonstrated an extraordinary impact on campus sustainability by innovating sustainable practices that align with categories stated in the Pitt Sustainability Plan.

2024 Pitt Sustainability Awards:

• Faculty: Dr. Joaquin Rodriguez, assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering
• Faculty: Dr. Kevin Bell, assistant professor of bioengineering
• Staff: Swagatika Bhattacharya, foundations lab technician, Department of Biological Sciences
• Staff: Eric Hammill, warehouse specialist, Pitt Surplus
• Student: Martina Frederick, Environmental Studies
• Student: Maggie Lincoln, Environmental Science / Ecology & Evolution

Erika Ninos Student Leadership Award

• Christy Kim, Environmental Studies

Undergraduate Student Sustainability Champions

• Noel Do, Natural Sciences
• Julia Evers, Environmental Studies
• Alyse Faerberg, Neuroscience
• Claire Gendron, Environmental Engineering
• Jessica Gondak, Chemistry
• Emily Hoag, Geology
• Ria Hosuru, Neuroscience / Statistics 
• Cindy Le, Biological Sciences 
• Amanda Lee, Environmental Engineering
• Han Lempert, Urban Studies
• Nicole Marchese, Marketing
• Salome Margalitachvili, Public Health
• Abhi Nangunoori, Biological Sciences / Economics
• Elise Rinke, Biology & Environmental Science
• Mollie Rothbaum, Environmental Studies
• Ana Rowley, Environmental Science

Graduate Student Sustainability Champions

• Bishal Dasgupta, Business Administration
• Melinda Go, Public & International Affairs
• Maria Jose Jiminez, Civil & Environmental Engineering
• Meghan Orman, Applied Developmental Psychology  
• Jessica Vaden, Civil & Environmental Engineering

The 2024 Student Sustainability Symposium

The Student Sustainability Symposium is an opportunity for students to showcase the various sustainability initiatives they worked on throughout the semester. 

The symposium began with fellows from the Center for Sustainable Business recapping their sustainability research projects. Fellows worked directly with corporations to bring a business’s sustainability concept into practice, including identifying funding opportunities and understanding implementation limits. 

Bookending the Sustainability Awards Luncheon were morning capstone presentations by students in ENGR1907: Sustainability Capstone, taught by Tony Kerzmann, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, and David Sanchez, associate director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. The symposium ended with an afternoon poster session and class presentations by undergraduates in GEOL1333: Sustainability, taught by R. Ward Allebach, an instructor in Pitt’s Department of Geology and Environmental Science.

Capstone course groups in ENGR1907 spent the Spring 2024 semester working with a business, government agency, or nonprofit organization to identify comprehensive solutions to real-world sustainability challenges. Students in GEOL1333 were exposed to different perspectives on sustainability topics by guest speakers from academia, government, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. GEOL1333 students also developed sustainability concepts for application on Pitt’s campus and adjacent community.

“Industry stakeholders, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations bring the University ideas about what they want to do,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of administration and external relations at the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. “Our students have a unique opportunity to not only be civically focused on projects with external organizations but also see the real-world applications of their ideas and challenges that come with getting work done in a short amount of time.”

Student teaching assistants in ENGR1907 and GEOL1333 organized the symposium.

Since 2015, Pitt has recognized faculty, staff, students, and groups for their efforts to make the University more sustainable. The 2023 Pitt Sustainability Awards Luncheon celebrated six Pitt Sustainability Awardees, the inaugural Erika Ninos Student Sustainability Leadership Award recipient, and eight graduating Pitt Student Sustainability Champions.

This year's awardees are:

2023 Erika Ninos Student Leadership Award

Cameron Chase, Environmental Studies  

Pitt Sustainability Awards, 2023

• Faculty: Dr. Maya Ragavan, Pediatrics
• Staff: Brandi Belleau, Academic Records  
• Staff: Nelson Castilho Coelho, Computational & Systems Biology 
• Student: Claire Kemick, Environmental Science 
• Student: Gal Yovel, Neuroscience  
• Group: University Movers & Drivers, Parking, Transportation, and Services

2023 Graduating Student Sustainability Champions

• Dahlia Edwards, English Literature 
• Elaina Geiger, Environmental Engineering 
• Daniel Petros Huffman, Environmental Engineering 
• Drew Kallinicos, Environmental Studies
• Amanda Latowsky, Anthropology 
• Sophia Lex, Environmental Engineering 
• Nori Schalles, Environmental Science

Read more about this year’s awardees here.

The luncheon was bookended by presentations and videos featuring student projects and coursework across several Pitt sustainability courses and academic centers. 

“The annual Pitt Sustainability Awards and Student Sustainability Symposium are an amazing celebration and showcase of the individuals and innovation working to advance sustainability at Pitt, in our community, with external partners, and around the world,” said Aurora Sharrard, Pitt’s Executive Director of Sustainability.  “I’m always inspired by the Awardees’ persistence at effecting positive change in every part of the University. The student research and projects demonstrate exciting potential solutions for addressing the environmental and social challenges of both our campus and for other organizations.”

For the past 16 years, students in Ward Allebach’s “Sustainability” class have planned and organized the Student Sustainability Symposium. The students also presented their projects, each focused on campus sustainability efforts that help advance goals of  the Pitt Sustainability Plan. 

Graduate Business Fellows supported by the Center for Sustainable Business kicked off the Symposium by summarizing their sustainability research projects. Students from the “Sustainability Capstone” course (taught by Dr. David Sanchez, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering) also presented the results of their project with external stakeholders on a variety of sustainability projects that address the company, nonprofit, or government’s needs.  

The Symposium also included film screenings of environmental documentaries presented by students in Sarah Moore’s “Filmmaking as a Sustainable and Environmental Practice” class. Moore’s class is a part of her 2021-22 John C. Mascaro Faculty Fellowship in Sustainability. 

Madeline Weiss, the student sustainability engagement manager in Student Affairs, closed out the day with a keynote presentation that discussed how to advocate for change in your campus or community.

Check out photos from the event below.

Bilec, who co-leads NSF Convergence Research on the circular economy, was thrilled to bring her expertise to the circularity portion of this work that emphasizes equity and justice. Not only does circularity work address the circular economy, but it takes into account the many intertwining facets that include social, economic, and geographical factors, among others. The project was touched off by the Sustainable Urban Systems section at the International Society of Industrial Ecology, which Bilec co-chairs.

“While new technologies and new collaborations give us the opportunity to enable different, more sustainable urban systems, we also must keep a keen focus on equity and justice,” said Bilec. “What I’m most proud of is being able to work with this group of people from all over the world to try to give thought to the future direction of this research.”

Read more in the story written by Péralte C. Paul at Georgia Tech.

The paper, which was published in 2020, was recognized for receiving the highest number of downloads or full article views through ScienceDirect from 2020 to 2022. 

The paper highlights the importance of environmental sustainability in healthcare, particularly in light of the increased waste and energy use associated with modern healthcare systems. Led by Jodi Sherman, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology at Yale School of Medicine, the multidisciplinary project proposed a framework for implementing sustainable practices in healthcare settings, emphasizing the importance of reducing waste, conserving energy, and promoting the use of environmentally friendly products.

"This award means a lot to me," said Bilec, who is also special assistant to the provost for sustainability. "When we started this work, no one was talking about sustainability in healthcare. Now, it’s the most downloaded paper in the journal, with thousands of citations. It is a testament to the importance of environmental sustainability in healthcare and the need for more research in this area.” 

The Most Downloaded Paper Award is an annual award to recognize the most downloaded papers published in a given year. The award highlights the impact of a paper on the scientific community and its potential to shape the direction of future research. 

This paper has already had a significant impact on the field, with many healthcare organizations adopting her framework to reduce their environmental footprint. 

“I hope that this recognition will encourage others to take action to promote sustainability in their own work,” Bilec said.

The University of Pittsburgh’s sustainability journey is focused on balancing equity, environment, and economics so current and future generations can thrive. Keeping this in focus, Pitt has active sustainability efforts and initiatives across disciplines, domains, and scales — including pursuing carbon neutrality by 2037.

The newest University of Pittsburgh Sustainability effort is the Pitt Sustainability Challenge, which will award $300,000 to an integrated, impactful, durable, and feasible solution to advance carbon neutrality with lasting benefits for the Pitt community. 

The Pitt Sustainability Challenge invites the public to put forth their best ideas to advance carbon neutrality for the University of Pittsburgh community.  Pitt students, faculty, and staff are (of course) invited to participate, but applications are also open for external nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Proposals must demonstrate deep integration and alignment with Pitt’s existing sustainability frameworks, including the Pitt Sustainability Plan and Climate Action Plan. 

Teams from across the Pitt community are encouraged to participate.Eligible organizations must register by Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 9:00 PM Eastern Time in order to apply. 

Please visit the Challenge website to learn more and consider sharing this opportunity with your network. If you have questions, email questions@pittsustainabilitychallenge.org.

The MCSI Undergraduate Summer Research Program pairs students with an advisor for 12 weeks to research wide-ranging topics linked by a focus on sustainability. Students work 40 hours a week and meet weekly with their advisors. 

