Campus Climate Lab research projects span many disciplines and varied themes, including buildings and operations, reducing waste, curriculum development, climate and health, and advocacy and activism. Get inspired — learn more about current and past projects!
Project Spotlight: Indigenous Curricular and Cultural Exchange Gaps at BU
Research: Students Elizabeth Kostina (Sociology and Architectural Studies, CAS), Delaney Foster (Marine Program, Earth & Environment, CAS), and Selby Vaughn (Biology, CAS) — working with Dr. Nathan Phillips (Earth and Environment) andParren Fountain (BU Sustainability) — conducted a comprehensive survey of Indigenous curricular offerings and cultural spaces at Boston University, and then compared them to peer institutions. They surveyed students, faculty, and staff at BU and 10 other schools, and interviewed two members of local Indigenous communities involved in higher education to identify gaps in BU’s offerings.
Results: The survey yielded 79 unique responses, 87 percent of which came from BU, to gauge the range of laypeople’s perspectives regarding Indigenous offerings on campuses, especially at BU. About half of the respondents said that Indigenous knowledge was integrated “not well at all” into their school’s curriculum.
Yet, our universities, the very institutions tasked with shaping future leaders and innovators, are failing to adequately incorporate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into their curricula.
Implementation: The team used their survey results to develop a roadmap with specific next steps for filling the gaps in Indigenous curriculum, cultural activities, and spaces at BU. The students share their findings in a perspective piece for BU Today.
Study demand/grid implications of all electric building for heating system and potential solution of thermal/electric storage
Research team:
James Roberts (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Michael Gevelber (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024
This project will continue our research in analyzing thermal and electric storage options for all electric buildings such as the Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) and the associated impact on building demand and demand charges. Thermal loads will be investigated by comparing loads due to airflow and surface heat loss, and how these factors determine building heating/cooling loads. Thermal load analysis will guide investigations of energy efficiency opportunities for large buildings drawing from the technology deployed in CDS to build a practical understanding of highly efficient systems. The potential for implementing ground source heat pumps and their cost will also be investigated as part of implementing electric heating systems.
Student Presentations:
April 10, 2024: Slide Deck (PowerPoint)
Continuous indoor air quality assessment for BU buildings
Research team:
Celine Chen (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Primah Muwanga (Computing and Data Science, ENG)
Ellen Zheng (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Maribel Boujaoude (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Yangyang Zhang (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Thomas Little (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024.
Figure 1: Systems Architecture
Figure 2: Pilot Device
Figure 3: Classroom Installation
Last year we demonstrated the capability of using wireless air quality sensors in eight classrooms to provide real-time feedback on the environmental conditions including a means for harvesting occupant feedback. In this follow-on project we are changing our focus from single rooms to full buildings. Data from each measured space will be sampled and analyzed in aggregate for the purpose of supporting recommendations for air quality and energy-efficiency improvements. To meet the scale of this effort we will construct 20 new low-cost sensor devices based on a new design. These are intended to be deployed, and reused in target buildings, for whole building air quality and energy efficiency assessment.
Research team:
Reuben Danyali (Environmental Analysis & Policy; Economics, CAS)
Sage Andrews (Biology, CAS)
Alexa Smith (Political Science; Economics, CAS)
Alex Weintraub (Earth & Environment, CAS)
Ella J. Grossman (Earth & Environment, CAS) Mentor: Pam Templer (Biology, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2025, Summer 2025.
The BU campus has over 70 acres of lawn scape, which accounts for a significant percentage of the school’s budget of carbon flux.This research project will involve measuring changes to ecological factors in urban landscaping by varying management tactics to be more sustainably informed and more ecologically integrated. Tactics will include alterations to mulch application, alternative soil amendments (fertilizer, pesticides, etc.), and possibly cover crops. The measurement of ecological factors will allow us to evaluate changes in biogenic CO2 emissions. From these results we will create a recommended treatment option for altering management in the future to help BU achieve the climate goals set out in the BU CAP, and allow BU to more closely align with its stated land management sustainability goals.
