Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability Presents 2024 Sustainability Research Awards
Each year, the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) celebrates the outstanding contributions of the Boston University (BU) community at its annual “Research for Sustainability” event. IGS honors the University’s sustainability research superheroes among our faculty, students, and staff—giving them green capes as part of our now iconic tradition.
These individuals are nominated by the BU community and recognized for significant contributions to research or practice in sustainability, climate change, and/or equity and justice.
On October 10, IGS presented four exceptional recipients with its 2024 IGS Sustainability Research Awards surrounded by a full house of nearly 100 attendees. Their research disciplines span numerous BU departments, including Biology, Earth & Environment, Philosophy, and Environmental Analysis and Policy.
IGS Sustainability Champion Award
The IGS Sustainability Champion Award recognizes a BU faculty or staff member. This year, IGS applauded the career accomplishments of Pamela Templer (Biology), one of the College of Arts & Sciences most respected researchers who was recently named a Term Distinguished Professor of Biology. This distinction is among many other accolades that she has earned for excellence in research.
Pamela Templer
One of IGS’s core faculty members, Pamela Templer is chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Biology, director of the URBAN PhD program, and co-director of the Stable Isotope Lab at Boston University. She received her PhD from Cornell University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California in Berkeley.
Dr. Templer has published widely about the effects that human activities such as climate change, urbanization, and air pollution have on forest ecosystems. The Templer Lab focuses on biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen in natural and managed ecosystems. Her lab also pursues projects that integrate across environmental science and policy through a collaborative approach with governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.
Dr. Templer’s research has been recognized in numerous ways, including an NSF CAREER Award, as an Associate of Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, through election to be a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, as an invited member of the US National Committee for the International Union of Biological Sciences, and as an author of the first US National Nature Assessment.
(Pictured left to right): IGS core faculty Pamela Templer (Biology) is presented the 2024 IGS Sustainability Champion Award by IGS advisory board member James Goudreau.
IGS Peter Fox-Penner Graduate Student Award
IGS recognized two outstanding graduate students this year with the IGS Peter Fox-Penner Graduate Student Award, named after the original founder of the Institute. The 2024 recipients are PhD candidates Leticia Castillo Brache (Philosophy) and Alicia Zhang (Earth & Environment).
Leticia Castillo Brache
Leticia Castillo Brache is a PhD candidate in the Philosophy Department at Boston University, where her research explores the intersection of the philosophy of geosciences and ethics, with a particular focus on geology and paleontology. She is currently writing her dissertation titled “Hidden Narratives in Geoscientific Research: Towards Developing More Ethical Practices.”
In this work, Castillo Brache examines the relationship between geosciences and colonialism, highlighting how contemporary practices may perpetuate harm rooted in historical injustices. She argues that the removal of cultural artifacts, including fossils and rocks, from middle- and low-income countries is unethical, as it contributes to ongoing distributive epistemic injustices. Additionally, Castillo Brache analyzes the justifications for unethical practices within the geosciences and offers policy recommendations to promote more ethical standards in the field.
Castillo Brache’s research interests also encompass the philosophy of climate science, particularly issues regarding climate justice and the values associated with climate adaptation and mitigation. In the summer of 2022, she taught a philosophy course on environmental justice, emphasizing the perspectives of historically marginalized voices. In the future, she hopes to continue doing work from a justice lens in order to make the world more equitable.
(Pictured left to right): IGS advisory board co-chair Penni McLean-Conner presents the 2024 IGS Peter Fox-Penner Graduate Student Award to Leticia Castillo Brache (Philosophy).
Alicia Zhang
Alicia Zhang is a PhD candidate in the Department of Earth & Environment advised by Professor Cutler Cleveland, an IGS associate director. Her research interests lie in the interaction of organisms and the environment and the role of institutions in applying responsible and just measures to ensure the sustainability of our food, energy, and water systems.