“Our students are excellent examples of how research can make a difference in the world, and their work this summer proves how wide-ranging that work can be,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “I always look forward to seeing what students have accomplished at the end of summer and celebrate what they’ve contributed toward invaluable sustainability research.”

The program was started in 2004 with just five students participating. This year's cohort of 25 undergraduates represented students from all engineering departments, biological sciences, geology, environmental studies, economics, political science, computer science, and psychology. 

In addition to the research, students in the program write a final paper, produce a two-minute video discussing their work and its significance for sustainability, and give an oral presentation at the Undergraduate Research Symposium, which was held in person this year on July 25-26. 

You can learn more about the MCSI Undergraduate Summer Research Program and learn more about this year’s projects here. 

This year’s top two projects are:

Molly Draper 

Forest Ecology at Powdermill Nature Reserve 

Molly’s research at the Powdermill Nature Reserve aims to answer questions about how natural disasters and human activity affects forests and how we can help create a more sustainable future for all inhabitants. 

Rebecca Hotton 

Rebecca’s research focused on refining manufacturing processes of porous metals to reduce industrial waste.

“I almost left engineering a year and a half into undergrad because I couldn’t see the application. I couldn’t see how triple integrals were relevant to addressing the world’s immediate needs,” recalls Sanchez, who is assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering.

After deciding to continue in engineering, Sanchez thought changing the world involved visions of building engineering infrastructure and development projects in underserved communities across the world. “Even after graduate school I was so sure I was going into industry. But I’m a person of faith, and I prayed about it. I prayed for the opportunity to allow me to become the change I wished to see in the world. That opportunity turned out to be becoming a professor. And teaching is one of the most important things a professor will ever do.” 

Sanchez’s faith and drive to serve others is the continual force behind what’s next for him, a path that has brought him to his professorship and his role as associate director of Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. That path has been a fruitful one, leading Sanchez to  two honors: the Swanson School of Engineering’s Outstanding Educator Award and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering & Science. Sanchez previously received the 2020 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

“Dave has had a tremendous impact on his department, school, university, and community. He has taught thousands of students in laboratory, capstone and design courses, independent research, community engagement and study abroad,” says Radisav Vidic, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “He leads by example, and his tireless commitment to personal and professional education of his students inspires a new standard of teaching excellence in Environmental Engineering, Sustainability and Science.”

What drew Sanchez to the field of civil and environmental engineering was the opportunity to impact communities and improve lives—to pay it forward.  

“For me, it was problem-solving for people. People and experiences have continued to affirm that this is a unique space and a profession where you can serve people in profound ways, especially civil and environmental engineering,” says Sanchez. “It creates lifelines for cities and communities. Think of water, electricity, and waste management: CEE continues to have a profound impact on the quality of life we have today.”

When his career evolved to include teaching, he extended that same passion for making an impact. His teaching incorporates best practices and pedagogical techniques, but it always starts from a place of empathy for the students and meeting them where they are. He finds ways to help students find their own motivation, making connections to the real world along the way.

“As an instructor, Dr. Sanchez is by far one of the best professors I have had the pleasure of taking. Dr. Sanchez emphasizes student well-being above all, and proves it through his actions,” says Yulia Yatsenko (BioE ‘22), who took two of Sanchez’s first-year engineering courses, in a letter of recommendation for the awards. “It is visible that he genuinely cares about every student’s learning and development…. His passion for teaching resonates from class to class, motivating us to learn and do more.”

In addition to teaching first year engineering courses, he teaches several courses including the Environmental Engineering Lab, Sustainability capstone, and a study abroad course to Micronesia all while managing his research in Sustainable Design Labs. In his time here he has taught thousands of students. He also advises and mentor students in his role as the undergraduate coordinator for Pitt’s Certificate in Sustainability, the graduate coordinator for the Master’s in Sustainable Engineering where he advises and mentors students. 

He directs the John C. Mascaro Faculty Fellows program, the Global Engagement program, and student prototyping programs. active in the school’s Innovation, Product Design and Entrepreneurship program, leading the annual Makerspace and Mindsets Bootcamp. 

If he had a magic wand, Sanchez says that he’d like to see the public discourse shift toward loving and serving our neighbors. As advisor for the student clubs Engineers for a Sustainable World and Pitt Hydroponics, which evolved out of his lab, Sanchez models and shares his passion for environmental engineering with his students.

“Students often think, ‘But I’m only one person. To that I respond, ‘Who are the 100 people you most influenced? Extrapolate that—let’s imagine these people, your family, your community. if you start there and affect them, and they affect 100 others, and so on, suddenly you’ve changed the country,” says Sanchez. “If you keep going, you’ve changed the world, with room to change the next generation.”

A cataract surgery can give the gift of clear sight, but only after releasing the equivalent of 181.8 kilograms of carbon dioxide, about the same as a car traveling 315 miles.

Though healthcare is one of the largest sectors in the U.S., its environmental impacts tend to fly under the radar: It accounts for 10 percent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, and operating rooms generate 20-33 percent of total hospital waste. Researchers are only just beginning to track and understand the sector’s environmental impacts.

Among those researchers are a team at the University of Pittsburgh whose work quantifies the effects of healthcare on the environment, and in this case specifically focuses on a particularly waste-heavy and energy-intensive specialty: orthopedic surgery. The researchers from Pitt’s School of Medicine and the Swanson School of Engineering reviewed existing literature and found that while data is still sparse, efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of orthopedic surgery could make a huge impact.

“Surgical suites have a high environmental impact, partially because so many of the items they rely on are single-use, disposable products, like gowns, gloves, surgical instruments, and packaging,” explained coauthor Melissa Bilec, co-director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We’re just beginning to find out the impacts of the field, but we know the impacts are there. We also know that more research is needed to really define the best practices to reduce environmental impacts, climate change, and work toward a circular economy.”

A circular economy focuses on reusing items and material to keep them in circulation rather than relegating them to a landfill at the end of their lifecycle. Bilec is leading an NSF-funded project that brings together a five-university, cross-disciplinary team to utilize convergence research to address the complex challenge of global waste and creating a circular economy.

UPMC Orthopedic Surgery Sports Medicine Fellows and coauthors Ian Engler and Andrew Curley were inspired to join this project upon realizing the part their specialty plays in climate change—and how little the literature is addressing it.

“While thousands of articles are published in the field of orthopedic surgery each year, very few address sustainability,” said Engler. “Given the immense impact of climate change, we believe that every field must consider their role in becoming more sustainable.” 

“We wrote this review paper to help the orthopedic field become engaged in recognizing and minimizing our impact on the planet,” added Curley.

In this review paper, researchers reviewed studies that evaluated the impact of surgical procedures by completing a basic waste audit, where all waste is collected, sorted and weighed, or a more complex life cycle assessment (LCA), which quantifies the overall environmental impact of the resources used.

Some current interventions in orthopedic surgery include using lower-emitting anesthesia and manufacturing techniques, redesigning custom packs, limiting single-use devices and materials, minimizing equipment in trays, properly separating waste and recycling. 

These changes can make a significant difference. For example, the authors note that wide-awake hand surgery has recently been popularized as an alternative to sedative anesthesia. One study found that switching to this method, along with reducing the number of surgical supplies used for smaller procedures, led to a decrease of 2.8 tons of waste and over $13,000 in supplies.

Dr. Freddie Fu, a posthumous co-author on the paper, was instrumental in starting this project. Prior to his passing, Dr. Fu convened the team in his beloved UPMC Sports Complex to share his passion for understanding the environmental impacts.

“I remember one of the last things Dr. Fu told me: ‘I thought I knew everything about ACL surgery, now this team is going to teach me something new,’” said Bilec.

Engler and Curley recalled Dr. Fu’s enthusiasm for this study: “Dr. Fu was immediately supportive of our passion for sustainability. He was willing to help in any way he could. For someone known for his boundless passion, it continued to define him through his final days.”  

The team is honored to continue this work in his legacy.

The paper, “Environmental Sustainability in Orthopaedic Surgery,” (DOI: 10.5435/JAAOS-D-21-01254) was published in the Journal of the AAOS and was coauthored by Ian D. Engler, Andrew J. Curley, Freddie H. Fu and Melissa M. Bilec.

This month, the 18th annual Non-Conventional Materials (NOCMAT) Conference returns in a virtual format over six days in June where researchers from around the globe will discuss the latest innovations in a science that seeks to develop safe, sustainable, and affordable construction in harmony with the environment. Primary sponsors are the University of Pittsburgh and its Swanson School of Engineering and the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez. The theme of the conference is ‘Turning Non-conventional into Non-negotiable’;[1]  placing non-conventional materials on the same footing as their conventional counterparts.

“With the continued growth and redistribution in global population, there will always be a construction boom somewhere. For the past four decades NOCMAT has been exploring how meet this challenge while reducing emissions, and also highlighting natural resources such as those developed in regions throughout Asia and Central and South America that serve just as well a purpose as conventional materials, if not better,” noted Kent Harries, PhD, FASCE, FACI, FIIFC, PEng, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Pitt and conference co-chair. “NOCMAT promotes a continued international dialogue and we are excited to share the latest findings in the field.”