Advocacy and Activism
Student-generated solution for environmental justice at Boston University
Research team:
Alexia Nastasia (Kilchand Honors College, CAS, Pardee)
Abby Dandrow (Anthropology, CAS)
Cole Wilkins (Anthropology, CAS) Mentor: Eric Michael Kelley (Visting Lecturer, Anthropology, CAS) Mentor: Caterina Scaramelli (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Previous Team Members:
Isabella Bremer (Film and Television, COM)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024.
Boston University has recognized in its Climate Action Plan that climate change is a seminal issue of our time. Effectively addressing this issue cannot be done without incorporating into climate action an environmental justice agenda, with support from a broad cross-section of university constituents, including students. This research project seeks to analyze how Boston University can better integrate into climate action an environmental justice agenda, with support from its diverse student communities. The research project is an applied anthropological study with a community action focus endeavoring to assess diverse students’ perceptions of environmental justice at Boston University in order to improve the university’s environmental justice efforts based on diverse underrepresented student input and contribution. Grounded in an intersectional approach, the project will engage research participants from diverse communities, including BIPOC students, DACA students, students with recent immigrant backgrounds, students with refugee status, international students, and LGBTQ students from Boston University’s main campus, the Charles River Campus. This research team includes: students Alexia Nastasia (team lead), Isabella (Bella) Bremer, and Abby Dandrow; Anthropology Department Visiting Lecturer Eric Michael Kelley (faculty mentor) and Department of Earth and Environment Senior Lecturer Caterina Scaramelli (faculty co-mentor); and two staff members, James Eddy, Associate Director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, and Alison Parker, Instructional Services Coordinator at Geddes Language Center, as operations partners.
Student Presentations:
April 10, 2024: Slide Deck (PowerPoint)
Fighting Hunger and Pollution with Vertical Aeroponic Towers
Research team:
Lydia Palmer (Physics, CAS)
Siya Dahanukar (Behavior & Health, Sargent) Mentor: Sophie Godley (Community Health Sciences, SPH)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2025, Summer 2025.
At BU, strategically placed aeroponic towers will provide students with hands-on gardening opportunities while addressing local food insecurity and supporting mental wellness. By analyzing our resource usage and the failures of commercial aeroponic farms, we’ll determine the major errors of these well-intentioned businesses and how we can innovate for a more sustainable agricultural industry in the future.
Climate and Health
Urban air pollution monitors
Research team:
Tahsin Tasnim (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
James Roberts (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Andrew Zhang (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Tessa Graebner (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Emily Ryan (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Previous research team members:
Benjamin Pedi (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Lorenzo Barale (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Sofiya Filippova (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Maya Lobel (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Kai Raina Tung (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Luisa DiLorenzo (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Leon Long (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Logan Rajah (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Figure 1: Previous Prototype
Figure 2: PCB Addons
Figure 3: Fully Assembled Device and Enclosure
Phase 1: This research project is looking at the development of low cost mobile sensor packs designed to measure local pollution levels within urban environments. In this project we will use the previously developed sensors along with higher end research grade and regulatory grade sensors to understand how accurate the lower cost sensors are and if they can be used to collect reliable and highly resolved spatial and temporal air pollution data around the city. The longer term objective of this project is to create a sensor network utilizing a mobile business (i.e. bike shares, buses, shared rides, etc.) to collect real time data for communities to understand local air quality conditions, and for governments to understand the effects of traffic patterns, bus routes, airport traffic, etc. on local communities.
Phase 2:Detailed in the Project Spotlight.
Student Presentations:
April 10, 2024: Slide Deck (PowerPoint)
BU climate resiliency: Geospatial analysis of nature-based solutions
Research team:
Jessica Schwarz (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Rori McCutcheon (Earth and Environment, CAS) Mentor: Ian Smith (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Urban areas are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, intensified rainfall, and extreme temperatures. As urbanization and population growth accelerate, urban areas face substantial challenges in building resilience to climate conditions. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)—which utilize natural processes to tackle environmental issues while providing societal benefits—provide cost-effective opportunities for bolstering urban resilience while simultaneously providing numerous co-benefits. Our research team will tackle the issue of climate resiliency on BU’s campus by using a state-of-the-art geospatial methodology to identify NBS investment opportunities to reduce campus flood risk, while providing co-benefits related to heat, health/recreation, and social cohesion.
