MASCARO CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION 2022 A NNUAL R EPORT
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T ABLE OF C ONTENTS
Who We Are ................................................................................................................................. 3 Our Team ..................................................................................................................................... 5 MCSI Broadens its Influence Through Campus Engagement............................................. 6 MCSI Research Program ......................................................................................................... 10 2022-23 Research Seed Grants in Sustainability .............................................................. 13 MCSI Supports Novel Academic Programs Across the Disciplinary Spectrum ............. 14 MCSI Partnerships Create Public Good ................................................................................ 23 MCSI Global ............................................................................................................................... 27 Recognition & Engagement ................................................................................................... 30 Media Report ............................................................................................................................ 34 Journal Articles ....................................................................................................................... 39 Conference Proceedings ........................................................................................................ 43 Books ......................................................................................................................................... 44 MCSI Strategic Planning ......................................................................................................... 45 Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 46
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WHO WE A RE Established in 2003, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) is the University of Pittsburgh’s university-wide sustainability center focused on catalyzing sustainability research and education. MCSI leads Pitt’s faculty sustainability engagement via strategy and programs focused on integrating sustainability into the curriculum, groundbreaking sustainability research, and community outreach and innovation. MCSI's various student opportunities focus on exploring and experiencing sustainability in research, practice, and performance. MCSI’s Faculty Sustainability Task Force brings together representatives from every Pitt school to advance sustainability through the integration of a multidisciplinary curriculum, groundbreaking research, innovation, community engagement, and partnership. MCSI also creates opportunities to coordinate academic collaborations across campus with Pitt’s other sustainability-focused and -related research centers.
Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Environmental Justice Pitt’s sustainability work has spanned decades, working to advance efforts of equity, environment, and economics so current and future generations can thrive. Defined differently by many, environmental justice is focused on maintaining healthy environments, especially for individuals and communities who have traditionally lived, worked, and played closest to sources of pollution or negative environmental impacts. The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation commits to making diversity, equity, and inclusion a part of its research and education by emphasizing the key role that environmental justice plays in sustainability. The Mascaro Center will continue to work with communities faced with systemic environmental racism to make a positive change and strive to reach environmental justice.
The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation aims to foster and achieve the University’s sustainability vision through the development and integration of curriculum, groundbreaking research, community outreach and innovation.
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MCSI Leadership Melissa Bilec Appointed Co-Director Dr. Melissa Bilec is a triple-alumna of Pitt, having earned her Bachelor’s (magna cum laude), Master’s, and PhD from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, where MCSI got its start. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her expertise in circular economy, life cycle assessment, energy assessment (especially within underserved communities), high performance buildings, and experiential learning. Bilec has secured approximately $10 million in research funding as PI or Co-PI (including 15 NSF grants) and has worked closely with the City of Pittsburgh, Green Building Alliance, and the Larimer community. She also worked with extensively with Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on published research of its Center for Sustainable Landscapes, considered one of the greenest buildings in the world. Read full announcement.
David Sanchez promoted to Associate Director When the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) was established in 2003, its co-founders – Distinguished Service Professor Eric Beckman and alumnus John C. “Jack” Mascaro – believed that encouraging innovation and global engagement would secure the advancement of sustainability at the University of Pittsburgh. Since 2016, Dr. David Sanchez has taken that mission to heart by establishing signature programs, sustainability courses, and research initiatives. Recognizing his efforts to advance the original vision of Beckman and Mascaro, Sanchez was promoted to MCSI’s Associate Director. Read full announcement.
O UR T EAM Eric J. Beckman, Director Emeritus Eric sustains a strong research portfolio and works to develop new technologies that expand the frontiers of sustainability. He helps to develop mutually beneficial linkages with industry in order to develop partnerships and collaborative research and, where applicable, technology transfer, contract work, and commercialization of intellectual property. Melissa M. Bilec, Co-Director Melissa is responsible for providing research leadership, which includes developing new programs and promoting and facilitating leading-edge collaborative research. Melissa helps to build and provide support for a community of innovative researchers to enhance research capacity at the University and increase internal and external research opportunities for faculty and students. She works to develop networks between the Center and partners, acting as the nexus between the University and the community developing strong linkages with appropriate departments and programs. Gena M. Kovalcik, Co-Director Gena is responsible for providing administrative leadership, which includes supervising personnel, financial management, and operations. Gena represents the interests of the Center with academic administration, encouraging and supporting the raising of funds, and managing and ensuring regular communication of Center activities for faculty, students, and external partners. She is accountable for the successful development and implementation of all MCSI events and programs and provides support to the faculty leadership team on all initiatives. David Sanchez, Associate Director David is responsible for providing leadership in education, innovation, and engagement. He is responsible for the Center’s education, innovation, faculty, engagement, and community programs, including directing the undergraduate certificate in sustainability, the Master’s in Sustainable Engineering, and the John C. Mascaro Faculty program. He is responsible for building strong, positive working relationships with faculty, administration, students, and external partners. This includes overseeing the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, working with industry and government and, building new initiatives that benefit our broad education and research agenda. Ellie Cadden, Sustainability Engagement Assistant Ellie manages all office activities including scheduling meetings, maintaining the appointment calendar, travel, proofreading and editing correspondence and budget management. She assists with educational programs, marketing, and logistics. Ellie also manages the design and content of the MCSI website, e-newsletter, and social media communications. Lucy Klug, Sustainability Intern Lucy Klug coordinated and led the First-Year presentations to promote sustainability initiatives at Pitt. Lucy also managed the MCSI social media accounts to engage students in a virtual space and to advertise sustainable events. Jessica Gondak, Sustainability Intern Jess Gondak assembles and writes the quarterly sustainability alumni newsletter for MCSI. Jess corresponds with alumni and writes profiles on individuals who are making an impact on sustainability in their careers. Jess also contributes to upgrading and editing the MCSI website. Emily Albrecht, Community Engagement Intern Emily works closely with Dr. Sanchez on community engagement efforts on and off campus. Off campus, Emily manages volunteer days at the Oasis Farm and Fishery in Homewood. On campus, Emily organizes several collaborative programs to promote the Pitt Honors Food Ecosystems Scholar Community.
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MCSI B ROADENS ITS I NFLUENCE T HROUGH C AMPUS E NGAGEMENT Events
MCSI led over 20 events impacting over 700 faculty, staff, students, and friends. These events brought outstanding leaders to share their expertise on topics including equitable engineering, food systems, carbon neutrality and environmental justice. MCSI events provide opportunities for Pitt faculty to share their expertise and for us to learn from national and international leaders on a variety of topics.