Bamboo and earth-bag construction construction at Plenitud Iniciativas in Las Marías, Puerto Rico. (Plenitud Iniciativas) 

“As governments, professional societies, and companies move toward zero-emission and sustainable practices and standards, there is something to be learned from these skills that have developed over millennia and now benefit from the coupled strengths of university research and local knowledge,” explained co-chair Christopher Papadopoulos, PhD, professor of engineering sciences and materials at Mayagüez. “NOCMAT will also explore strategies to promote community education, access, social equity and justice that are necessary for non-conventional materials to flourish”.

NOCMAT will take place on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from June 7-23. For more information about the conference and sessions, visit https://nocmat.lasaweb.org. In a novel move in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the organizers adopted a “pay-what-you-can” registration model to support participants with economic limitations. Those who are able contribute more than the $100 baseline, up to $200, helping to underwrite the minimum suggested registration fee of $25.

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“Faculty across the University are coming up with big ideas that will enhance sustainability, and their work inspires others to think about their responsibility for improving the health of our planet,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “MCSI is proud to fund their work and help expand the capabilities of Pitt’s innovative researchers and educators to address the pressing challenge of climate change.”

This year’s recipients are:

Research Seed Grants in Sustainability

Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, GSPIA
Grant MacIntyre, School of Law and Environmental Law Clinic
The Role of PA’s Public Utility Commission in Efforts to Decarbonize Pennsylvania’s Electricity Grid

Meng Wang,  Civil & Environmental Engineering
Leanne Gilbertson, Civil & Environmental Engineering
Engineering Subcellular Bioreactors for Selective Metal Recovery as Metallic Particles

The John C. Mascaro Faculty Programs in Sustainability

John C. Mascaro Faculty Fellows in Sustainability 

Joaquin Rodriguez Alonso, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering
Sustainability Based Curriculum for Chemical Engineering

Sarah Moore, Film and Media Studies
Filmmaking as a Sustainable and Environmental Practice

John C. Mascaro Faculty Scholars in Sustainability 

Mohamed Bayoumy, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Integrating Green Electronics Education into ECE classes

Kay Shimizu, Political Science
Digital Teaching Module for Sustainable Food Systems

John C. Mascaro Faculty Lecturers in Sustainability

Corey Suzanne Flynn, Physical Therapy
Sustainable Food Systems course 

Global Engagement in Sustainability Grants 

A collaboration between MCSI and the University Center for International Studies

Sara Baumann, Public Health
Jessica Burke, Public Health
Harnessing Human-centered Design (HCD) for Intervention Development in Global Public Health: A Community-engaged Pilot Study in Nepal

Kevin Bell, Bioengineering
Cynthia Salter, Public Health
Medical Design for Low Resource Environments

Frayda Cohen, Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies
Connecting the Global and Local: Sustainability and the Challenge of Food Waste in Rome, Italy 

Patricia Documet, Public Health
Using PhotoVoice to explore environmental sustainability among Latinos in an emerging community 

Michael Glass, Urban Studies
Educational Bridges toward Sustainable City-Regions: Reciprocal Exchanges between Auckland (NZ) and Pittsburgh (PA)

Marcela Gonzalez Rivas, GSPIA
Caitlin Schroering, Geology and Environmental Sciences
Realizing Sustainable Development Goal 6: Challenges and Opportunities 

Elizabeth Oyler, East Asian Languages and Literatures
Imagining Global Cities of the Future: a cultural exchange class on sustainability between Pitt and Konan University, Japan

Danielle Andrews-Brown, a lecturer in the Department of Geology and Environmental Science in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, and Cassie Quigley, associate department chair and associate professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the School of Education, were recognized for their work creating the Environmental Justice Freedom Seminars. Andrews-Brown’s impact at Pitt was also recently highlighted in a Silhouettes profile from The Pitt News.

Mei Yu-Kephalogianis has worked for Pitt Housing Services since 2010 and has been the lead housekeeper at Nordenberg Hall since its opening in 2013. A champion for sustainable practices in the residence hall, Yu-Kephalogianis was awarded the department’s Harvie Keppler award in 2015 for going above and beyond the mission, vision and values of Pitt.

Brandon Brewster is a senior environmental science major with minors in environmental engineering and studio arts as well as certificates in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Sustainability. Brewster utilized a new technique involving an XD-ray fluorescence spectrometer to study the effects of green infrastructure on soil around campus. Brewster is also a member of Epsilon Eta and helped lead a Pitt student team to second place in the U.S. EPA’s Rainworks Challenge last year. Brewster has also been highlighted in a Silhouettes profile from The Pitt News.

Aaron Carr is a senior environmental science major with certificates in GIS and sustainability certificates. In his three years as a Pitt EcoRep, he has developed a multitude of educational programs, created a building waste audit methodology, expanded the Pitt Green Resident program and established the Pitt EcoReps on Twitter and Instagram. Carr is also a member of Epsilon Eta and serves as the transportation coordinator for Pitt’s student chapter of the Food Recovery Network.

Felicity Shafer is a senior majoring in environmental studies with a public and professional writing certificate. She has worked for the Office of Sustainability as a sustainability communications intern for two years, chaired Pitt’s 2022 Earth Month Planning Committee and is the secretary of Plant2Plate. Shafer also created the University’s Sustainability Living Learning Community, launching in fall 2023, and developed and executed the most recent Student Sustainability Showcase.

Student Sustainability Champions

• Annalise Abraham, English writing and urban studies
• Emily Albrecht, psychology
• Suchi Attota, computer science
• Anita Bargaje, computational biology, chemistry and global health
• Jared Deluccia, economics and history
• Matthew Hess, environmental studies
• Lucy Klug, environmental studies
• Taylor Laing, environmental studies
• Danny Nigh, business administration
• Meri Raughley, ecology and evolution
• Madison Stanley, political science
• Abby Zolner, environmental studies

The Pitt Sustainability Awards and Champions are just one piece of Pitt’s University-wide efforts to incorporate sustainability into its core mission, as detailed in the Pitt Sustainability Plan and the Pitt Climate Action Plan.

“Excel has become my best friend,” she joked. 

Vaden is a third year PhD student in Melissa Bilec’s Built Environment and Sustainable Engineering Group and the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) at the University of Pittsburgh. For the second year in a row, she has been tasked with completing Pitt’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, an overview of Pitt’s greenhouse (GHG) emissions as it works toward carbon neutrality by 2037.  

The GHG Inventory for Pitt’s 2020 fiscal year (FY20, tracking emissions from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020), shows that Pitt is well on its way to meeting this goal: GHG emissions were reduced by 31.9 percent compared to FY08, the first year the inventory was completed, and reduced by 13.6 percent from FY19.  This work has been financially supported by MCSI and Pitt’s Office of Sustainability.

“Pitt’s now annual greenhouse gas inventorying process is incredibly important in helping the Carbon Commitment Committee and other University bodies evaluate how we’re reducing GHG emissions campus-wide – and plan for where we might need to focus more attention in going forward so we reach carbon neutrality for the Pittsburgh campus by 2037,” said Aurora Sharrard, director of sustainability at Pitt, who noted that the FY19 Inventory was the springboard for the forthcoming Pitt Climate Action Plan.  

“Working with graduate students like Jessica to collect and analyze the data is a strong part of the process; as the inner workings of the University are usually new to them, fresh eyes help ensure we have all the right information and newest approaches.” 

According to the inventory, the Pittsburgh campus emitted 186,068 metric tons of carbon dioxide in FY20, with the largest decrease resulting from decreased commuting, travel, and study abroad during the pandemic. For this inventory, only 3.5 months of COVID-19 impacts were included, due to FY20 timing. Beyond COVID-19’s impacts, the FY20 report also showcases the effects of other University sustainability efforts.

“When we look at this year’s numbers compared with our 2008 baseline, we see a really big drop-off,” Vaden noted. “We’re on the right track.”

“My research group and I completed our first GHG inventory for FY08, not knowing how or if the University would use the data,” said Melissa Bilec, William Kepler Whiteford Professor and co-director of the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. “Now, with FY20, we have completed six inventories, and the University is making strategic decisions and investments with this information to meet our 2037 climate goals of carbon neutrality.” 

The largest source of Pitt’s GHG emissions is from its electricity use, accounting for 45.5 percent of emissions. However, in FY20, campus-wide electricity usage decreased 6.5 percent despite adding 81,620 square feet to its campus footprint. Renewables accounted for 21 percent of this energy usage (up slightly from the previous year), which contributed to a 39 percent reduction in GHG emissions from electricity since FY08.

One change from previous years was using SIMAP’s Market-Based method to estimate Scope 2 GHG emissions, which is recommended for all higher education GHG inventories. In previous years, Pitt has used its custom fuel mix provided by its electric suppliers; FY20 marks the switch to the recommended method. 

Another factor in this year’s reduction in GHG emissions is something that was once ubiquitous on a college campus: paper. Decreases in consumption and an ongoing shift to carbon neutral and recycled paper led to the lowest ever GHG emissions from paper use; it accounts for just 0.27 percent of total emissions.

