Inaugural Campus as Living Lab awarded sustainability grants to 10 projects

The Office for Climate and Sustainability and the Leadership Council for Sustainability the inauguration recipients have announced Campus as Living Lab sustainability grants, which will provide winners with up to $50,000 in funding for sustainability research and education projects that use JHU’s campuses to test scalable innovations. This year’s recipients represent five of the university’s nine academic departments, including researchers, faculty and students.

The winners were recognized at a festive event on October 11 in addition to the launch of JHU’s new Climate action and sustainability plan. After presenting the winning proposals, co-chair of the Sustainability Leadership Council and professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health Peter Winch emphasized the importance of the subsidies.

“This program will serve as a cornerstone for identifying and improving our university’s potential for sustainability,” he shared Center. “The program will work synergistically towards our Climate Action and Sustainability Plan objectives. Hopefully, it will generate ideas and innovations that can be integrated and scaled.”

Following implementation of the projects, the grant recipients will share their results with university leaders to demonstrate the potential for JHU’s campuses to be used as learning tools and contribute to solutions in the university’s Climate Action and Sustainability Plan.

The Campus as a Living Lab program was developed by a multidisciplinary working group consisting of faculty, staff and students from the Sustainability Leadership Council and staff from the Office of Climate and Sustainability. Information about the program and future grant opportunities is available on the JHU Sustainability website.

Research grants

Olin Pond: Water Quality, Hydrodynamics, and Stormwater Management Performance

Winner: Ciaran HarmanAssociate Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering and Earth Planetary Science, Whiting School of Engineering

Engineering researchers will install sensors in the wetland adjacent to Olin Hall to collect data and monitor its effectiveness in reducing stormwater runoff and pollutant retention. The project will result in student research to inform potential improvements.

Quantification of methane emissions in the JHU sewage system using exoelectrogenic methanotrophs

Award winners: Ruggero Rossiassistant professor, environmental health and engineering, Whiting School of Engineering; Sarah PreheimAssociate Professor, Environmental Health and Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering

Researchers will develop and install biosensors in JHU’s sewer lines to quantify methane, a potent greenhouse gas, to accurately estimate its impact on the university’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Scholarships for Course Instructors

Preparing future teachers to teach environmental justice and sustainable development

Winner: Hunter GehlbachProfessor, School of Education

The course will train environmental educators in the educational features of teaching about climate change, sustainability, planetary health, and environmental justice, as well as strategies to help students prioritize environmental issues.

An automated way to measure and identify food waste among students to inform responsible consumption initiatives

Winner: Alissa Burkholder MurphySenior Lecturer, Whiting School of Engineering

As part of a Multidisciplinary Engineering Design course, a team of students will design an automated system to weigh and identify food waste in JHU dining halls. The project will inform Hopkins Dining about the relationship between recipe choices, menus and the effectiveness of initiatives to reduce food waste.

Collect and store rainwater to reduce water use for campus irrigation

Winner: Nusaybah Abu-MulawehSenior Lecturer, Whiting School of Engineering

In this multidisciplinary Engineering Design course, students will design a modular solution for capturing, storing, and distributing rainwater for garden irrigation at JHU’s Homewood campus and a Baltimore K-8 school, teaching students about design approaches to stormwater management.

Course on forested ecosystems and sustainability

Winner: Jerry Burgessassociate professor of earth and planetary sciences, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Students in this course will examine the resilience and ecological benefits of urban forests on campus through hands-on fieldwork and develop recommendations to improve campus green spaces and protect local water resources.

Engaging students in campus climate action through arts-based communications

Awardee: Saraniya Tharmarajah, instructor, health, behavior and society, Bloomberg School of Public Health

In this course, students will identify climate action behaviors on the JHU campus and apply behavior change theory to create climate communication campaigns presented on campus through lectures, seminars, displays, and workshops.

Student financing

JHU Travel Dashboard: track and encourage sustainable travel

Winner: Pink weeksDrPhD student, Bloomberg School of Public Health

A student public health researcher will create a dashboard that visualizes emissions from business travel to universities to raise awareness, inform strategies and propose strategies to reduce associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Carbon-free electricity plan to support the AI ​​Research Campus

Winner: Ziting Huang, PhD candidate, Whiting School of Engineering

An engineering student researcher will develop a feasibility plan to predict the increasing power needs of the new Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence Institute by exploring approaches including on-site renewable energy, energy storage and power purchase agreements from local clean energy sites.

Airway equipment recycling program in operating rooms

Award winner: Melanie Alfonzo Horowitz, MD student, School of Medicine

A medical student researcher will develop a pilot laryngoscope recycling initiative, train and survey operating room staff, and measure reduced hospital waste and cost savings.