Public Health & Engineering Climate & Health Research Symposium This April 21 symposium was led by Deans Maureen Litchveld and James Martin with a group of faculty members interested in exploring the potential for alignments (research, curricular, or otherwise) related to climate and health. In addition to guest speaker, Dr. Natalia Rodriguez (Purdue University), Dr. Melissa Bilec served as a lead speaker addressing MCSI and efforts related to these topics.
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2022 Pitt Sustainability Awardees & Champions In recognition of their leadership and commitment to Pitt Sustainability, 18 members of the University community were selected as 2022 Pitt Sustainability Awardees and Student Champions. Together, these individuals represent undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff from 14 different academic or operational departments. Watch our video or read more about all 2022 Pitt Sustainability Awardees and Student Champions.
2022 Pitt Sustainability Awardees
2022 Student Sustainability Champions
Faculty
Annalise Abraham, Urban Studies & English Writing
Dr. Danielle Andrews-Brown, Geology and Environmental Science
Emily Albrecht, Psychology
Dr. Cassie Quigley, School of Education
Anita Bargaje, Computational Biology
Suchi Attota, Computer Science Jared Deluccia, Economics & History
Staff Mei Yu-Kephalogianis, Pitt Housing
Matthew Hess, Geology and Environmental Science Lucy Klug, Geology and Environmental Science
Students Brandon Brewster, Geology and Environmental Science
Taylor Laing, Geology and Environmental Science
Aaron Carr, Geology and Environmental Science
Meri Raughley, Ecology & Evolution
Felicity Shafer, Geology and Environmental Science
Daniel Nigh, Master’s in Business Administration Madison Stanley, Political Science Abby Zolner, Geology and Environmental Science
Pitt Employee Professional Development Courses MCSI continues its collaboration with the Office of Sustainability, creating two core classes for Pitt’s new Professional Certificate in Sustainability for employees offered through the Faculty and Staff Development Program. Samantha Chan and Ellie Cadden created and co-taught two courses in both the Fall and Spring semesters. In this academic year, 113 employees attended Sustainability: Environment, Ecosystems, and You and 115 employees attended Sustainability Foundations: Balancing the Three E’s.
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Food Ecosystem Scholar Community Student Programs
During the Spring 2022 semester, MCSI’s Community Engagement Intern, Emily Albrecht, worked with Dr. David Sanchez in collaboration with the Pitt Honors Food Ecosystem Scholar Community to organize student collaborative events, which helped to encourage student awareness and engagement in the Scholar Community (for which Dr. Sanchez is the faculty lead). Emily collaborated with the Quiz Bowl Club, The Hydroponics Club, Food Recovery Heroes, Free the Planet and Plant2Plate to create educational and hands-on programs. Each program also consisted of food purchased from local Pittsburgh businesses, including Antoon’s Pizza, La Palapa, Veggies N’At, and Millie’s. At least 187 attendees experienced these student collaborative events, of which at least 152 attendees were unique, with 35 participants attending more than one event. 24% of attendees were first year undergraduate students, 35.6% second-year, 17.8% third-year, and 22.6% fourth-year, fifth-year, or graduate students. With almost 60% of overall attendees first or second-year students, there is a great opportunity to grow the community among younger and incoming students.
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Faculty Sustainability Task Force Every year, the MCSI Faculty Sustainability Task Force develops working groups to advance identifies key Pitt Sustainability Plan goals and topics. This year, our two new focus areas included: 1) Environmental Justice - Leading the conversation on how the University can engage on this important topic through research and community engagement. An important research advancement is a forthcoming NSF: NRT proposal on environmental justice with partners from Public Health, Geology, History, and Engineering (Led by Melissa Bilec). 2) Faculty Resource Hub for sustainability course materials - Creating resources to help Pitt faculty integrate sustainability into their curricula. MCSI is working to pilot several topical hubs for Fall 2022, with plans to add additional topics throughout the academic year. (Led by Gena Kovalcik)
Pitt Climate Action Plan
The first ever Pitt Climate Action Plan (PittCAP) for the University of Pittsburgh’s Pittsburgh campus presents our strategy, approach, and details to achieve carbon neutrality by 2037 (the 250th anniversary of our founding). The University worked to ensure that our carbon neutrality strategy fulfills our full sustainability aspirations of reaching toward environmental solutions while balancing and addressing our academic mission, pursuing equitable outcomes, and helping create economic resilience for our University and communities. Developed under the direction of the Carbon Commitment Committee of the Chancellor’s
Advisory Council on Sustainability, this PittCAP builds on the goals of our existing Pitt Sustainability Plan, while setting both an insistent and realistic approach on the carbon opportunities and challenges in front of our campus, community, and world. Read the Pitt Climate Action Plan
Pitt Day of Giving
MCSI led the Pitt Day of Giving effort as a part of the Pitt Sustainability campaign. Together over 30 donors contributed to Pitt Sustainability funds. Watch Pitt Day of Giving Thank You video.
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MCSI R ESEARCH P ROGRAM E XPANDS C OHORT OF E NGAGED R ESEARCHERS & F ORGES NEW P ATHWAYS Covestro Circular Economy Program The new Covestro Circular Economy program at Pitt was created in November 2022, led by Drs. Eric Beckman and Melissa Bilec. The program is creating a comprehensive academic initiative focused on training the next generation of engineers and professionals to lead in the circular economy.
Program Highlights • • • •
Embark on a novel cohort-based training program Conduct convergent circular economy research that addresses pressing societal needs Experience a diverse and inclusive training program Prepare them for multiple career pathways through internship opportunities.
Covestro PhD Fellows
First Cohort Starting Fall 2022 Nicole Bell BS Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Pittsburgh Ortiz L. Santiago BS Chemical Engineering University of La Sabana Lakshmi Yasodhara BS Chemical Engineering Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
New Course: DESIGN FOR CIRCULAR ECONOMY Created & Taught by Melissa Bilec Offered beginning Fall 2022 The goal of this course is to provide students with a thorough introduction to circular economy, along with integrating design. Through experiential and project-based learning, the students will develop circular economy affinity groups that will tackle a pressing challenge including design for degradation solutions for ocean plastics and design for reuse of construction materials.