“There’s still a lot of paper use at Pitt, but switching to paper that doesn’t count toward GHG emissions has made a huge impact,” said Vaden, who noted the increased use of carbon neutral TreeZero Paper made entirely of sugarcane waste fiber.

Unpacking the environmental impacts of paper usage isn’t exactly what Vaden imagined herself doing when she was pursuing her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. But after gaining experience there working with environmental research as a Meyerhoff Scholar, Vaden met Melissa Bilec through Pitt STRIVE and decided to join her Pitt research group. She is currently pursuing a PhD in civil and environmental engineering. 

“I feel honored to work with talented students, and especially grateful to work with Jessica Vaden on these last two reports,” noted Bilec. “Jessica has developed valuable skills while learning deeply about our institution.”

“I knew working in chemical engineering wasn’t a fit, because I’d rather be out in the field doing research than working in a lab,” said Vaden. “But if you asked me in undergrad what I’d be doing now, I would’ve thought I would be struggling. Instead, I’m so glad I’ve found this side of engineering.”  

New research from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Oxford takes energy efficient windows a step further by proposing a new “smart window” design that would harvest the sun’s energy in the winter to warm the house and reflect it in the summer to keep it cool. The work was recently published in the journal ACS Photonics and funded as part of the EPSRC Wearable and Flexible Technologies Collaboration.

“The major innovation is that these windows can change according to seasonal needs,” explained Nathan Youngblood, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Pitt and first author. “They absorb near infrared light from the sun in the winter and turn it into heat for the inside of a building. In the summer months, the sun can be reflected instead of absorbed.” 

The film is made up of an optical stack of materials less than 300 nanometers thick, with a very thin active layer made of “phase change” materials that can absorb the invisible wavelengths of the sun’s light and emit it as heat. That same material can be “switched” so that it turns those wavelengths of light away instead. 

“Importantly, visible light is transmitted almost identically in both states, so you wouldn’t notice the change in the window,” Youngblood noted. “That aesthetic consideration is critical for the adoption of green technologies.” 

The material could even be adjusted so that, for example, 30 percent of the material is turning away heat while 70 percent is absorbing and emitting it, allowing for more precise temperature control.

Harish Bhaskaran, professor at Oxford’s Materials Department, who led the research as well as the WAFT consortium said, “Here, we exploit tuning how invisible wavelengths are transmitted or reflected to modulate temperature. These ideas have come to fruition with the aid of our long-standing industrial collaborators, and are the result of long-term research.”

The researchers estimate that using these windows—including the energy required to control the film—would save 20 to 34 percent in energy usage annually compared to double-paned windows typically found in homes.

In order to create and test their prototypes, the researchers worked with Bodle Technologies, a company that specializes in ultra-thin reflective films that can function as displays by controlling color and light, as well as Eckersley O’Callaghan, a leading engineering and architectural firm, and Plasma App, a thin films company.

“This work demonstrates yet another interesting optoelectronic application of Phase Change Materials with the potential to significantly improve our everyday life,” said Peiman Hosseini, CEO of Bodle Technologies. “The commercialization of PCM-based tuneable low-e glass panels still has a number of significant challenges left to overcome; however, these preliminary results prove that the long developmental road ahead is certainly warranted. I believe this technology should be part of any future holistic policy approach tackling climate change.”

The paper, “Reconfigurable Low-Emissivity Optical Coating Using Ultrathin Phase Change Materials,” (DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.1c01128) was published in ACS Photonics on Dec. 17, 2021.

The Western New York Land Conservancy named Jeff Lebsack as The Riverline Director. The position was filled following a nationwide search – Lesback has more than thirty years of experience in community-based engineering, design, and planning.

…“As an avid cyclist and hiker, I have explored The Riverline corridor numerous times and I’m always awestruck by the amazing juxtaposition of this natural corridor within an industrial landscape,” said Lesbeck. “I am particularly excited about the opportunity to use a diverse, inclusive, equitable and collaborative process with the adjoining neighborhoods and stakeholders to stimulate the revitalization of an urban transportation asset, protect the environment, and connect surrounding communities to nature and each other.”

“At our current rate of plastic waste generation, increasing waste management capacity will not be sufficient to reach plastic pollution goals alone,” said Vikas Khanna, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. “There is an urgent need to take actions like limiting global virgin plastic production from fossil fuels and designing products and packaging for recyclability.”

New research led by Khanna gives a bird’s-eye view of the scale of plastic creation globally, tracing where it’s produced, where it ends up, and its environmental impact. 

The researchers found the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of plastic in 2018 staggering: 170 million metric tonnes of primary plastics were traded globally in 2018, with associated greenhouse gas emissions accounting for 350 million metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent–about the same amount produced by nations like Italy and France in a year. 

“And if anything, our estimation is on the lower end. Converting primary plastic resins into end use products will result in additional greenhouse gases and other emissions,” warned Khanna.

The work was recently published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. 

“We know plastics are a problem, and we know keeping materials in a circular economy instead of the take-make-waste model we’re used to is a great solution,” said Khanna. “But if we don’t have an understanding of the current state of the system, then it’s hard to put numbers to it and understand the scale. We wanted to understand how plastics are mobilized across geographical boundaries.”

Since international trade plays such a critical role in making material goods available, including plastics, the researchers applied network theory to data from the UN Comtrade Database to understand the role of individual countries, trade relationships between countries, and structural characteristics that governed these interactions. The global primary plastic trade network (GPPTN) that they created designated each country as a “node” in the network and a trade relationship between two countries as an “edge,” allowing them to determine the critical actors (countries) and who is making the biggest impact.

The researchers examined 11 primary thermoplastic resins that make up the majority of plastic products. They found that a majority of the most influential nodes in the model are exporting more plastics than they import: Saudi Arabia is the leading exporter, followed by the U.S., South Korea, Germany and Belgium.The top five importers of primary plastic resins are China, Germany, the U.S., Italy and India.

In addition to the greenhouse gas emissions, the energy expended in the GPPTN is estimated to be the equivalent of 1.5 trillion barrels of crude oil, 230 billion cubic meters of natural gas, or 407 metric tonnes of coal. The carbon embedded in the model is estimated to be the carbon equivalent of 118 million metric tonnes of natural gas or 109 million metric tonnes of petroleum.

“The results are particularly important and timely, especially in light of the recent discussions during Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow and the importance of understanding where emissions are coming from in key sectors,” said co-author Melissa Bilec, Co-director of Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation and William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “The collaboration with Dr. Khanna and his lab allows us to learn new systems-level modeling techniques as we converge towards understanding solutions to our complex challenges.” 

This paper, “Quantifying Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Embodied in Global Primary Plastic Trade Network,” (DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05236) is supported by the NSF convergence research project on the circular economy, which is led by Bilec.

Using more recycled plastics instead of creating new resins that eventually make their way to landfills would be substantially better for the environment; however, financial and behavioral barriers both need to be addressed before a true circular economy for plastics can become a reality.

“Even though emerging chemical recycling techniques promise to recover more material in an economically and environmentally sound way, we need to make it so that using recycled materials is as cost-effective as using virgin plastic resins,” said Khanna. “Our next step is to understand the interaction between the GPPTN and the plastic waste trade network to identify the opportunities where investment could encourage a circular plastics economy.”

The initial funding will help to establish a transdisciplinary academic, research, innovation and cooperative employment initiative to prepare students with circular economy training and expertise to carry into academia, industry, government and NGOs. Pitt and Covestro are also seeking to collaborate with corporations, foundations, and governments to expand the program’s reach and potential. 

“The current linear consumption economy of ‘Take, Make, Waste’ is wholly unsuited for exponential global growth, especially as third-world economies evolve,” says Eric Beckman, Distinguished Service Professor and MCSI Director Emeritus and Chief of Innovation and Translation. “Principles of the circular economy, however, improve efficiency and eliminate waste by designing sustainability into a product, from its base materials and construction to packaging, delivery, and life expectancy.”

“Circular design involves a paradigm shift in thinking for everyone, from individuals to corporations to societies,” says Richard Skorpenske, head of Sustainability and Public Affairs at Covestro LLC. “As a leader in driving toward a circular economy, we see the Covestro Circular Economy Program as an important multiplier to build a robust foundation of circularity-focused thinkers, and we are proud to launch it alongside Pitt as founding partner.”

“I am very excited to apply the fundamental research we’ve developed in circular economy and expand it to create a holistic program with potential global impact,” says Melissa Bilec, William Kepler Whiteford Professor and MCSI co-director. “I believe that, like Covestro, other organizations will see the benefit of engaging in such a program that trains scholar-workers in the many possibilities that circular economy presents. Most especially, the transdisciplinary nature of our program will be its most distinct attribute. As the benefits of the circular economy grow across the globe, the necessity for it to transcend traditional STEM fields will become apparent. This opens our program to anyone with a true passion for sustainability and global impact.”

The Covestro Circular Economy Program is solving for a gap that currently exists within the academic arena. Professional training in the relevant sciences has not included holistic training in circular approaches. While the private sector embeds circular design principles into its innovation approach, academia has yet to integrate design principles in advanced degree programs. By establishing the program, Covestro and the University of Pittsburgh are providing a dedicated academic setting for passionate students and professionals to innovate new approaches to materials, design, and planning. 

