Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability

What a wonderful way to close out 2024 🌲❄️ Our office was full of holiday cheer as IGS faculty, staff, and students gathered to celebrate the holidays with games, cookies, and crafts. We look forward to continued discovery and community in the new year. Wishing our entire network a joyful holiday season!

Register now for Northeast Energy & Commerce Association's 2025 Power Markets Conference, hosted 1/16 on the Boston University campus. This conference will address the major transformations underway in our energy system, and how those changes relate to our markets. IGS Associate Director Cutler Cleveland will be delivering the keynote address. http://spr.ly/6042QuUHp

A recent conference hosted by Stanford University Graduate School of Business brought together scholars to discuss "Human Behavior and Climate Change: From Individual to Collective Action." M. Patricia Fabián, Associate Professor Boston University School of Public Health and IGS Associate Director, delivered a talk, "Strategies to Build Urban Heat Resilience while Transforming our Energy System."

WATCH NOW: Missed out on the recent Climate Change and Clean Energy Research on Tap event hosted by Boston University Office of Research? All recordings are now available to stream! Experts from Boston University College of Engineering, Boston University College of Arts & Sciences, Boston University - Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies (Pardee School), Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Boston University School of Public Health & BU Earth and Environment delivered fascinating lightning talks drawing on their unique areas of expertise, demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary thinking for addressing the climate crisis. IGS-affiliated speakers include: Emily Ryan on Interface Stability for Next Generation Batteries Ian Sue Wing on Inequalities in Global Residential Cooling Energy Use to 2050 Eric Cueny on Understanding Reactive Intermediate Exchange Reactions: Kevin P Gallagher on Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Development M. Patricia Fabián on Strategies to Build Urban Heat Resilience While Transforming Our Energy System Dan Li on Interactions of Climate Change, Urbanization, and Building Energy Consumption Emiliano Dall'Anese on Advancing Optimization & Control of Sustainable Power & Energy Infrastructures Mary D. Willis on Oil & Gas Development and Population Health Benjamin Sovacool on Equity, Justice, and Racism in the Electric Mobility Transition Srikanth Gopalan on Grid Scale Renewable Energy Storage: Reversible Solid Oxide Cells Ayse Coskun on Data Center Demand Response (and How It Can Help with Clean Energy Transition) Cutler Cleveland on U.S. Electricity in Transition https://lnkd.in/ePtJkJ62

The deadline to apply for our Visiting Researcher Program is less than a month away! The program is an ideal fit for scholars from around the globe who are eager to conduct self-supported research and join a vibrant interdisciplinary research community. Ryu Hanee joined IGS as a Visiting Researcher from South Korea in February. Read about her experience below and apply by January 15: https://lnkd.in/eBzumFvQ #ResearchOpportunities #Sustainability #Hiring #ResearchJobs #AcademicJobs

Congratulations to Zeyneb Magavi, Executive Director at HEET, who was just named a Bostonian of the Year 2024 by Boston Globe Media. This year, Magavi launched the nation's first geothermal collaboration with a gas utility company, Eversource Energy, using an innovative strategy to link an entire community to the same underground heating and cooling system. We are proud to collaborate with HEET on the state’s Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative for an equitable and just future.

☀️🌡️ As 2024 races toward becoming the hottest year on record, the climate crisis demands urgent action. In a recently published Nature Portfolio paper, Michael Dietze, leader of the Ecological Forecasting Laboratory at the Boston University College of Arts & Sciences, discusses how near-term ecological forecasts can help communities proactively respond to intensifying climate impacts, such as wildfires, droughts, and hurricanes. Dietze’s research is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). 🌎 In this Q&A, Dietze is joined by two Boston University School of Public Health faculty members who are making great strides in the field of environmental health. Gregory Wellenius is the director of the Center for Climate and Health at Boston University, and M. Patricia Fabián is the associate director at the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. Together, these Boston University Experts share insights on mitigating health risks, building resilience, and ensuring equity for vulnerable communities—underscoring the critical role of science in tackling today’s climate challenges. Check it out ⬇️

Powering climate research that transcends boundaries: We were thrilled to welcome a delegation of energy and sustainability experts from University College Cork MaREI and collaborators at University of Massachusetts Lowell Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy for lunch to discuss potential synergies across our centers.

How can the world better prepare for and predict future environmental scenarios when the natural world is constantly fluctuating? With ecological forecasting, scientists use mathematical models to make informed environmental predictions and management decisions.   “Forecasts represent our best scientific understanding of how systems work and how things are likely to change in the future,” Michael Dietze, a BU Earth and Environment professor and IGS affiliated faculty member, said. Dietze leads Boston University's Ecological Forecasting Laboratory and is the founder of the Ecological Forecasting Initiative. https://lnkd.in/dsbRDpeA

In October 2024, a liter of gasoline sold for $0.02 in Venezuela and $3.56 in Hong Kong. What accounts for the drastic disparity? Among other factors, a complex web of policies taxing or subsidizing the price consumers pay. More from Cutler Cleveland in Visualizing Energy: http://spr.ly/6042QurDI