Collaboration with Lubrizol Dr. Goetz Veser’s collaboration with Lubrizol Corp. resulted in deployment of two new processes for dispersant production which cut energy demand by ~30%, physical footprint of plant by >90%, and completely removed one major waste stream compared to the existing industrial process. Both modular processes are in full industrial operation now.
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Corporate & Non-Profit Partners: Sustainability Capstone Dr. David Sanchez ran the Sustainability Capstone in the Fall and Spring semesters, with Dr. Tony Kerzmann co-teaching in Spring 2022. The capstone students worked with 15 external stakeholders from industry, government, and nonprofits to complete their projects and the course, which is required for the Undergraduate Sustainability Certificate. The Sustainability Capstone course is also required for students pursuing the M.S. in Sustainable Engineering degree.
Collaboration with the City of Pittsburgh Optimization of Traffic Signals on Pitt’s Campus Road Network to Reduce Fuel Consumption & GHG Emissions from Vehicular Traffic Dr. Alex Stevanovic’s lab is developing a microsimulation model for the Pitt campus area and optimizing traffic signal timings in an effort to reduce fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Building a comprehensive and accurate model considering various transportation modes (cars, buses, bikes, and pedestrians) requires a great amount of data, including traffic demand, turning movement counts, signal timing plans, etc. Working with the City of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission Fifth Ave & Craig St Pedestrian Exclusive Phase
Contraflow Bus Lanes
Bike Lanes
(SPC), the data collection procedure is facilitated. The network consists of more than 50 intersections.
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RESEARCH RESULTS 2022 MCSI Seed Grant Follow-On Funding Totals $4.23M The goal of the MCSI Research Seed Grant Program is to catalyze the formation of convergent research teams focused on sustainability and related solutions. Since 2004, MCSI has supported over 115 faculty research projects, resulting in nearly $34.5 million in follow-on funding.
Project Title
Source
LEAP-HI: Optimal design and life-long adaptation of civil infrastructure in a changing and uncertain environment for a sustainable future
National Science Foundation, LEAP-HI
Nurdle Monitoring, Source Identification, and Impact Analysis in the Heinz Endowments Ohio River Valley. Uncovering mechanisms of amphibian resilience to global change from molecules to landscapes
NSF: BII
Beyond Biodiversity Monitoring: Expanding Automated Acoustic Survey Methods to Examine Fundamental Questions of Community Interactions, Population Processes, & Ind Movement
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Automated Acoustic Monitoring of Focal Bird Species in Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks in the PA Wilds and Laurel Highlands Automated Acoustic Monitoring of Focal Bird Species in Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks in the Delaware River Watershed Design for RE-SOLAR
Amount
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Central Appalachia Program National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Delaware River Program
Total: $2,000,000 Pitt: $384,981 $
Total $12,499,319 Pitt: $898,917
IUCRC Planning Grant University of Pittsburgh: Center for NSF: IUCRC Planning Grant Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development (AMPED) FMSG: Cyber: Establishing a Cyber-Physical Framework and Pilot System of Wavelength Selective Photopolymerization based Rapid NSF: CMMI Continuous Multi-Material Manufacturing
Mike Blackhurst Justin Kitzes
1,001,283
Justin Kitzes
$
183,568
Justin Kitzes
$
167,194
Justin Kitzes
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
US Department of Energy
Melissa Bilec
$
IUCRC Phase I: University of Pittsburgh: Center for Materials Data NSF: IUCRC Industry-University Science for Reliability Research Partnerships Rare Earth Free Motor Designs with MnBi
50,000
PI
Total: $2,079,047 Pitt: $378,191
Paul Leu
Total: $1,500,000 Pitt: $600,000
Paul Leu
$
55,000
Paul Ohodnicki
$
19,967
Paul Ohodnicki
$
500,000
Xiayun (Sharon) Zhao
Aaron Barchowksy Pittsburgh Center for Healthy Environments and Equity Research (CHEER) Pitt Momentum Award $400,000 Primary project goal is to create a nexus of multidisciplinary, intersectional, and community-based environmental health research focused on identifying and mitigating environmental health disparities (EHD). CHEER is coalescing around a core of faculty, students, and community partners intent on applying for a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30) Core Center grant to greatly support research that addresses the extensive EHD found in the region, nationally, and globally.
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2022-23 R ESEARCH S EED G RANTS IN SUSTAINABILITY The goals of MCSI’s Research Seed Grant program are: (1) Catalyze the formation of interdisciplinary synergistic research teams focused on sustainability (2) Fund projects capable of obtaining external funding upon completion; and (3) Enhance Pitt’s national recognition in sustainability and the visibility of interdisciplinary sustainability research and education on campus. Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Graduate School for Public & International Affairs Grant MacIntyre, School of Law & Environmental Law Clinic The Role of PA’s Public Utility Commission in Efforts to Decarbonize Pennsylvania’s Electricity Grid State Public Utility Commissions (PUCs) play a critical role in grid decarbonization, from their review of utilities’ resource plants to their adjudication of utilities’ rate recovery (which in turn shapes the extent and pace of utilities’ shift to renewable energy). This two-part project lays the groundwork for Pitt’s engagement with the Pennsylvania PUC, which regulates electricity distribution companies (EDCs). Part one of the project will provide a report detailing how the PUC can play a positive role in efforts to decarbonize Pennsylvania’s electricity grid. Specifically, under the proposed bipartisan community solar bill, the PUC is tasked with determining the remuneration for solar and with designing regulations to enable the participation of low-income communities. Part two of the project will provide a report that lays out strategies for Pitt’s Environmental Law Clinic to build expertise in utility law. This will lay the groundwork for the Clinic to represent a client at PUC hearings and advocate in favor of renewable energy. PUC deliberations and proceedings are dominated by EDCs, with their powerhouses of lawyers and consultants. By representing a client before the PUC, the Clinic can amplify renewable energy and public interest voices in the changing utility landscape. Meng Wang, Civil & Environmental Engineering Leanne Gilbertson, Civil & Environmental Engineering Engineering Subcellular Bioreactors for Selective Metal Recovery as Metallic Particles The expected massive demand for metals in the new 5G and clean energy era raises unprecedented challenges of sustainable supply by conventional ore mining. Therefore, recycling, reuse, and improving the circular economy of metals, are becoming increasingly important. Pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy are the two commonly employed technologies for recovering metals from wastes, but both are energy-intensive, use hazardous chemicals, and have a significant environmental footprint. Biometallurgy that uses biological activities to extract metals is an ecofriendlier alternative, yet current processes lack selectivity. In this work, the PIs propose to overcome these limitations by leveraging recent breakthroughs in cell biology to develop protein compartment-based subcellular bioreactors that can selectively extract metalions from mixtures and yield high-grade metallic particles. This approach, if effective, will enable selective and targeted metal recovery with minimum environmental impacts, which will make a significant contribution toward improving the circular economy of metals.
