Goal of Sustainability Research – the creation of enlightened public policy, knowledge and new technology which addresses how humankind interacts with the biosphere and geosphere so that the three E’s (environment, economy and social equity) are maintained in proper balance and in a sustainable manner. There are numerous Rensselaer faculty and research staff currently involved in Sustainability research. For the sake of brevity, the remaining slides will only highlight the activities of major Centers or initiatives within the Institute. Sustainability Research at Rensselaer

Institute Research Centers – Center for Future Energy Systems – Renewable energy (solar, wind, bioenergy), smart lighting, smart displays, fuel cells and hydrogen, distributed generation test grid – Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS) – Energy-efficient manufacturing processes, fuel cell design & manufacturing, power distribution & transmission.

– Future Chips Constellation - focus is on compound semiconductor materials and devices to enable substantial and significant advances in communications, lighting, sensing, and imaging (e.g., brightest light-emitting diodes, highest-efficiency lasers)

School of Architecture – Center for Architectural Science and Ecology – Implement changes to the practice of urban building systems design in three priority areas: energy consumption; sustainable resource management; and quality of access to essential resources including fresh air, clean water, natural daylight, plant and animal life. – Lighting Research Center – Energy-efficient outdoor and indoor lighting, lighting controls, daylighting to reduce powered lighting, solid-state lighting

School of Engineering – Center for Infrastructure and Transportation Studies – Increasing energy-efficiency of civil infrastructure (e.g., wireless Advanced Traveler Information System) – Baruch ’60 Center for Biochemical Solar Energy Research – Understanding the energy converting power of plants to develop new technologies that mimic this extremely efficient natural system.

School of Science – Darrin Fresh Water Institute – study of fresh water systems and ecological processes including water quality monitoring, invasive species monitoring, aquatic plant ecology, pollution chemistry, impacts of wastewater discharges, effect of acid rain, aquatic habitat modeling, and microbial and phytoplankton community diversity. – Center for Polymer Synthesis – Polymers from cellulose waste products, membranes for high-temp. fuel cells

School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences – Ecological economics, values and policy (EEVP) program – Environmental social sciences (ESS) program – Design, innovation, and society (DIS) program. Lally School of Business – Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship – Develops ways of growing ‘green’ businesses