She supports two ongoing projects at IGS: the Impact Measurement & Allocation Program (IMAP) to forecast the achievability of climate pledges by the electricity sector and the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Program (MEEP) to understand the distribution of benefits from energy efficiency programs.
Prior to BU, she worked for the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and for the National Park Service. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in International Affairs and Psychology.
(Pictured left to right): IGS advisory board co-chair Penni McLean-Conner presents the 2024 IGS Peter Fox-Penner Graduate Student Award to Alicia Zhang (Earth & Environment) with advisor Professor Cutler Cleveland, an IGS associate director.
IGS Undergraduate Student Award
The final award recognizing rising student stars at BU is the IGS Undergraduate Student Award. The 2024 recipient is Jessica Schwarz (Environmental Analysis and Policy).
Jessica Schwarz
Jessica Schwarz is a senior at Boston University majoring in Environmental Analysis and Policy with a minor in Journalism. Originally from San Francisco, her passion for environmental justice drives her ambition to attend law school and craft policies that protect marginalized communities from environmental justice issues.
At BU, Schwarz served as the Social Chair of Epsilon Eta, an environmental community service fraternity, during her freshman and sophomore years. In her junior year, she interned with Choose to Reuse on campus and conducted research through Campus Climate Lab, focusing on indexing BU’s green space utilization for equitable distribution. Currently, she is awaiting funding for a geospatial analysis project on nature-based solutions at BU.
Last summer, Schwarz gained valuable experience interning with Green Newton through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center internship program, where she worked with the local nonprofit to promote sustainable practices. She also studied abroad at Sciences Po, earning a cum laude certificate in Social Studies and Humanities, where she focused on global environmental policy. Outside of her academic pursuits, she enjoys engaging with local environmental initiatives and advocating for sustainable community solutions.
(Pictured left to right): IGS advisory board co-chair Sheldon Simon presents the 2024 IGS Undergraduate Student Award to Jessica Schwarz (Environmental Analysis and Policy).
Featured Speaker and IGS Research Highlights
In addition to honoring our awardees, IGS welcomed its research partner at the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Adam Warren, director of the Accelerated Deployment and Decision Support Center at NREL, presented on accelerating the energy transition.
The event also featured lightning talks on several key research projects spearheaded by IGS leadership and core faculty:
IGS Executive Director Rebecca Pearl-Martinez presented on Research Translation Lab, which supports researchers in translating research findings for non-academic audiences. This fall, Research Translation Lab is focused on climate-health as part of the NIH Research Coordinating Center led by the BU and Harvard schools of public health.
IGS Associate Director Emily Ryan, associate professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering, shared IGS’s work through the Clean Energy & Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative with Governor Healey’s administration in Massachusetts to help accelerate an equitable energy transition.
IGS core faculty Malika Jeffries-EL, associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and professor of chemistry, discussed the recently awarded five-year, $3 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship grant to help BU PhD students develop multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable energy conversion and storage.
IGS Associate Director Patricia Fabian, associate professor of environmental health, discussed a major new three-year award to make extreme weather health impacts visible in frontline communities.
IGS Director Benjamin Sovacool, professor of earth and environment, presented on a $2.5 million collaborative research project funded by the US Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office to identify energy justice indicators to measure the community effects of offshore wind energy development in the Northeastern US. He also highlighted IGS research funded by the Sloan Foundation examining justice in renewable energy supply chains.
Student Poster Session
Additionally, students from across BU showcased their research in poster sessions throughout the event, including Farbin Fayza (Electrical & Computer Engineering), Emily Ghosh (Materials Science & Engineering), Kyleigh Gunn (Psychology), Ahmad Nabi (Materials Science & Engineering), Erin Polka (Environmental Health), Brian Sousa (Environmental Health), Alicia Zhang (Earth & Environment), and Weimin Zhang (Earth & Environment).
Thank you to our IGS community for joining us, and for all you do to advance a resilient future.