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MCSI S UPPORTS NOVEL A CADEMIC P ROGRAMS A CROSS THE DISCIPLINARY S PECTRUM Core Academic Programs and Courses
The Mascaro Center sponsors several courses, certificates, and degree programs. More information on all MCSI academic programs can be found online under “Academics.”
Undergraduate Certificate •
63 students graduated with Certificate in AY22
Certificate Core Courses
• • •
77 students in Current Issues in fall and spring 57students in Capstone fall and spring This year was about the same as last year for total enrollment. This year was the first time we offered Capstone in the fall semester. However, for fall combined offerings of Current Issues & Capstone we already have 99 enrolled for fall, and 22 on the waitlist.
Transcription of Distinction
• •
23 students enrolled 2 students awarded in Spring 2022 (4 total)
MS in Sustainable Engineering • • •
1 Spring 2022 graduate 7 students enrolled 10 Students accepted for Fall 2022
PhD in Circular Economy •
First cohort of 3 students in Fall 2022
First Year Sustainability Engagement MCSI leads a campus-wide offering of a 15-minute Sustainability presentation aimed at introducing students to the range of sustainability initiatives at Pitt and the many ways they can engage with sustainability on campus. The presentations are available both in-person and virtually, both with trained student volunteers. In Academic Year 2022, we hosted 19 in-person presentations, one presentation over Zoom, one prerecorded presentation, and one Admitted Students Day presentation over Zoom. These offerings engaged over 450 students from a variety of academic departments.
MCSI also hosted a virtual Sustainability Engineering First-Year Panel with four student leaders and one Chemical Engineering alumna. 145 first-year Engineering students attended the panel, which is more than double the number of students attending last year. Panelists shared their academic and professional paths in sustainability and answered questions about getting involved.
Undergraduate Summer Research
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MCSI’s Undergraduate Research Program has supported over 325 students in the past 17 years. This Summer, we are supporting 26 students representing 14 different departments. Read about our 2022 faculty members, projects, and student participants here. MCSI would like to especially thank the generous donors who support this program.
Undergraduate Research: 2022 Service Projects MCSI’s summer undergraduate researchers have service requirements consisting of two service projects that take place throughout the summer . MCSI Intern Emily Albrecht helped to coordinate these service projects with community partners. In May 2022 , researchers attended a service project at the Oasis Farm and Fishery in Homewood, helping construct the high tunnel greenhouse and a pergola, transplanting crops in the raised garden beds, and removing invasive species. The June service project took place in the Hill District with local nonprofit organization Grounded. Researchers worked to improve the aesthetic character of the Grounded site (along with its usability and programming opportunities) by incorporating both edible and native planting components.
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Undergraduate Research: Highlights and Outcomes Pitt Sustainability Dashboard Led by Dr. Aurora Sharrard and the Office of Sustainability, the Pitt Sustainability dashboards grew out of an MCSI undergraduate summer research project. In FY22, the Office of Sustainability launched the Healthy Ride dashboard developed by undergraduate Aaron Carr. Recently rebranded POGOH, the University’s partnership with Pittsburgh’s nonprofit bike share organization supports 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from commuter transportation 50% by 2030.
The Picogrid Digital Twin Laboratory Led by Dr. Bob Kerestes, the Picogrid Digital Twin lab is now fully energized, and experiments are being conducted. One of the main contributors to the project was undergraduate Electrical Engineering student, Jack Carnovale, who presented the project at Engineering’s Undergraduate Research Poster in Spring 2022.
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Undergraduate Research: Student Awards Best Poster Award MCSI undergraduate researcher Lauren Wewer received the best poster award during the American Society for Metals (ASM) Young Members Night Poster Competition. Lauren worked with Dr. Xiong through the MCSI Undergraduate Summer Research program on the topic of graded alloy additive manufacturing.
Big Idea Competition
Pitt students Becca Segel, Priscilla Prem, and Maya Bhat from Dr. James McKone’s lab won first prize ($25,000) in the Randall Family Big Idea Competition. FlowCellution’s mission is to provide the testing capabilities necessary to create next-generation flow batteries. Dr. David Sanchez serves as a practice presentation pitch judge for the competition.
P ATENT DISCLOSURE “Integrated Platform for Measuring Electro-Chemical Properties of Flowable Materials” filed in late 2021. PhD student Becca Segel is the lead inventor. She is working to pursue further development of this technology with Noah French, a 2022 MCSI summer undergraduate researcher.
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2022 Faculty Awards in Sustainability MCSI’s annual faculty awards are designed to engage faculty who want to advance the University’s mission of interdisciplinary excellence in sustainability research and education. Read more about the faculty and their projects.
Len Peters Faculty Fellowships in Sustainability
Daniel Andrews-Brown
Mike Blackhurst
Tony Kerzmann
Patrick Shirey
Geology & Environmental
University Center for
Mechanical Engineering &
Geology & Environmental
Science
Social & Urban Research
Materials Science
Science
John C. Mascaro Faculty Awards in Sustainability
Mohamed Bayoumy
Joaquin Rodriguez Alonso
Sarah Moore
Chemical & Petroleum
Film and Media Studies
Engineering
Filmmaking as a Sustainable
Sustainability Based Curriculum for
and Environmental Practice
Electrical and Computer Eng Integrating Green Electronics Education into ECE classes
Chemical Engineering
Kay Shimizu Political Science Digital Teaching Module for Sustainable Food Systems
Corey Suzanne Flynn Physical Therapy Sustainable Food Systems course
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Course Development These Pitt courses were developed and/or reimagined by faculty who received MCSI faculty awards.
Environmental Justice Seminar
Danielle Andrews-Brown & Cassie Quigley Freedom Seminars: Environmental Justice and Collective Economies and Global Water, Activism, and STEM Pedagogies Two Freedom Seminars were offered during the 2021-22 academic year. Each section had 18 students enrolled, including undergraduate and graduate students. Students had various academic backgrounds, including Computer Science, Education, Environmental Studies, Law, and Political Science. GES: GEOL 1316 (Environmental Justice): This new course was created by a group of students Dr. Danielle Andrews-Brown mentored for Ward Allebach’s Sustainability course. It will be taught by Dr. Patrick Shirey.