“Transitioning to a circular economy, while not an easy task, is a societal imperative,” says Haakan Jonsson, President and Chairman of Covestro LLC. “At Covestro, our vision is to become fully circular. As a company whose products are traditionally based on fossil fuels, we know that we have a long way to go. While we aim to be a leader in implementing circularity into our business, we also know we cannot achieve this vision alone. Collaboration with forward-thinking organizations like Pitt, and the development of leading-edge programs like the Covestro Circular Economy Program are crucially important in advancing toward a circular economy.”

“For decades, industry and higher education have helped to advance innovation, investigation, and the human condition,” noted Rob A. Rutenbar, Senior Vice Chancellor for Research at Pitt. “We are honored that Covestro LLC is sponsoring the foundation of this new Circular Economy Program to develop the next generation of cross-disciplinary innovators. Through this distinctive program, we will develop a new framework to make circular economy principles ubiquitous in industry, government, communities, and more, just as recycling and simple sustainable principles have become common in our daily lives. Our future on this planet demands it.”

Through the Covestro Circular Economy Program, Covestro and Pitt plan to create new fundamental science that supports the assembly of new tools to aid circular design. The Program will enable graduate students at Pitt to become experts in circular economy principles, informed by Covestro’s advances in this area, and ultimately create circular, sustainable products and service solutions. The first cohort of graduate students will be recruited for fall 2022.

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About the University of Pittsburgh
Founded in 1787, the University of Pittsburgh is an internationally renowned leader in health sciences, learning, and research. A top-10 recipient of NIH funding since 1998, Pitt repeatedly ranks as the best public university in the Northeast, per The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education. Pitt consists of a campus in Pittsburgh—home to 16 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools—and four regional campuses located throughout western Pennsylvania. Pitt offers nearly 500 distinct degree programs, serves more than 33,000 students, employs more than 14,000 faculty and staff, and awards 9,000 degrees systemwide.

About Covestro LLC
Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business, which is among the world’s largest polymer companies with 2020 sales of EUR 10.7 billion. Business activities are focused on the manufacture of high-tech polymer materials and the development of innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, construction, wood processing and furniture, electrical and electronics and healthcare industries. Other sectors include sports and leisure, cosmetics and the chemical industry itself. Covestro has 33 production sites worldwide and employed approximately 16,500 people at the end of 2020.
www.covestro.us/Pitt-CE

News Release from Optimus Technologies

Optimus Technologies and DC Water Authority announced an expansion to their already successful partnership. Through funds granted by the EPAs Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) program, the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC) and DC Water have secured funds to purchase an additional 12 trucks equipped with Optimus’ revolutionary 100% biodiesel (B100) advanced fuel system technology. Using B100 allows DC Water to reduce their Scope 1 CO2 emissions in their heavy-duty fleet vehicles by over 90%.

Following an initial pilot project of 10 Optimus equipped vehicles launched in 2020, and a previous DERA funding award for 9 B100 vehicles, the 12 additional new vehicles expand the total number of vehicles running B100 in the DC Water fleet to 31.

Optimus Technologies was co-founded by Swanson School alumnus Colin Huwyler BSMEMS '15.

Tim Fitzgerald, Fleet Director for DC Water and recent recipient of GWRCCC’s DC Visionary Award, is proud of the progress that they have made with biodiesel. “We went from B10, B20, now we are at B100, and we like what we’re doing.” Regarding the safety that running B100 brings to his fleet operators, Fitzgerald continues by saying: “We wanted to make sure that our operators returned home a little safer. We want to ensure the well-being of the citizens and the people we work with. Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel, and there’s no degradation in terms of fuel or operations. It’s cleaner, and our operators are going home a little safer.”

Biodiesel reduces many of the harmful pollutants, irritants, and carcinogens associated with petroleum-based fuels. By utilizing 100% biodiesel in their vehicles, DC Water is improving air quality for all of the citizens and visitors to the District by reducing incidence of asthma, lung cancer, and other respiratory disease caused by toxic diesel emissions.

Optimus Technologies upgraded 10 existing DC Water dump trucks in 2020 as part of a pilot program to test the viability of B100 in heavy-duty vehicles in year-round operations with the DC Water fleet. The Optimus Vector System heats and conditions B100 to be used in modern DPF and SCR equipped engines regardless of how cold it gets outside. Following the successful pilot, DC Water used funds from a previous DERA award to purchase 9 new vehicles that came equipped with the Vector System already installed. The option to purchase new vehicles equipped with the Optimus technology, as well as retrofitting existing fleet assets, allows for maximum flexibility and choice when deciding how to best implement Optimus’ carbon reduction technology in fleet operations. With 575 light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles in the DC Water Fleet, it’s important to attack emissions with methods that make the most sense. In light-duty vehicles, electrification and renewable natural gas work great. However, for heavy-duty applications, biodiesel is optimal.

Fitzgerald asserts that “If you want to manage something, you have to be able to measure it. There’s been no (performance) drop-off, there’s been no cost overruns, and where we can use biodiesel and where it’s smart to do so, we are going to use it. We are going to use it because it helps us.” B100 and the Vector System help DC Water reduce emissions in vehicles, like dump trucks and VACTOR trucks, that are difficult to decarbonize with current competing technologies. DC has established goals of 50% carbon reduction by 2032 and carbon neutrality by 2050 for all city operations, and the carbon reductions DC Water achieves with these heavy-duty assets places them well on the path to achieving their goals. Biodiesel offers the most immediate and cost-effective path to reduce Carbon Dioxide in heavy-duty vehicles. This is especially important in Environmental Justice communities which bear a greater burden when it comes to dealing with transportation and shipping pollution. In addition to DC Water, in the greater Washington region Optimus’ technology is in use with the DC Department of Public Works and DC Department of Transportation.

Additional partners on the DC Water project include the biodiesel fuel supplier Renewable Energy Group (REG), public outreach partners, Metropolitan Washington Council of Government, National Biodiesel Foundation, and National Biodiesel Board, as well as Equnival Partners, a community engagement firm based in Washington, DC. Speaking about the project Kevin Bryan, Principle of DC-based Equnival stated, “We will work with residents to understand local air quality concerns, provide information on biodiesel’s role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions, and design future collaborative efforts to address concerns to lower greenhouse gases and harmful air emissions.” GWRCCC, the grant awardee, is a public-private partnership and non-profit in the greater Washington region that promotes the use of clean American transportation fuels to support homeland security and improved air quality. GWRCCC pursues every effort to bring innovative and impactful climate change to the DC region, to make our nation’s capital cleaner, more sustainable, and ready to face whatever challenges the future may present.

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To learn more about DC Water’s sustainability initiatives visit www.dcwater.com

To learn more about GWRCCC’s clean fuels and air quality improvement projects visit www.gwrccc.org

To learn more about Optimus Technologies’ 100% biodiesel fuel system visit www.optimustec.com
 

When the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) was established in 2003, its cofounders – Distinguished Service Professor Eric Beckman and alumnus John C. “Jack” Mascaro – believed that encouraging innovation and global engagement would secure the advancement of sustainability at the University of Pittsburgh.

Since 2016 David Sanchez has taken that mission to heart and helped to establish numerous outreach programs, sustainability courses, and research initiatives. Recognizing his efforts to advance the original vision of Beckman and Mascaro, Sanchez was named MCSI’s new Associate Director.

An assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, Sanchez expanded role will enable MCSI to further focus on growth in global engagement and graduate enrollment, as well as community engagement in Pittsburgh and internationally.

“David is a rock star among our young faculty and has been able to expand MCSI outreach and innovation along with a full teaching load, new course development, securing research grants, receiving high student scores, and raising a family,” noted MCSI co-director Gena Kovalcik. “His passion for sustainability education from grade school to graduate school truly is the embodiment of Eric’s and Jack’s belief that sustainability is a natural pathway to engage young minds in STEM. My fellow co-director, Melissa Bilec, and I are excited that David is ready to further expand his role.”

In addition to Sanchez’ appointment, Patrick Shirey, assistant professor of geology and environmental science, was named MCSI Leonard Peters Faculty Fellow and will support course development, cross-disciplinary research, and community programming.

“The growth of our programs, enrollment, and faculty engagement in sustainability has been inspiring to witness these past few years,” Sanchez said. “I am excited to take on a strategic role for MCSI and help to expand our research and educational partnerships in sustainability across the university and with external public and private stakeholders.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity and guidance that Jack, Gena, and Eric have always provided, and I hope to pay it forward with our leadership team, as we move into the next phase for MCSI.”

Sanchez serves as the sole academic coordinator and administrator for the undergraduate sustainability certificate and the master of science in sustainable engineering (MSSE), both housed at the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. This involves advising over 100 students, certifications of degrees, admissions, and matriculation into the programs. The sustainability certificate enrollment has grown four times original projections in only five years while the MSSE enrollment has grown steadily to 10 students.

