The future of sustainability depends on current research related to the conservation of resources and developing alternative forms of energy. Boston College’s leading faculty and students are making strides in sustainability research, and receiving renowned recognition for their efforts. Sustainability on campus and for future generations is being made possible through the inspiration and dedication of Boston College faculty, students and staff.
Research Projects
Boston College’s leading academics are currently researching ways to conserve the environment and engineering alternative energy practices. Read on to learn about the activities of the environmental studies and physics departments.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PROJECTS
The Environmental Studies Department has been actively turning the outdoors into a classroom for Boston College students. Many research projects are conducted from the field station on Sandy Neck Beach in Barnstable, Cape Cod. Current projects include the study of Diamondback Terrapin Turtles, Eastern Coyotes and American Crows.
Read the Heights Article on the Terrapins titled BC Works to Save Turtles
Conducting some environmental research of your own? Find information and resources in the BC LibGuides section dedicated to Environmental Sciences.
Environmental Seminar Projects
In the Spring Semester of 2009, the senior Environmental Studies minors took on a new project in GE 580: Environmental Seminar. With the help of Professors Gail Kineke and Amy Frappier, student groups selected an aspect of the Boston College campus for which to conduct an inventory of carbon emissions. Deirdre Manning, the Director of Sustainability & Energy Management and Kristin Lancaster, the Manager of Utilities consulted with student groups throughout the research period, providing contacts and data. Students used the Campus Carbon Calculator developed by Clean Air Cool Planet as a resource, and utilized The University of New Hampshire's 1990-2003 Green House Gas Emissions Inventory as a model for their final reports. The project was inspired by Boston College's commitment to sustainability, written into the Institutional Master Plan, and students considered this commitment throughout the research process. Reports researched the impacts of Freshman orientation, landscaping at Boston College, and dorm energy use, just to name a few.
URBAN ECOLOGY INSTITUTE
Boston College is an active member of the Urban Ecology Institute, a research organization dedicated to the study of urban ecosystems. UEI's Education Program seeks to increase youth interest in science and environmental stewardship through hands-on, inquiry-based urban ecological studies. UEI's Education Program consists of Urban Ecology Field Studies, Greentimes and LEAH Mentors.
Other UEI initiatives include:
- Planting 100,000 new trees in Boston as part of Grow Boston Greener
- Engaging urban residents in the care and stewardship of their urban environments through CityRoots and Yards to Oasis
- Working with the Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative to improve Boston’s vacant land disposition and land use policies
- Organizing the Boston committee of Urban Long-term Research Areas (ULTRA), a national research program to explore the impacts of urban trees and urban forests.
For more information visit their site.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCHOLAR PROGRAM
The Environmental Scholars Program provides a combined internship and advanced research program for Boston College students during a year-long, six-credit course. Environmental Scholars work with the Environmental Studies Program, the Lynch School of Education and the Urban Ecology Institute (UEI) on a combined multi-year research project to measure the impacts of human development on urban and suburban ecosystems. One team of scholars will work with the Institute to develop innovative methods for managing those impacts.
Professors' Research
PROFESSOR MICHAEL NAUGHTON’S REASEARCH
Professor Michael Naughton is chair of the Physics Department at Boston College, and has been collaborating with colleagues to convert solar energy to electricity through the use of nano technology.
See what the Chronicle thinks of Professor Naughton’s work in A Man of Unbridled Enthusiasm.
The work of Boston College’s Physics Department has received recognition, especially from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in the Ignite Clean Energy Competition. Read the following articles to learn more:
Renewable Energy Access: April 20, 2006 – Ten Start-ups Vie for Clean Tech Energy Prizes
Clean Energy: May 15, 2006 - Solar, Hydro, and Waste Processing Start-Ups Win $125,000 Ignite Clean Energy Competition
Professor Amy Frappier’s Research
Professor Amy Frappier uses cave formations such as stalagmites to study past climatic and ecological changes in Central America and the Caribbean. Stalagmites record information relevant to understanding the links between climate and extremes such as hurricanes, droughts, and El Niño events, as well as the effects of environmental change on human civilizations such as the ancient Maya and modern society. Click here to learn more about Professor Frappier’s role at BC, or here to read about her paleoenvironmental change research.
PROFESSOR RUDOLPH HON’S RESEARCH
Professor Rudolph Hon studies aqueous geochemistry, and the effects that chemical changes to water can have on the environment. Click here to find out more about Professor Hon and BC, or here to learn more about aqueous geochemistry.
PROFESSORS JOHN EBEL AND ALAN KAFKA
Professors Ebel and Kafka study earthquake hazards and earthquake forecasting. Weston Geophysical Observatory is BC's center for monitoring earthquakes and disseminating information to the public about earthquake activity in New England and around the world. Click here for more information about their research.
PROFESSOR GAIL KINEKE'S RESEARCH
Professor Gail Kineke studies how physical processes associated with rivers, waves, tides and currents move sediment, transform the coasts, and deposit sediment in the marine environment. She is currently working in the Gulf of Mexico and Bay of Fundy region. Click here to learn more about Professor Kineke and BC, or here for more information on her Costal Processes and Fine Sediment Transport research.
PROFESSOR YVETTE KUIPER’S RESEARCH
Yvette Kuiper's projects involve geological field mapping and sampling, structural analysis and geochronology. Her research has implications for larger scale tectonics, but understanding the three-dimensional geology and how it changes over time is also essential for applications such as hydrology and environmental consulting. Click here for more information on her research.