ENGR 1029: Intro to Engineering for Humanity
Ian Nettleship
Taught for the first time in the Fall 2021, “Introduction to Engineering for Humanity” has been designated as the required lecture course for the Engineering for Humanity Certificate and will be offered annually. The course starts by introducing the hierarchy of human needs and the role of engineering in providing services to marginalized communities. The second part introduces appropriate technologies that leverage locally available materials and artisanal skills to develop human capital in small-scale engineering projects. The difficulty experienced in scaling engineering solutions on a global scale is addressed. The third part of the course focuses on the planning and implementation of small-scale engineering projects in marginalized communities. Maintaining project services beyond the end of the project cycle is a major consideration in each stage of the project framework, including community appraisal, project design, planning, implementation, and assessment. Aspects of social sustainability are emphasized, including identification of community stakeholders in community appraisal, considering their inclusion in decision making, participation in the project, and a sense of project ownership.
20 The International Development Badge
Muge Finkel and David Fraser
The new International Development Badge working group aims to establish a network of Honors College and GSPIA students, who work together to produce high impact and policy-oriented research on a select number of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main goals for student-pairs are: 1) Expose, educate, engage, and inspire undergraduate students to do applied development policy-oriented high-impact research. 2) Give GSPIA students a chance to mentor and work in teams to produce locally-applicable policy outputs aligned with global goals (thus, putting their classroom training into use; in GSPIA terms we are “calling on all changemakers.”) In its first year, the working group brought together 5 Honors College undergraduate students and 6 GSPIA students to work on 5 SDGs. During Fall 2021, the groups researched the SDGs at the global level and met with global policy experts. In Spring 2022, the groups worked closely with a local nonprofit and government agency to identify how their work contributes to progress on SDGs. Each group identified a deliverable in collaboration with their local partners and presented their work at the end of the year.
Organic Chemistry-II Laboratory
Manisha Nigam
In Fall 2021, Dr. Nigam implemented a green laboratory experiment in the Organic Chemistry-II Laboratory, which was developed by her research lab. In this lab, lemon juice was used as a reagent, which helped to eliminate the use of much more harmful sulfuric acid. This enabled Pitt Johnstown students to identify and understand various Green Chemistry principles associated with green reactions and enabled students to use H NMR spectroscopy data to identify the imine product. The benefits of this green experiment include shorter experimental times via the use of efficient precursors and synthesis of efficient precursors that are otherwise expensive to procure commercially. In Spring 2022, Dr. Nigam developed a solventless aldol reaction in her research laboratory that was implemented in the Organic chemistry curriculum. This was used to help students reinforce their spectroscopic knowledge, determine the reaction mechanism through evidence-based inquisition, and identified the principles of green chemistry.
21 Sustainable Food Systems ENGR 1909/GEO 1307/HRS 1909
Corey Flynn
The goal of the Sustainable Food Systems course is to inspire students across all programs to work together and think differently about their relationship with the environment. Course content included creating a large pollinator garden, exploring community urban farms, cooking heart and planet healthy meals at the Phipps Conservatory Teaching Kitchen, and working at the Black Urban Garden and Farm. Students learned about bee keeping, companion planting, food apartheid, and food justice from the BUGS farmers.
Seminar in Composition: Sustainability
Steven LeMieux
Professor LeMieux developed a new Seminar in Composition (to be taught in Fall 2022) which is a course taken by almost all undergraduates at the University of Pittsburgh. In this permanent variant, students will engage with Sustainability as both a practice and interdisciplinary field of study. They will read texts that work to define sustainability and sustainable living and produce writings that examine practices of sustainability and the notion that sustainability doesn’t require an overhaul in how we experience and engage the world around us. LeMieux will also be submitting a new “EcoComposition” course for review in Fall 2022 to be taught Fall 2023.
22 Urban Ecology & Sustainable Food Systems
Patrick Shirey
In both Fall 2019 and 2021, Patrick Shirey has been teaching the week-long Pitt Provost Academy course on “Urban Ecology & Sustainable Food Systems” for incoming first-year students. The course helps recruit undeclared first-year students to Environmental Science and Environmental Studies courses and majors. Focusing the curriculum on the native pawpaw (a fruit important to Native Americans, European Colonists, and African Americans), Dr. Shirey starts the week by serving the students homemade pawpaw dessert to get them excited about the fruit. To help introduce students to the Pittsburgh community, students have worked with local nonprofit
Grow Pittsburgh to help set up a farm stand in food desert neighborhoods (2019), installed deer fence around native plants in Frick Park with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (2019), removed invasive vines in Schenley Park (2021), and planted pawpaw tree seedlings on the Pitt Campus (2019, School of Public Health lawn on 5th Avenue; 2021, Vera Street below the baseball stadium outfield wall). To connect students to the Pitt campus and their own futures, this learning experience asks students to envision harvesting the fruit of these trees at their fifth-year homecoming post-graduation. At the end of their experience, students present what they learned to the Provost and other administrators.
Systems and Engineering I: Dynamics and Modelling
Joaquin Rodriguez Alonso
One group from the CHE 0500 course on “Systems and Engineering I: Dynamics and Modelling” (Fall 2021-22) worked under the guidance of Dr. David Sanchez (MCSI), in collaboration with leaders from Micronesian Islands Sustainability programs on a global project entitled “Shore Erosion Resulting from Sea Level Rise in Micronesian Islands”. They presented a poster and a presentation on the ChE Global Day 2021 (University of Pittsburgh, Global Hub, Posvar, December 3, 2021) and were awarded with the best presentation. The Mascaro Center partnered on the “ChE Global Day in both Fall 2021 and Spring 2022, where 14 outreach projects were presented. Dr. David Sanchez represented the MCSI in the panel of judges with representatives from industry and academia.
MCSI P ARTNERSHIPS C REATE P UBLIC G OOD
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Hydroponics Club The University of Pittsburgh’s Hydroponics Club is sponsored by MCSI and advised by Dr. David Sanchez. This past year, they worked to build an insulated microclimate in their Homewood garage. This microclimate will allow them to grow produce year-round (not previously practical in winter). To implement the project, the Hydroponics Club received funding from the Pitt Green Fund and completed the project in the Spring 2022 semester. This microclimate currently houses two running nutrient film technique (NFT) systems that produce 48 crops each, a small Dutch bucket system, and an ongoing vertical system project. Now that the microclimate has been built, the Hydroponics Club can continue donating produce to the Everyday Cafe in Homewood.
