Read the full story from the University of Bath.
The University of Bath is coordinating a major new collaboration with academia and industry to use sustainable chemical technologies to accelerate the UK’s transition to net zero carbon emissions.
Category: Colleges and universities
Smaller plates help reduce food waste in campus dining halls
Read the full story from the University of Illinois.
Food waste is a major problem in the U.S., and young adults are among the worst culprits. Many of them attend college or university and live on campus, making dining halls a prime target for waste reduction efforts. And a simple intervention can make a big difference, a University of Illinois study shows.
Shifting from round to oval plates with a smaller surface area can significantly reduce food waste in dining halls, says Brenna Ellison, associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics (ACE) and co-author on the study.
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
The mission of the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University at Buffalo is to promote the development and dissemination of materials and practices for case teaching in the sciences. Their website provides access to an award-winning collection of peer-reviewed case studies.
Access to answer keys and teaching notes requires an approved account and annual paid subscription fee. Access to the cases is free. All new subscribers must first be verified to make sure that they are teachers affiliated with an educational institution.
Solar Farm 2.0 project makes U of I third-largest producer of onsite clean power among U.S. universities
Read the full story from the University of Illinois.
Today, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Facilities & Services (F&S) announces the final stage of completion for Solar Farm 2.0, totaling 12.3 megawatts (DC), with the planting phase of the farm’s pollinator habitat commencing this month. The project is the second solar farm constructed at the U of I and achieves clean energy sustainability goals outlined in the university’s Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP), nearly four years ahead of schedule. Clean energy production will now support approximately 12 percent of the school’s annual electricity demand. The planting of the project’s native pollinator habitat bookmarks the solar farm’s unique array of state-of-the-art technological and sustainable features.
Colleges and universities, Energy efficiency, Events, Health care facilities, K-12, Local government, State government
Webinar: Becoming ESPC-Ready
Jun 15, 2021 2-3 pm CDT
Register here.
Join this webinar to better understand the basics of Energy Savings Performance Contracting, or ESPC. This foundational training covers how state and local governments can facilitate energy efficiency investments through ESPC, and how facility managers can use ESPC to enhance their facility’s energy performance. Whether you are a stakeholder from a state or local government, university, K-12 school, or hospital, this webinar can help you become ESPC-ready.
This webinar is based on the Foundations of ESPC training offered by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the Energy Services Coalition as part of the DOE-NASEO Return-to-Work Initiative.
Stanford becomes first U.S. university to issue bonds with green and social designations
Read the full story at ESG Today.
Stanford University announced that it has issued $375 million in bonds with dual climate and sustainability designations, marking a first for U.S. higher education institutions. Proceeds from the offering will be used to finance campus construction and renovation projects.
Six lessons from a pandemic PhD student
Read the full story in Nature.
If you’re starting a doctoral programme later this year, particularly if your institution is still facing COVID-19 restrictions, Ciara O’Brien has some advice.
How the pandemic is reshaping undergraduate research
Read the full story in Nature.
Undergraduates often find research opportunities through university labs and government programmes. The experience can boost their confidence and develop their interest in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But when the COVID-19 pandemic started, many of these programmes were cancelled, and others restricted the number of participants.
Students adapted by seeking out opportunities through university alumni networks or conducting scientific projects at home. Nature asked five undergraduates about their experiences of doing research as competition for places increased during the pandemic, and about their advice for other early-career scientists.
The DEI pathway to promotion
Read the full story at Inside Higher Ed.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis says it’s putting its policies where its mouth is, approving new promotion and tenure options based on diversity, equity and inclusion work.
UIUC’s largest geothermal system goes online
Read the full story from the University of Illinois.
The largest geothermal energy system implemented at the university so far went online in April, at the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) ahead of its opening this coming fall. The CIF system is the fifth geothermal installation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and can provide 135 tons of heating and/or cooling, twice as much as the next most recent geothermal installation on campus property.
Located at the southeast corner of Springfield Avenue and Wright Street in Urbana, the $75M CIF is a state-of-the-art 122,000 gross square foot facility that will support The Grainger College of Engineering’s transformative learning and teaching environments. The geothermal system comprises 40 vertical borehole exchange loops in the adjacent Bardeen Quadrangle and has enough capacity to handle the energy needed for approximately 30 American homes.