PROFESSOR ZHIFENG REN'S RESEARCH
Zhifeng Ren, a professor in Boston College's Physics Department, is a leading researcher in the field of nanotechnology. Ren is also the co-founder of Newton-based GMZ Energy, which received two awards in 2008 for its new thermoelectric material that allows varying technologies to run cleaner. Click here for more information on these achievements, or here for more on his research at BC.
PROFESSOR NOAH SNYDER’S RESEARCH
Professor Noah Snyder studies how climate and land-use changes affect river processes and ecosystems. He is particularly interested in the role of dam removal projects in stream habitat restoration. He works in New England and California. Click here for more information on his research.
Sustainability in the Classroom
The classroom is the heart and soul of Boston College. Sustainability is brought to life through education and hands-on research. The Environmental Studies Program offers an opportunity for students to engage in environmental education and research.
The Geology and Geophysics Department offers the Environmental Geoscience Major, which is designed to teach students to be future leaders in the search for interdisciplinary solutions to Earth’s environmental challenges.
Other programs can lead to opportunities in sustainability depending on the field of interest. Follow the links below to see program descriptions and requirements for various sustainability related majors and minors at Boston College.
Help BC increase its environmental scholarship offerings by taking the Environmental Interest Survey.
Boston College offers a diverse selection of courses related to sustainability and the environment. Here is a sampling of course descriptions offered in the past:
Environmental Economics - The course will examine different aspects of natural resource allocation and the protection of environmental quality from an economic standpoint, including: specific areas of market failure, the allocation of public goods, the estimation of non-market values, public policy avenues for influencing natural resource management, and ethical issues in natural resource management.
Environmental Policy - This course is an introduction to emerging issues in environmental management and politics. The course also will provide an introduction to the central institutional actors in environmental governance at the local, state and federal levels. The course will examine the intersection between science, policy and the law in current critical environmental issues and conflicts such as the management of public land, urbanization and sprawl, global climate change, natural resource management and public health.
Environmental Law - Introduces students to the legal system, environmental law. Covers virtually all the legal system, common law, constitutional litigation, complex agency regulations, creation and enforcement of international legal norms, ethics and policy issues. Air, water pollution, toxics, parks, wildlife, nuclear power, forests, mining, historic preservation, environmental justice. Four sections, under supervision of law school Prof. Zygmunt Plater, by two-person teams from BCLS, BULS, and Harvard Law. (WAIT-LISTS: If your chosen section is closed, please register for an alternate section, and email plater@bc.edu to be put on a hard-copy wait-list in case a spot in your chosen section opens up.)
Environmental Biology - This course provides an interdisciplinary environmental science background with an emphasis on biology, covering topics that include: ecological principles, biodiversity and ecosystem function, wildlife and natural resource management, human population growth and its effects, energy, soils and agriculture, water quality, pollution and waste, human health and toxicology. The course stresses the development of solutions, including biological, design-based (green design, urban and regional planning), regulatory, and market-driven solutions, to major world environmental problems, as well as the role of scientists in environmental matters. Guest lecturers will further help students understand environmental problems and develop solutions-oriented approaches to these problems.
Environmental Scholar - A research and internship program with the Environmental Studies Program and the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College. Year-long projects measure the impacts of human development on urban and suburban ecosystems. Scholars are divided into three teams focusing on field biology, environmental education, and environmental policy. Environmental Scholars participate in the program 10 hours per week and complete a final project each semester for review by the team's faculty mentor. The Scholars also participate in monthly Scholars Workshops and weekly team meetings.
Environmental Seminar - This seminar is for Seniors with an Environmental Studies Minor. Contemporary and future environmental issues will be investigated from scientific, historic, economic, and cultural perspectives. Researchers, environmentalists, and other experts will occasionally attend and participate in specific seminars associated with their areas of concentration. As a senior seminar, the course will be driven by student interest and expertise. The overall goal of the course is for each student to make use of the skills, knowledge and background they bring to the seminar at this time in their academic career.
Boston College Alumni
MICHAEL DEL PONTE
Co-founder, President & CEO of Conscious Lifestyle
Michael’s passion for social and environmental change has brought him to over 20 countries on four continents, most recently Nepal, India, and Palestine. Michael received his B.A. from Boston College and currently studies ethics at Yale Divinity School. His interests include consumer social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. Conscious Lifestyle is a nonprofit organization that empowers students and schools to be more socially responsible. In particular, Conscious Lifestyle support ventures on high school and college campuses that create positive change on both the individual and institutional levels. The social innovators who lead these ventures attack problems in their communities with creative solutions based on their skills and passions.
Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship
The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC) is a membership based research organization. BCCCC works with global corporations to help them define, plan and operationalize their corporate citizenship. Their goal is to help business leverage its social, economic and human assets to ensure both its success and a more just and sustainable world.
BCCCC also supports the environment within their offices. They are sourcing and using biodegradable plastic spoons, forks, knives and cups, and buy green cleaners for cleaning purposes. BCCCC also uses a coffee maker where the individual packages are not made of plastic but look like biodegradable tea bags and, of course, use fair trade coffee. Small changes like this can make a large impact over time, and are simple to try!
Also connected to BCCCC is Boston College's Institute for Responsible Investment.