Research Opportunities

The University is committed to providing hands-on learning experiences that bring classroom content to life. Multiple “living lab” projects - which involve faculty, staff, and students in a collaborative venture that helps solve a problem, answer a question, or meet a University sustainability goal – happen every year. Research into best practices in electronic waste management, audits on recycling rates, and analysis of our campus food system have all led to ideas to improve campus practices.

Beyond research conducted through courses, students interested in conducting sustainability research can apply for academic year and summer research funding.

Boatwright Library’s Sustainability LibGuide features recommended readings as well as specific books and articles, and is a great resource for anyone working on sustainability research.

Campus as a Living Lab

Over the past year alone, many courses used campus to conduct research as real-world applications of what students are learning in the classroom.

Management professor Andy Litteral gave a business statistics course information on energy production from our on-campus solar array, helping students learn to work with real data.

Faculty Involved in Sustainability Research

Faculty from 20 different departments have been involved in sustainability research. These faculty members include:

Jeremy Drummond (Art)
Erling Sjovold (Art)
Emily Boone (Biology)
Jory Brinkerhoff (Biology)
Kristine Grayson (Biology)
Rafael de Sa (Biology)
Jennifer Sevin (Biology)
Peter Smallwood (Biology)
Amy Treonis (Biology)
Carrie Wu (Biology)
Christopher Stevenson (Chemistry)
Erik Craft (Economics)
Tim Hamilton (Economics)
Patricia Stohr-Hunt (Education)
Julietta Singh (English)
Mary Finley-Brook (Geography)
Todd Lookingbill (Geography)
David Salisbury (Geography)
Danielle Stokes (Law)