Sanchez leads the Sustainable Design Labs in the Swanson School, which is focused on identifying sustainable designs that address the National Academy of Engineering’s Water and Energy Grand Challenges in the natural and built environment on a local/regional scale. Current projects include engineering electrode morphology for bio-electrochemical systems, designing sensors to identify water quality trends in real-time, treating contaminants of emerging concern, and enhancing community agricultural systems.

In concert with MCSI, he and his lab group have developed several educational and community outreach programs, including the Makerspace and Mindsets Bootcamp, Inventor Labs sponsored by Constellation Energy, the Pittsburgh Hydroponics project in Pittsburgh’s Homewood neighborhood, and study abroad programs to Jamaica and Guam. He also serves as faculty director for the Swanson School’s twice-yearly Design Expo, which features up to 100 design team projects from more than 400 students, and each summer leads the Teach the Teacher program for grade school science teachers, many from underserved communities, in partnership with the UCLA Science Project to advance Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

It has been a phenomenal experience being able to collaborate with David. It is evident that he not only cares deeply about teachers but also the students and the communities where they live,” noted Jon A. Kovach, Director of Science Programs at the UCLA Science Project. “His passion for sustainability is evident during our workshops, with educators who leave inspired to support their classroom in exploring environmental issues that are relevant to their lives. David's work with K-12 education has opened pathways for future scientists and engineers on both Coasts.”

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The soil that crops are planted in, however, is complex. In order for plants to thrive, fertile soil requires a variety of elements that can become depleted over time, including nitrogen. 

Nitrogen moves through the environment, changing forms as it goes from the atmosphere to the soil, to the plants rooted in the soil, to the animals that eat the plants, and finally back into the atmosphere. Agriculture can disrupt this loop—known as the nitrogen cycle—leading farmers to supplement more nitrogen into the soil, a practice with its own set of environmental risks.

Research led by Leanne Gilbertson, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, is addressing this global challenge by developing technology that will more efficiently deliver nitrogen directly to crop roots, thereby preventing excess nitrogen from leaching into the environment. The project recently received $1,699,999 from the National Science Foundation.

“Rebalancing the nitrogen cycle is a global challenge,” said Gilbertson. “We were motivated to find a holistic, sustainable solution to feed society while protecting its prosperity.”

The overuse of nitrogen has immense environmental and human health costs, including the overgrowth of plant life in lakes and coastal waters that harm animal life; algal blooms and the dangers they pose; greenhouse gas emissions from the production of nitrogen-based fertilizer; on-farm greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen processes; and contaminated drinking water. 

To deliver nitrogen more directly, the researchers will study the use of liposomes - small spherical sacs containing nitrogen which serve as a delivery system that can increase the percentage of nitrogen absorbed by the plant. Farmers will need to use less nitrogen, diminishing the environmental risks.

Steven Little, Distinguished Professor and William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Pitt, joins the project as co-principal investigator. Emily Elliott, Pitt professor of geology and environmental science and co-founder and director of the Pittsburgh Collaboratory for Water Research, Education, and Outreach, will also contribute. 

“It is exciting to work toward the development of advanced drug delivery systems where the ‘drug’ is a nutrient for crops,” said Little, whose expertise in such systems focuses on targeted treatment of medication at the site of injury or illness, rather than a diffused, large dose. “These kinds of delivery systems have been developed for years for pharmaceuticals but less attention has been paid to this area. The potential for impact is pronounced since we’re talking about a similar problem. Why blanket an entire field of crops with nitrogen and risk runoff, when you can selectively deliver the nitrogen directly to the root?”

"Excess nitrogen is one of the greatest threats to global ecosystem integrity and water quality,” said Elliott. “During my career as a biogeochemist, I've never been more excited to embark on a research project. If we are successful in building fertilizers that are retained in soils, this project will be a profound step forward in protecting ecosystems, water quality, and human health."

Together, the interdisciplinary team brings expertise in chemical processes, transport phenomena, transport of natural resources in Earth systems, sustainable material design, and systems analyses. 

"I am excited to work in an interdisciplinary team of researchers,” noted Gilbertson. “We are all experts in our respective areas and adept at thinking beyond our niches, across silos, and about big challenges. We will learn from each other over the next four years as we develop sustainable solutions to a global challenge."

The project, “Sustainability from the Bottom Up: A Holistic Solution to Balancing the N-Cycle,” is a part of the NSF’s ECO-CBET program: Environmental Convergence Opportunities in Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems. The program seeks to solve our most processing environmental and sustainability challenges with imaginative thinking from collaborating scientists across disparate fields.

This year, severe weather events such as Hurricane Ida are again taking their toll on the nation’s infrastructure, and they continue a decades-long rise in frequency and intensity. Yet, much of the new infrastructure designed today does not account for the intensification of future climatic hazards, according to Gordon Warn, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Penn State.

“When loads and demands are calculated in order to design the infrastructure — a bridge, a building, or a culvert — those loads come from historical data,” Warn said. “Part of the problem is that the historical data no longer reflect what we can expect in the future.”

Warn is the principal investigator of a four-year, $2 million project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Leading Engineering for America’s Prosperity, Health, and Infrastructure program. The project, titled, “Optimal design and life-long adaptation of civil infrastructure in a changing and uncertain environment for a sustainable future,” aims to develop a new approach for designing, adapting and maintaining the built environment using climate projection models and artificial intelligence (AI) to evaluate the likely long-term cost and environmental impacts of infrastructure design choices.

“Typically, the design, construction and maintenance of infrastructure are handled by different teams with little integration, and this can translate into high life-cycle costs,” Warn said. “The proposed framework addresses this by simultaneously integrating the design, maintenance and adaptation phases, while considering significant future uncertainties, to optimally satisfy life-cycle objectives.”

Co-principal investigators include Penn State researchers Chris Forest, professor of climate dynamics; Lauren McPhillips, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and agricultural and biological engineering; Kostas Papakonstantinou, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; and University of Pittsburgh researcher Melissa Bilec, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and co-director of the University of Pittsburgh's Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation.

The researchers proposed that climate model predictions could be incorporated into computational frameworks for life-cycle assessment, which account for future potential hazards while determining the optimal way to construct, adapt, repair and maintain an infrastructure through its intended lifespan. This is achieved through deep reinforcement learning, a form of AI where an autonomous “agent” intelligently learns to achieve certain objectives over time, such as minimizing life-cycle cost.

“It incorporates future uncertainty into the decisions and continuously updates the lifelong maintenance and adaptation actions based on new information that becomes available in time,” Papakonstantinou said.

In this approach, the design team evaluates multiple design alternatives using low-fidelity, or less detailed, models. When they identify the more viable alternatives based on their life-cycle priorities — keeping to a specific budget while minimizing environmental impacts, for example — these designs are evaluated again using higher-fidelity data, leading to more precise life-cycle estimations.

This “multi-fidelity” framework saves computational resources while allowing designers to identify certain decision-making trade-offs between safety, resilience, resource consumption and environmental impacts, according to Warn.

“For example, a designer could choose to ‘over-design’ bridge piers by making them exceptionally large in size to account for rising river flood levels,” he said. “But this adds cost and uses extra materials like concrete that contribute more carbon dioxide emissions.”

Instead of over-designing the infrastructure, the designers could consider an alternative to include provisions to adapt the structure in later years, or they might look to restore a nearby wetland to help mitigate flood height.

This type of “green infrastructure” solution is a critical tool for teams to consider as they design for future climate change, according to McPhillips.

“We are trying to find solutions that are both sustainable and resilient,” she said. “This means solutions built to last in the face of multiple stressors that will not exacerbate climate change based on their own carbon footprint.”

The researchers plan to demonstrate their approach through a variety of practical design scenarios, including a riverine bridge vulnerable to flooding and deterioration; an urban mid-rise building stressed by increasing temperatures; and a port system threatened by sea level rise.

“If you want to mitigate sea-level rise for a port, there are various options,” Warn said. “For example, should the existing wharfs be elevated? If so, how tall should they be? What is the storm mitigation strategy? Should there be coastal armoring or a managed retreat to higher ground because it is too costly to build? Overall, the framework is intended to thoroughly evaluate diverse design concepts and adaptation strategies while considering, based on the best science, where we think the climate demands will be in the future.”

Author: Tim Schley

For the United States to meet its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, renewable energy integrated across the grid will be key. But vast swaths of the country get their power from rural utilities with very limited real-time visibility of solar and other distributed energy resources installed by customers “behind the meter” (BTM). This lack of visibility creates challenges for the wide use of solar energy while retaining grid reliability and resiliency.

A new project led by Paul Ohodnicki, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, will provide under-served rural and small electric utilities with access to new sensors and analytical tools that will give them a real-time picture of solar energy and other distributed energy resources throughout their systems. The project recently received $3 million from the Department of Energy through its Solar Energy Technologies Office.

Titled “Fusion of Low-Cost Sensors and Distributed Analytics for Enhanced BTM Visibility,” it will combine new low-cost distributed sensors with “virtual sensors,” which aggregate and analyze existing data that is already being measured by installed solar inverters at the grid interconnection. In addition, the project will integrate both existing and new data streams into advanced analytics being developed by industry (GE Global Research) and utility (through the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, NRECA) partners on the project. 

