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2018-22 Progress Report on the Pitt Sustainability Plan Now Available
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The Office of Sustainability has published a report on the progress being made to reach the sixty-eight sustainability goals set by the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan. Six of the outlined goals have been accomplished and forty-three are either on target or on track to be achieved. Read the full progress report.
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2023 Pitt Sustainability Award Recipients Announced
 MCSI is thrilled to announce the 2023 Pitt Sustainability Awardees and Student Champions! These students, faculty, and staff have gone above and beyond this year to prioritize sustainability in their work, extracurriculars, and daily lives, both on- and off-campus. The Erika Ninos Student Leadership Award was additionally introduced this year, which is awarded to one Pitt student who consistently demonstrates a commitment to leading the advancement of sustainability at the University. The Awardees and Student Champions were honored for their work at the 16th annual Sustainability Symposium on April 21st. Read more about the recipients. |
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Celebrating Sustainability at Pitt's Student Sustainability Symposium
This year marked the celebration of the 16th annual Student Sustainability Symposium, which featured student presentations, a keynote speaker, and the Pitt Sustainability Awards ceremony. The Symposium began with presentations from the Center for Sustainable Business’ student fellows, who focus on researching and advancing sustainability in various business sectors. This was followed by presentations from students enrolled in MCSI’s Sustainability Capstone course, who showcased their semester-long group projects. After the presentation of the 2023 Pitt Sustainability Awards, students from Professor Ward Allebach’s course, Sustainability, delivered final presentations on their group projects from the semester. The Symposium closed with a presentation from the event’s keynote speaker, former Student Sustainability Engagement Manager Maddy Weiss.
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MCSI and Pittsburgh Pirates Collaborate for Earth Day
This past Earth Day, MCSI worked with the Pittsburgh Pirates to help raise awareness among fans about their green initiatives through a pilot "Green Team" program. Student volunteers from Epsilon Eta Delta, Pitt's environmental honors fraternity, were stationed throughout the ballpark, where they discussed the Pirates' waste diversion programs and helped fans properly discard their recyclable waste. Read more about the Pirates' sustainability practices.
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Dr. Briana Niblick
M.S., Civil & Environmental Engineering '09
Ph.D., Civil & Environmental Engineering '13
MCSI IGERT Fellow
Dr. Briana Niblick is a highly experienced sustainability professional with a diverse background. After conducting post-doctoral work in life cycle assessment (LCA) at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics and the University of Stuttgart, she joined the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development in 2016 as an environmental engineer specializing in LCA research. During her seven-year tenure at EPA, Dr. Niblick has led research projects on sustainable materials management and life cycle methodology development, and has worked to integrate environmental justice into engineering research on a broad scale. In 2022, she was selected to serve as a Brookings LEGIS Fellow for Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware. In this role, she advised the Congresswoman on environmental and climate change issues and introduced the Public Health Air Quality Act of 2022, which aims to increase the number and functionality of air quality monitors throughout the country—particularly in areas where high emissions levels have been linked to public health issues. She returned to EPA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of 2023, where she is currently leading efforts to improve the integration of science, policy, and legislation.
Dr. Niblick's contributions to sustainability, LCA research, and legislation have been acknowledged with two Bronze Medals from EPA, which is one of the Agency's highest honors. The first Medal recognized her participation in the team that delivered the 2018 U.S. Biofuels Report to Congress, which assesses the environmental impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard program. She recently received her second Medal for co-leading EPA's response to President Biden's Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.
Dr. Niblick believes that MCSI and its IGERT Fellowship opportunities have been integral to her academic and professional success, as she gained a rigorous education in sustainable engineering while pursuing interests in emerging social and global questions. Her dissertation co-advisors, Dr. Amy Landis and Dr. Melissa Bilec, supported her in many ways, including connecting her with scholars and industry experts to complement what she was learning in the classroom and lab. As an IGERT Fellow, Dr. Niblick conducted research on Brazil's sugarcane ethanol industry at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro for six months. “Assembling a research agenda in a country once unfamiliar to you is no small feat,” she writes. “Anytime I feel uncertain about my abilities to take on a new challenge, I remind myself of where I’ve been and that I only need to take the next most logical step to move forward."
Dr. Niblick would love to speak with anyone curious about pursuing a government and/or international career path, and encourages those interested to message her via LinkedIn. |
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"MCSI and its professors are some of the best advocates for student success that one could imagine. I am deeply grateful for the education and growth opportunities I received as an IGERT Fellow and graduate student at Pitt. This education laid the groundwork for my career today and for many new journeys in the future."