Homewood – Ruach Bicycle Club Supported with funding by MCSI and led by faculty mentor, Dr. Bob Kerestes and his PhD student, Sabrina Nguyen, the Ruach Bicycle Club outreach program worked with underrepresented minority youths on building a solar powered bicycle LED charger. The students learned how to use basic electrical tools, wiring and soldering basics, circuit protection, and about using renewable energy.
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Oasis Farm & Fishery Volunteer Days Volunteer days at the Oasis Farm and Fishery were held five times during the 2021-22 school year and managed by MCSI’s Community Engagement Intern, Emily Albrecht, working with Dr. David Sanchez on community outreach opportunities. The Oasis Farm and Fishery is a local community garden and educational center in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Volunteers helped with planting and harvesting crops in both raised soil beds and the aquaponics shed. Additional tasks included creating a tree and permaculture garden, pollinator garden, woodchip paths, mushroom spore cultivation, and helping the farm prepare for the winter season. 82 student volunteers came out on weekends across all volunteer days. MCSI also worked closely with Pitt student groups the Hydroponics Club and Engineers without Borders to support the Oasis Farm and Fishery. Students were eager to volunteer and looked forward to upcoming volunteer day opportunities. An ongoing project (and primary motivation to organize these volunteer days) was the construction of the 24 by 48 foot high tunnel greenhouse funded by a grant MCIS received through Pitt’s Year of Engagement. The high tunnel greenhouse was also a capstone project for the Fall ENGR1907 “Sustainability Capstone” course, which is required for students pursuing the Sustainability Certificate. Volunteers were provided with lunch, which was purchased from the Everyday Café, a local business in Homewood. The land was excavated and leveled by a local contractor, J.R. Hall Excavating Inc, which allowed the construction of the greenhouse to begin. Greenhouse materials such as soil, compost, and gravel were purchased from the Barn Landscape Supply and Chapon’s Greenhouse & Supply. The high tunnel greenhouse was also a capstone project for the Fall ENGR1907 Sustainability Capstone course As of April 2022, the frame for the greenhouse is built and construction will continue throughout the summer.
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TEN Energy Education Program with Allegheny Technical Academy In partnership with The Efficiency Network (TEN) and with funding from the Duquesne Light Foundation, MCSI created an energy educational program to support Pittsburgh Public School’s (PPS), Allegheny Traditional Academy (ATA) which educates K-8 students. TEN is currently completing an energy conservation project for PPS at ATA, which is the impetus for the student education project. MCSI partnered to host 3 sessions led by Dr. Melissa Bilec and Jessica Vaden and 1 session led by Dr. David Sanchez and Emily Albrecht. We also hosted ATA at MCSI and SSOE on June 9, 2022, where they toured the makerspace, watched a demonstration of the laser cutter and 3D printers, and built their own mini-hydroponics system.
Chalfant Run Thompson Run Watershed Association Drs. Patrick Shirey (Environmental Science) and Sarah Moore (Film and Media Studies) are working with the Chalfant Run Thompson Run Watershed Association (Director Renee Dolney), Hedin Environmental (Ben Hedin), and Allegheny Land Trust to collect prerestoration data on Chalfant Run and its fish community. Subsequently, stream restoration at the Churchill Valley Greenway (former Churchill Valley Country Club) will remediate Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and legacy fine sediment floodplain pollution. Their Before-After-Control-Impact design will help communicate the importance of restoring these types of steams impacted by multiple sources of pollution in the Appalachian Region.
SUPPORTING STUDENT GROUPS AND TEAMS EnergyTech UP Explore Event Mid-Atlantic Showcase Student Team Dr. Bob Kerestes (Electrical Engineering) led a Pitt student team to compete for the EnergyTech University Prize. This “Residential Intelligent Breaker System” (RIBS) group developed a system that worked on a residential level to start tackling this problem. Concept breakers would be installed in home electrical panels track real time prices and user behavior to cut electricity costs and to help close the discrepancy between supply and demand.
Pittsburgh Electric Propulsion MCSI sponsored the Pittsburgh Electric Propulsion student group this academic year. This nonprofit Engineering team explores the future of electric vehicles. They earned 3rd Place at the American Society of Naval Engineers’ Spring “Promoting Electric Propulsion for Small Craft Competition.” The team built a fully electric-powered speed boat capable of completing a 5-mile race against collegiate teams from across the country.
Introduction to Arctic Issues Workshop Joint program with Global Studies Center, Global Experiences Office, & Ford Institute 75 attendees at this Arctic Issues Workshop included students from Pitt and other universities, K-12 educators, Pitt faculty, and other members of the Pitt community. Attendees were inspired by speakers on topics including environmental and climate justice, Arctic security, erosion in permafrost landscapes, sustainable wound dressings (made of Icelandic fish skin), and art in the Arctic Circle.
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MCSI G LOBAL
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Global Engagement in Sustainability Grants
Collaboration between MCSI and the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) New grants in Global Engagement in Sustainability enable people to share, develop and expand their research, teaching or professional practice beyond the campus. Created by Dr. David Sanchez (MCSI) and led by Ariel Armony (Vice Provost, UCIS) and John Stoner (Executive Director, UCIS) the grants encourage engagement activities with partners beyond the general campus and region. Partners can be national or international, from either inside or outside of higher education, and are working in areas that strongly align the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Sara Baumann, Public Health Jessica Burke, Public Health Harnessing Human-Centered Design (HCD) for Intervention Development in Global Public Health: A Community-engaged Pilot Study in Nepal Kevin Bell, Bioengineering Cynthia Salter, Public Health Medical Design for Low Resource Environments Frayda Cohen, Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Connecting the Global and Local: Sustainability and the Challenge of Food Waste in Rome, Italy Patricia Documet, Public Health Using PhotoVoice to explore environmental sustainability among Latinos in an emerging community Michael Glass, Urban Studies Educational Bridges toward Sustainable City-Regions: Reciprocal Exchanges between Auckland (NZ) and Pittsburgh (PA) Marcela Gonzalez Rivas, GSPIA Caitlin Schroering, Geology and Environmental Sciences Realizing Sustainable Development Goal 6: Challenges and Opportunities Elizabeth Oyler, East Asian Languages and Literatures Imagining Global Cities of the Future: A Cultural Exchange Class on Sustainability between Pitt and Konan University (Japan)
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Sustainability of Island Nations: Guam Pitt students travelled to the island of Guam with Dr. David Sanchez to look at Sustainability from an island perspective. Meeting with industry, government, nonprofits, university leaders, and cultural organizations, they explored engineering sustainability challenges and opportunities in Guam by considering social (culture, history, governance), environmental (natural resources, built infrastructure, impacts of industry) and economic (production, imports, development) systems.