“The new sensors combined with the ‘virtual sensors’ and advanced analytics technologies being developed and deployed will give utilities a clearer understanding of the ways that higher penetration levels of solar power by their customers can ultimately benefit their service territories in terms of higher reliability and lower costs, rather than the traditional perspective that variability and intermittency of solar can introduce risks on the distribution system,” said Ohodnicki. “Giving utilities an improved understanding of the value of solar power generation behind the meter could help them to provide their customers with clear signals and incentives to promote a shift toward increased renewable energy.”

In addition to newly developed sensors, the project will also take advantage of state-of-the-art commercial micro-phasor measurement units (micro-PMUs) sensors. Micro-PMUs are a class of sensors that are capable of measuring electrical parameters with both time-synchronization and position identification through the global positioning system (GPS) in order to develop a map of the electrical state of the distribution system in real time. 

The researchers plan to aggregate data collected across a large number of newly developed sensor nodes, integrate them through commercial micro-PMUs to provide additional value and reduce communication costs, perform local analysis of aggregated data, and to provide a subset of that information to the utilities. Micro-PMUs are a sensor technology specifically for deployment on the distribution, originally inspired by phasor measurement units (PMUs) that were widely deployed on the transmission system in the 2010s as part of the Smart Grid Initiative. 

The project was selected as a part of the SETO 2021 Systems Integration and Hardware Incubator funding program, an effort to advance research, development, and demonstration projects that will improve the affordability, reliability, and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the grid. It is one of several projects that will enhance solar energy’s contribution to grid resilience and reliability by developing communications systems that integrate distributed sensor measurements into utility data systems. 

Ohodnicki will partner with researchers from North Carolina State University, Sandia National Laboratory, GE Global Research, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association on the project. 

GE, which provides technology that supports one-third of the world’s electricity, brings deep technical and product experience through its renewable energy business and global research lab for enabling high penetration renewables and distributed grid integration.

“Co-operative utilities, whose service areas cover well over half of the entire U.S. landscape power more than 20 million customers, have a major role in the energy transition and meeting the nation’s emissions goals,” said Arvind Tiwari, program manager at GE Research. 

“This is especially true with enabling increased PV penetration into the grid. We know from experience that by driving new advances in sensing, measurement, analytics and control technologies, we can bring more solar online while maintaining and even enhancing grid stability and reliability,” added Honggang Wang, principal investigator at GE Research.

The project will build on technology originally developed through the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, putting it to work in rural, traditionally underserved co-operatives with a goal of ultimately enabling widespread deployment and commercialization. The group is also partnering with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), which allows greater collaboration directly with rural utilities to facilitate technology adoption.

“As communities and electric co-ops plan for a future that depends on electricity to drive much of the economy, preserving reliability and improving resilience of our electric system is critical,” said Dr. Emma Stewart, NRECA’s chief scientist. “We’re excited to explore ways to expand the usefulness and adoption of solar and other distributed energy resources. Enhanced data sharing and improved visibility into the development of these technologies is an important part of the process. We look forward to working with the University of Pittsburgh to test new approaches that enhance DER visibility on the system and preserve reliability.”

About the Solar Energy Technologies Office 

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office supports early-stage research and development to improve the affordability, reliability, and domestic benefit of solar technologies on the grid. Learn more at energy.gov/solar-office.

“Knowledge deficits are often put forward to delay concrete measures,” stressed co-author Dr. Martin Scheringer. “But we already know enough about the harm being caused by these very persistent substances to take action to stop all non-essential uses and to limit exposure from legacy contamination.”

“A striking feature of PFAS is how they can cause harm to so many systems within our bodies – our livers, our kidneys, our immunity, our metabolism,” Dr. Linda Birnbaum, Scientist Emeritus and former Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, noted. “One path forward proposed in this study is to link up all of the research tools – biomonitoring, epidemiology, animal studies, in vitro studies, computer modelling, etc. – to help us understand the consequences of our exposures.”

The study highlights gaps in information that act as barriers to tackling the “PFAS problem”, and proposes a practical research and policy agenda. For example, scientists still do not know how much PFAS have been produced globally, which means major “hotspots” of PFAS contamination are probably being missed. Since industry often avoids providing basic information on specific PFAS produced and in what volumes, scientists must act as detectives to put together emissions estimates and track PFAS contamination.

“It is critical to prioritize our efforts so as not to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem,” stressed Dr. Carla Ng, lead author of the feature article. “This paper identifies where focus is needed to effectively minimize environmental and human exposure to PFAS.”

The last question is also the most urgent: who pays the costs of PFAS contamination? Because industries are often located in poorer areas, the burden of PFAS is often borne by the most disadvantaged. Though these highly persistent chemicals are produced by only a limited number of companies, the pollution they produce is distributed globally. With this pollution comes enormous costs to human health and the irreversible deterioration of natural resources, including drinking water.

The study proposes an actionable agenda for researchers and policymakers around the world to move forward to reduce non-essential use of PFAS, to stop human and environmental exposure from getting worse, and to more equitably distribute the associated costs.

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Press contact: Dr. Carla Ng, Assistant Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, (412) 383 – 4075, www.pitt.edu/~carlang, @Ng_lab

“Addressing Urgent Questions for PFAS in the 21st Century,” by Carla Ng, Ian T. Cousins, Jamie C. DeWitt, Juliane Glüge, Gretta Goldenman, Dorte Herzke, Rainer Lohmann, Mark Miller, Sharyle Patton, Martin Scheringer, Xenia Trier, and Zhanyun Wang. Environmental Science & Technology (2021), https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03386

For nearly two decades, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) has helped to form and reimagine the impact of sustainability throughout the University of Pittsburgh. From student engagement and academic programs to philanthropic endeavors and cultural evolution, MCSI has sought to make its mission of “sustainable innovation” more than a rubric but rather an institutional heartbeat. Buoyed by twenty years of success, MCSI announced its new pulse in foundational leadership.

Melissa Bilec, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, has been appointed co-director. Eric Beckman, her predecessor and Distinguished Service Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, will step into a new role as Director Emeritus and Chief of Innovation and Translation. Gena Kovalcik continues to serve as co-director of administration and external relations. MSCI, established through a gift from alumnus John C. “Jack” Mascaro BSCE ’66 MSCE ’80 in 2003, has maintained a singular mission at Pitt – to catalyze sustainability research and education.

“MCSI has its roots in the Swanson School, thanks to Jack Mascaro's enduring legacy. From degree and certificate programs to student and faculty research and community engagement outreach, this center is transformative,” said Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Ann E. Cudd. “Eric and Gena have contributed so much to imbue sustainability throughout the University, and I know that Melissa will continue that growth.”

Bilec is a triple-alumna of Pitt, having earned her bachelor’s (magna cum laude), master’s, and PhD from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, where MCSI is headquartered. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her expertise in circular economy, life cycle assessment, energy assessment (especially within underserved communities), high-performance buildings and experiential learning.

“Sustainability has been integral to my teaching and research career, and so I am honored to carry on the incredible legacies that Jack, Eric, and Gena established,” Bilec said. “Our pillars have been and continue to be excellence in academic programs, critical research, and community engagement, toward the goal of realizing greater undergraduate and graduate growth and excellence. I look forward to continuing this mission with Eric, Gena and our MCSI team; Aurora Sharrard in Pitt’s Office of Sustainability; as well as our faculty and staff colleagues across the university.”

Bilec has secured approximately $10 million in research funding as PI or Co-PI, including 15 NSF grants, and has worked closely with the City of Pittsburgh and Green Building Alliance as well as the Larimer Community. She also worked with Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on extensive, published research of its Center for Sustainable Landscapes, considered one of the greenest buildings in the world.

For the next five years, Bilec and MCSI leadership have coalesced around three specific goals:

• Continue to expand and engage throughout Pitt to exponentially infuse sustainability into the University’s education, research, and service missions.
• Develop and implement a world-class transdisciplinary graduate program that integrates climate change solutions using circular economy strategies, driven by strong industrial partners.
• Fully integrate and expand all programs from the summer undergraduate research program to faculty research to establish MCSI as leaders in equity, diversity, and inclusion.

“As the so-called green movement evolved into sustainability, which has greater breadth and depth throughout human life and global existence, Jack realized it should be integral to the university environment,” Beckman noted. “Melissa’s academic and research career has likewise grown and evolved throughout her Pitt career, and so she understands better than anyone what MCSI’s future holds not only for the university, but also the many communities we serve. I am proud that she will continue here as my successor.”

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The program honors faculty, staff and students who have gone above and beyond to support campus sustainability in any of the three categories of the Pitt Sustainability Plan: Stewardship, Exploration, and Community and Culture.

“This year’s winners are integral in cultivating a culture of sustainability at Pitt,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “We’re excited to honor their contributions and inspire the next generation to take up the mantle of building a more sustainable world.”

Kerzmann is one of this year’s Leonard Peters Faculty Fellows and co-teaches the “Current Issues” and “Sustainability Capstone” core courses for MCSI’s Sustainability Certificate. His research focuses on the energy sector, leading projects that relate to energy and sustainability, including solar energy. He is currently working on offshore hydrogen production and 3D printed building optimization.