—Dr. Briana Niblick, CEE '13
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Faculty & Staff Highlights
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2023-24 MCSI Grant Recipients Announced
MCSI is pleased to announce its faculty grant awardees and for the 2023-24 academic year. These programs aim to help both faculty and students engage in sustainability-related research, education, and outreach. Read more about MCSI’s research funding programs.
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Research Seed Grants in Sustainability
Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, GSPIA
Tony Kerzmann, Mechanical Engineering
Deploying Solar Projects in Rural Southwestern Pennsylvania: Understanding and Securing Community Acceptance
Mohammad Masnadi, Chemical Engineering
Cellulosic Biomass Conversion via Liquid Metal Catalysis
Cori Richards-Zawacki, Biology
Building and Bridging On-Campus and Field-Based Summer Undergraduate Research Programs in Sustainability
Sachin Velankar, Chemical Engineering
Thermal Desalination Process Based on Hydrate Crystallization of Polyoxacyclobutane
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John C. Mascaro Faculty Scholars
Inhee Lee, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Creating a Sustainability Network between Engineering and Ecology for Ecosystem Monitoring
Sarah Moore, Film & Media Studies
Sustainability Through the Lens of Film and Media Projects
John C. Mascaro Faculty Lecturers
Mohamed Bayoumy, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Green Computing and Sustainable Software Development
Amr Mahmoud, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Integrating Green Electronics Education in ECE Classes II
Stephen Quigley, English
My Nature Outing Curriculum Development
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Graduate Student Attends Two Climate Conferences on Scholarship
Rahaf Hasan, a graduate Civil and Environmental Engineering student, recently attended both the Future Leaders Climate Summit and Aspen Ideas: Climate conferences in Miami Beach, Florida on a full scholarship. Over the course of several days, Hasan had the opportunity to engage with and learn from various workshops, roundtables, and speakers, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Hasan recounted her experiences at both conferences in a blog post, an excerpt of which can be read below.
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"Last week was an unforgettable experience as I was honored to attend two remarkable conferences in Miami Beach as a scholarship recipient. I had the chance to engage with some of the most influential voices of our time at the Future Leaders Climate Summit and Aspen Ideas: Climate. It was an incredible opportunity to connect with and learn from government officials, climate scientists, writers, policymakers, entrepreneurs, and young activists working towards a common goal—combatting climate change. Among the inspiring speakers was Vice President Kamala Harris, who delivered an uplifting message expressing her optimism and belief in the power of young leaders like us to make a difference. It was a poignant reminder that our work and passion are crucial in shaping the future of our planet.
As part of the Future Leaders Climate Summit, I joined a cohort of inspiring young professionals and activists from diverse backgrounds committed to fighting climate change in their unique ways. During the four-day summit, I participated in different workshops and roundtable sessions. One session that left a lasting impression was the Global Climate Action Simulation session. With this eye-opening experience, I had the chance to step into the shoes of a leader and collaborate with others to develop an urgent and equitable plan to combat climate change using the En-ROADS climate solutions simulator."
—Rahaf Hasan, CEE Ph.D. Candidate
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2023 Undergraduate Sustainability Research Begins
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K-12 Education & Outreach Highlights
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Experientially Learning Sustainability at ATA
Upon undergoing a series of renovations to enhance their building’s energy efficiency, Allegheny Traditional Academy (ATA), a K-8 Pittsburgh Public School, opted to transform the project into an experiential learning opportunity for students with the assistance of MCSI. ATA students were provided with four lessons in total, with three led by MCSI’s Co-Director, Dr. Melissa Bilec, and one led by MCSI’s Associate Director, Dr. David Sanchez. The students engaged with topics including sustainable design, infrared radiation, and environmental engineering. MCSI additionally invited ATA’s students to tour Pitt's campus, where they learned about our sustainability initiatives and were engaged in hands-on activities such as a windmill design challenge and the creation of miniature hydroponics systems.
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UAHS Students Explore Sustainability in Higher Education at Pitt
Students from Uniontown Area High School (UAHS) recently visited the University of Pittsburgh, where they were led by MCSI’s staff and Associate Director, Dr. David Sanchez, on a sustainability-focused tour of campus. Dr. Sanchez developed a relationship with the Uniontown community as a product of his students’ recent research for the Appalachian College Research Initiative. These student-developed projects, completed in partnership with the Fayette County Cultural Trust, sought to encourage sustainable economic development in rural Pennsylvania cities, including Uniontown. The UAHS students visited Benedum Engineering Hall and Pitt Business, where they discovered how sustainability intersects with a wide variety of academic careers and majors at Pitt.
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Thank you so much for reading.
Look for us in your inbox in the Summer!
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