GreenSquare
Research team:
Jonathan Miller (Electrical Engineering, ENG)
Abigail Hassan (Political Science, CAS) Mentor: Linda Doerrer (Chemistry, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2025, Summer 2025.
Students Jonathan Miller (Electrical Engineering, ENG), Abigail Hassan (Political Science, CAS), will work with Dr. Linda Doerrer (Chemistry, CAS) to design and implement an algae bioreactor on BU’s campus to explore carbon-negative renewable energy solutions. The team will investigate the performance of algae microbial fuel cells under long-term operations and colder climates, aiming to optimize conditions for maximizing power output and stability. They will construct prototypes, monitor data, and optimize conditions to identify the feasibility of generating carbon-negative, cost-effective energy.
Reducing Waste
Quantifying microplastic emissions and investigating filtration methods
Research team:
Lucas Gibbons (Physics, CAS)
Yiyang Jin (Biology, CAS) Mentor: Raymond Nagem (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Microplastics have been shown to threaten environmental and human health, with the washing of synthetic fabrics representing a significant source of emissions. This project aims to evaluate the microplastic output of BU laundry facilities and investigate ways to mitigate emissions, specifically through research and development of high-throughput filtering solutions which would match the needs of the BU community. The goal of this project is to produce an actionable plan for eliminating microplastics from BU laundry wastewater.
Student Presentations:
April 10, 2024: Slide Deck (PowerPoint)
Activate BU: Electricity demand response
Research team:
Melissa Martin (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Miya Peterson (Earth and Environment, CAS) Mentor: Nathan Phillips (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
This project aims to activate BU campus residents to demonstrate climate benefits of electric demand response. Demand response is the practice of pre-emptively shifting or reducing electricity consumption from projected peak demand periods on the grid, saving money and preserving air quality and the climate. We will engage residential communities and install whole-residence electric service line meters and hot water meters, in selected traditional Boston row houses in South Campus and/or Bay State Road. We will quantify demand response in residences provided with education, monetary incentives and/or community-building activities, compared to a reference house. The results from this study will provide estimates of energy, carbon, pollution, and financial benefits of demand response, particularly when scaled to comparable housing stock or data centers across campus, the City of Boston and beyond.
Improving Chemical Inventory Management Practices
Research team:
Adrian Rodriguez (Neurobiology, CAS)
Arielle Lewis (Human Physiology, Sargent)
Chengxi Feng (Supply Chain Management, MET) Mentor: John Maleyeff (Risk Management, MET)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2025, Summer 2025.
The ordering, handling, storage, and disposal of chemicals used in research labs throughout BU will be evaluated and recommendations will be made to make quantifiable sustainability improvements that are consistent with the BU Climate Action Plan. Analytically-based inventory models will be utilized to determine how reductions in overstocked chemicals can be achieved. Changes to be considered include aggregation of similar chemicals in fewer locations, reduction of chemical inventory redundancies, and potential substitution of some chemicals for more sustainable alternatives. BU Metropolitan College Master’s student Chenxi Feng, College of Arts & Sciences undergraduate student Adrian Rodriguez, and Sargent College undergraduate student Arielle Lewis will work on the project. MET supply chain management Professor John Maleyeff and EHS Director of Safety Ron Morales will provide ongoing advice to the project team.
Art Studio Waste Education and Reduction Project
Research team:
Isaac Killilea (International Relations, CAS)
Yuka Masamura (Graphic Design, CFA) Mentor: Jeffrey Nowlin (Foundation Sculpture, CFA)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2025, Summer 2025.
This project aims to analyze all current recycling, waste management, and sustainability practices across BU’s College of Fine Arts School of Visual Arts. This includes a proposition for education strategies to inform students of best practices for sustainability and improve standard operating procedures and material practices of recycling and waste management of art supplies. This will be in order to reduce unnecessary waste and instill reuse practices in studios when possible across the School of Visual Arts.