Jessica Vaden, graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was also among the winners for her work on the Pitt’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, which has been a critical analysis for future planning and the Pitt Climate Action Plan.

Additionally, two MCSI interns, Anna Coleman and Gabrielle Sampson, were selected in the undergraduate student category. Coleman, a senior majoring in Global Studies, leads the peer training, coordination and execution of the First Year Presentations that introduce first year students to sustainability. Sampson, a senior studying geology and environmental science, has created two comprehensive Year of Engagement grant proposals, including one on indoor air quality.

All 25 honorees will be recognized at the Student Sustainability Symposium on April 23, 2021.

“The projects we’ve selected can make a big impact for Pitt’s sustainability,” said Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “Especially in these difficult times, we are excited to enable projects with so much potential to benefit our community in the future.”

Here is a look at the projects and faculty members who will receive funding in Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. 

A Circular Chemical Industry: Closing the Anthropogenic Carbon Cycle with Biomimetic Reactors — James McKone, assistant professor, Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

The circular economy can be an effective way to combat carbon emissions. James McKone’s project aims to develop a technology that can use renewable electricity to recycle carbon emissions back into fuels and chemicals. The technology, called the electrochemically pumped membrane reactor (EPMR), contains a metal oxide membrane that transports reactive hydrogen between two different chemical environments, mimicking the biological machinery of photosynthesis. If successful, this work will support the development of new technologies for a circular chemical economy.  

Mapping the Landscape of Seafood in Pittsburgh Markets: Do Safe, Sustainable and Accessible Meet? — Carla Ng, assistant professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

The seafood that sits on grocery store shelves may give shoppers mixed messages about how sustainable and safe it is. For example, consumers may be concerned about practices like overfishing and habitat destruction when they pick up wild-caught salmon, and a recent proliferation of labeling and certification schemes has resulted in further confusion. Carla Ng’s project will perform the first large-scale screening of seafood available for sale in Pittsburgh, in partnership with the USDA. They will screen seafood for a broad suite of veterinary drugs, pesticides and industrial chemicals; it will evaluate three critical dimensions of our local food landscape: sustainability, safety and accessibility.

Optimization of Traffic Signals on Pitt’s Campus Road Network to Reduce Fuel Consumption and Green House Gas Emissions from Vehicular Traffic — Aleksandar Stevanovic, associate professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering

There is a lot to hate about sitting in traffic: the time wasted, the starting and stopping. One more thing to hate is the environmental impact of the wasted fuel consumption and green house gas emissions caused by idling cars. Aleksandar Stevanovic’s project aims to build a microsimulation model of Pitt’s campus to optimize traffic signals on campus, minimizing the ecological impact of vehicular traffic.  The model will apply methodology not yet used by other researchers or agencies and, if implemented by the City of Pittsburgh, could significantly contribute to the Pitt Sustainability Plan.

Up-Cycling of Machining Scrap via Mechano-Chemical Attrition Enhanced Hydride-Dehydride Processing for Sustainable Ti-Powder Fabrication — Jorg Wiezorek, professor, Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science; Ravi Shankar, professor, Industrial Engineering

Titanium-based powder stock is a critical component in an array of emerging advanced and additive manufacturing industries, spanning the transportation, biomedicine aerospace sectors. Jorg Wiezorek and Ravi Shankar’s project will study technologies for enhancing the sustainability of Hydride-DeHydride (HDH) processes, which are used to manufacture titanium-based powders. The research will enable development of energy-consumption and material waste-reducing pathways to improve the sustainability and add to the circular economy for titanium.

Author: Maggie Pavlick

The Awards recognize members of the Pitt community who are making an extraordinary impact on Pitt’s sustainability. The individuals or groups selected have had an impact in one of the three categories of the Pitt Sustainability Plan—Stewardship, Exploration, and/or Community and Culture—and contribute to a thriving culture of sustainability at Pitt.

Allison’s contributions include making the Department of Industrial Engineering an early adopter of composting in the lunchroom and purchasing compostable and eco-friendly office supplies for the Department. She was among the first to take a zero-waste approach to events, even going the extra mile to make sure off-campus events were sustainable and educated the department on the ways they can reduce their carbon footprint.

“Liza has made many positive changes in the Department of Industrial Engineering that contribute to their increased sustainability,” says Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “Her proactive approach is a great example of what all of us can be doing to decrease our footprint and improve sustainability in our professional and personal lives.”

The full list of 2020 Pitt Sustainability Award Winners is 

Faculty

• Dr. Danielle Andrews-Brown, Geology and Environmental Scienc
• Dr. Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

Staff

• Liza Allison, Department of Industrial Engineering
• Tiara Arnold, Pitt Housing, Housekeeping

Student

• Ellie Cadden, undergraduate, environmental studies
• Sarah Hart, undergraduate, environmental studies

Staff (Group)

Pitt Business Staff Leadership Collaboration
led by Chris Driscoll (IT); Greg (FM) Guzewicz; Karri Rogers (Dean’s Office)

Student (Group)

Zero Waste Period Initiative
led by Pitt Planned Parenthood and SOOS

Author: Maggie Pavlick

Attendees voted at the end of the symposium, and Mason Unger’s presentation “Recirculating Aquaculture: Managing Water Quality in a Closed System” won first place. Kareem Rabbat’s presentation “Small & Mighty: Exploring Nature to Identify Bacteria Capable of Degrading a New Generation of Environmental Contaminants,” was awarded second place.

“All of the students have done amazing work and learned a great deal about the future of sustainability,” says Gena Kovalcik, co-director of MCSI. “Our planet depends on the innovative thinking that the students practiced this summer.” 

First Place: Recirculating Aquaculture: Managing Water Quality in a Closed System
Mason Unger, who is majoring in civil and environmental engineering, worked with David Sanchez, PhD, on a project related to land-based fish farming, or recirculating aquaculture. This fishing method helps reduce overfishing in the oceans, and it is a way to provide a sustainable protein source. However, one major issue is that the fish can take on an unpleasant flavor due to the chemical compounds that build up in the water. Mason and Dr. Sanchez have worked toward a way to identify and, eventually, remove the compounds causing the unpleasant flavors without creating additional waste water.

Second Place: Small & Mighty: Exploring Nature to Identify Bacteria Capable of Degrading a New Generation of Environmental Contaminants
Kareem Rabbat, who is majoring in civil and environmental engineering, worked with his advisor Sarah Haig, PhD, to identify and isolate bacteria that are capable of degrading emerging contaminants—namely, nonylphenol and bisphenol (BPA)— in the environment. These contaminants are unregulated in Pennsylvania, allowing companies to release as much as they need to meet production. The team hopes that these bacteria, once found, can sustainably remove nonylphenol and BPA from contaminated water and soil, replacing current cleanup methods that include removal and incineration of thousands of tons of soil.   

Author: Maggie Pavlick

“All of the projects we have selected this year have the potential to make a lasting, positive impact on the environment,” says Gena Kovalcik, co-director of the Mascaro Center. “The Mascaro Center is excited to support these core teams of researchers who are passionate about sustainability.”

This year’s recipients are: 

Towards Using Microbes for Sustainable Construction Materials:  Feasibility Study
Sarah Haig, civil & environmental engineering
Steven Sachs, civil & environmental engineering
Max Stephens, civil & environmental engineering
*Jointly funded by MCSI and IRISE

Chemical Recycling of Polyethylene to Ethylene
Eric Beckman, chemical & petroleum engineering
Ioannis Bourmpakis, chemical & petroleum engineering
Robert Enick, chemical & petroleum engineering
Goetz Veser, chemical & petroleum engineering

Investigating flexible piezoelectric materials with lower water pressures
Katherine Hornbostel, mechanical engineering & materials science
Max Stephens, civil & environmental engineering

Amplifying the efficiency of Tungsten Disulfide Thermoelectric Devices
Feng Xiong, electrical and computer engineering

Author: Maggie Pavlick

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Author: Matt Cichowicz, Communications Writer

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Author: Matt Cichowicz, Communications Writer

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Image Source: By KitAy from Pittsburgh, USA (Panther Hollow Lake) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Author: Author: Matt Cichowicz, Communications Writer

This year’s recipients include:

• “Pollination in the city: Designing urban pollinator gardens that are resilient to air pollution.” Tia-Lynn Ashman, Professor of Evolutionary Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences.
• “β- Ga2O3 Nanoelectronics: A Path to a Sustainable Semiconductor Technology for High Efficiency Electricity Conversion from Renewables.” William Stanchina, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering.
• “Desalination of sequestration and release of water in poly crystals.” Sachin Velankar, Associate Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering.
• “A novel process for efficient, decentralized ammonia synthesis: towards fertilizer production with drastically reduced environmental footprint.” Götz Veser, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering.

MCSI developed the research seed grant program to provide faculty with funding support to allow students to participate in high-quality research, teaching, outreach and creative endeavors. The goals of the grants are: (1) seed funding to develop ideas to the point where external funding can be obtained; (2) awards to support scholarship in areas where external funding is extremely limited; (3) resources to introduce curricular innovations into the classroom; or (4) tools or techniques to encourage community outreach and education.

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