Climate Change as a National Security Issue for Small Island Nations Dr. David Sanchez received a Global Academic Partnership grant to explore sustainability challenges for Pacific Island Nations in Micronesia. He worked in collaboration with IPIKU government, educational, and nonprofit leaders of in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, and Guam. Together, they hosted an international webinar series on “Climate Change as a National Security Issues for Small Island Nations”. The series featured internationally recognized government leaders, climate envoys, climate scientists, and environmental lawyers discussing the challenges facing Pacific islands in Micronesia. Image: IPIKU Directors and Collaborators
Engineering Perspectives of the Renaissance & Sustainability: Florence Drs. Melissa Bilec (MCSI) and Anne Robertson (Mechanical Engineering) developed a month-long, 6-credit series of courses for students to gain insight into the great minds of the Renaissance. Important principles of engineering and physics developed during the Renaissance were compared with today’s practices in engineering sustainability alongside art history contextualizing the thoughts and social situations of renaissance engineers in Florence.
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From Dortmund to Brazil MCSI coordinated a campus visit for a delegation from Sister City Dortmund, Germany, and City of Pittsburgh collaborators. Topics included circular economy, carbon neutrality, hydrogen, and food systems. MCSI also host a delegation from São Paulo, Brazil, with whom we talked about greenhouse gas emissions, Sustainable Development Goals, and sustainability metrics on the university, industry, and global levels.
Ayrshire, Scotland
Through MCSI funding, Drs. Strathern and Stewart conducted exploratory fieldwork on conservation practices in rural areas in Ayrshire, Scotland. Between July and October 2021, they collected numbers of relevant cases from media sources as well as independently collected discussions and accounts from local community members and farmers, which demonstrated a quickening interest in environmental issues in conjunction with plans for an Environment Summit in November 2021 held in Glasgow. They now have a corpus of firsthand materials related to these issues awaiting further analysis, which will assist in incorporating the data into teaching and research on environmental consciousness in rural communities in Lowland Scotland. They will be following up these results with further work this summer, seeking to pursue sustainability concerns that can feed into Mascaro Center related topics.
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MASCARO C ENTER R ECOGNITION & E NGAGEMENT Faculty Awards
Eric Beckman
Dr. Beckman was recognized with the Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award recognizing the achievements of Pitt faculty who are seeking to improve people’s lives through the commercialization of their ideas and discoveries Celebration of Innovation Recognizes Accomplishments of Pitt Innovators - Innovation Institute
David Sanchez
Dr. Sanchez received the 2022 Swanson School of Engineering Outstanding Educator Award. In addition, he recently received the 2022 award for outstanding teaching in environmental engineering and science from the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP). This recognition from his peers speaks volumes about his dedication to and innovation in education.
Bob Kerestes
Dr. Kerestes received two prestigious teaching awards including the Swanson School of Engineering Outstanding Educator and the Provost’s Diversity in the Curriculum Award. In both cases, MCSI funding and projects have helped to support his efforts.
Goetz Veser
Dr. Veser received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. He was honored for developing a full third of the classes in his department’s undergraduate curriculum. Along with developing courses and showing a willingness to teach beyond his required load, Veser also supported creation of two student organizations. Dr. Veser is a key advisor to the MCSI Undergraduate Summer Research Program, a faculty lead on the Covestro Circular Economy Program, and a member of MCSI’s Faculty Sustainability Task Force. His nomination was supported by MCSI.
External Boards and Committees
American Society of Engineering Education – National (Environmental Engineering Division) David Sanchez (Secretary) Engineering Science Academic Advisory Committee David Sanchez (Member) Food21 – Sustainable Regional Food Systems David Sanchez (Senior Advisor) ASEE-Lemelson Foundation Engineering for One Planet Advisory Board David Sanchez
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External Boards and Committees (Continued) IPIKU - Indigenous Pacific Island Knowledge University (Representing 5 national entities of Micronesia) David Sanchez (Director/Officer) Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, Sustaining Members Committee David Sanchez American Society of Engineering Education – North Central Section David Sanchez (Vice-Chair) International Society for Industrial Ecology, Sustainable Urban System Melissa Bilec (Co-Chair) U.S. Technical Advisory Group for International Organization for Standardization, TC323 Circular Economy Melissa Bilec (Member) Sustainable Pittsburgh, CEOs for Sustainability Advisory Board Gena Kovalcik (Member) Carnegie Science Center Sustainability Award Selection Committee Gena Kovalcik (Member)
Internal Boards and Committees
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access – CEE Committee Melissa Bilec (Co-Chair) Carbon Commitment Committee, including Carbon In/Offsets & Sequestration Subcommittee Melissa Bilec (Member) Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Sustainability Melissa Bilec (Member), Gena Kovalcik (Member), David Sanchez (Member) Community Engaged Scholarship Forum Planning Committee Gena Kovalcik (Co-Chair) Swanson School of Engineering Academic Committee (Undergraduate/Graduate) David Sanchez (Member) Graduate School of Public Health – Department Chair Search Committee David Sanchez
Journal Leadership
Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability (sister journal to Environmental Research Letters) Melissa Bilec (Editorial Board) ASCE Architecture Engineering Melissa Bilec (Associate Editor and Special Editor for Circular Economy & Regenerative Buildings) International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment Melissa Bilec (Subject Editor) ASCE Natural Hazards Review Melissa Bilec (Trial Associate Editor) PLOS-ONE Melissa Bilec (Academic Editor)
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Invited Lectures Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Design for Circular Economy: Perspectives at Multiple Scales.” International Institute for Environmental Studies-Institute for Circular Economy Design, Workshop on Circular Economy, October 22, 2021, Virtual. Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Plastic Economy in a Health Care Crisis.” Global Council for Science and the Environment, Plastic Cohort Workshop, April 12-15, 2021, Virtual. Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Circular Economy and the Built Environment in Our High-Tech World.” NIST Circular Economy in the High-Tech World Workshop, January 27, 2021, Virtual Invited Panelist for THINC20 Tank, Higher Education’s Role Panel, June 8, 2021, Virtual. Invited Panelist for THINC20 Tank, Creating Circular Economy Communities Panel, What’s Happening in Pittsburgh Panel, June 8, 2021, Virtual. Bilec, M.M. (2022). “Design for Circular Economy.” Drexel University, Spring Seminar Series, April 23, 2022, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Design for Circular Economy.” University of Virginia, Fall Seminar Series, October 12, 2021. (virtual) Sharrard, A.L., Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Pitt Climate Action Plan.” Hosted by the Pitt’s Office of Philanthropy and Engagement, March 4, 2021, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bilec, M.M. (2021) PAA Presents: Sustainable Housing and Development Trends, Moderator for Virtual Session, May 19, 2021 Sanchez, David (2022) “Sustainability in the Pacific” - PATA – Micronesia April 26, 2022 Sanchez, David (2022) “Place-based University Sustainability Partnerships” Newcastle University, Mar. 24, 2022 Sanchez, David (2022) “Sustainable Engineering on Guam” Rotary Club Guam, Aug. 11, 2021, Mangilao Guam Sanchez, David (2022) “Island Sustainability in the 21st Century” University of Guam, Aug. 9, 2021, Mangilao Guam Sanchez, David (2022) “Sustainability and Food”, Sustaining the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University, March 7, 2022 Sanchez, David (2022) “Appalachia Research/Teaching Project, Communities Left Behind Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University, Feb 2022 Sanchez, David (2021) Chancellor Scholars Seminar (University Honors College)– Sustainability October 12, 2021 Sanchez, David (2021) “Prototyping for Sustainability”, Univ. Of Pittsburgh Makerspace, September 21, 2021 Sanchez, David (2021) “Working with Faculty”, SSOE First Year Engineering Workshop, September 9, 2021 Sanchez, David (2021) “Building a Resilient Food Ecosystem: Infrastructure”, Pittsburgh Food Bank/Food 21, August 5, 2021 Sanchez, David (2021) “Approaches to Sustainable Design and Systems Thinking” LEAD, June 23, 2021, Virtual
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Pitt Leadership
In addition to her Co-Directorship of MCSI, Gena Kovalcik served as Interim Director of Strategic Business and Financial Operations for the Swanson School of Engineering (SSOE) from September through December 2020. She was then appointed Strategic Advisor to SSOE Dean James Martin while still leading MCSI. Gena led search committees for several key leadership positions within SSOE, including the Executive Assistant to the Dean, Strategic Advisor to the Dean, Director of Business
and Financial Operations, and Executive Director of Development. She also served on search committees for several Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement (PAE) gift officer positions. Effective January 2022, a permanent Strategic Advisor to the Dean has been appointed. However, Gena continues to support the Dean and Swanson School in strategic planning, SSOE leadership teams, and committees. Concurrently, Gena was asked by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Engagement and Community Affairs to serve as a co-lead for the Pitt Community of Practice and as co-chair of the Community Engaged Scholarship Forum during Jamie Ducar’s scheduled leave. In both roles, Gena made sustainability and environmental justice topics of broad conversation and priority across the University.
MEDIA R EPORT S OCIAL M EDIA
Alumni Newsletters MCSI Intern Jessica Gondak created three seasonal newsletters in the past year for Pitt Sustainability alumni. Newsletters covered campus updates, alumni features, student and faculty highlights, and event announcements. Three alumni were featured for their work in sustainability both during their time at Pitt and beyond: Kacy McGill (Biology ’05), William Sapon (Business ’17), and Dr. Alexander Dale (Engineering Physics ’09, Environmental Engineering ’13).
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Media Mentions
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July 6, 2021: Pitt hits a green building milestone (Pittwire, MCSI green roof featured) July 15, 2021: Eco-Village Seeks to Recirculate Pittsburgh’s Waste Engineering undergrads hope to make Pittsburgh more sustainable through a community circular economy that optimizes waste management (Natasa Vidic et al news release) • Facebook: 526 people reached, 12 engagements • Twitter: 8,388 impressions, 66 engagements July 22, 2021: Visualizing Our City's Energy Use Pitt Civil Engineers Use Pittsburgh to Create Energy Usage Model in Commercial Buildings (Melissa Bilec, news release) • Eurekalert: 7,844 pageviews • Facebook: 571 people reached, 21 engagements • LinkedIn: 1,018 impressions, 31 engagements • August 9, 2021: A city of water: Experts explain how climate change impacts Pittsburgh’s infrastructure (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Summer 2021: Breathe Easy Helping communities breathe a little better is what this alumnus is all about (Harold Rickenbacker, Pitt Magazine) • Twitter: 8,388 impressions, 66 engagements August 23, 2021: Celebrating a Summer of Sustainability Research MCSI Summer Research Symposium Showcases Undergrad Sustainability Research (news release) • Twitter: 1,444 impressions, 29 engagements September 9, 2021: Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation names Melissa Bilec as new CoDirector Eric Beckman, founding co-director, to continue focus on innovation and translation programs (news release) • Eurekalert: 1,285 pageviews • Facebook: 1,093 people reached, 95 engagements • Twitter: 9,875 impressions, 167 engagements • LinkedIn: 1,605 impressions, 66 engagements • Retweeted with messages from GBA Pittsburgh, Mascaro Construction, Dave Dzombak, Grant Ervin, Andrew McElwaine, Harold Rickenbacker • University Times, September 21 • Advertised in American Society for Engineering Education First Bell (~15,000 gross impressions) o December 11, 2021: 20 clicks o January 4, 2022: 20 clicks September 14, 2021: It’s urgent to act on PFAS—but how? New study proposes global roadmap (Carla Ng et al, news release) • Twitter: 4,998 impressions, 89 engagements September 28, 2021: Shedding Light on the Value of Solar Power Pitt Researcher Receives $3MM DOE Award to Give Rural Utilities Behind-the-Meter Insights into Solar Power (Paul Ohodnicki, news release) • Facebook: 383 people reached, 4 engagements • Twitter: 611 impressions, 8 engagements October 1, 2021: Future-Proofing Infrastructure, Sustainably Melissa Bilec Joins $2MM NSF-funded Project to Design Climate-Adaptive Infrastructure (news release) • Facebook: 555 people reached, 7 engagements October 19, 2021: Sustainable Agriculture from the Bottom Up Pitt Researchers Receive $1.7MM to Rebalance the Nitrogen Cycle (Leanne Gilbertson, news release) • Facebook: 368 people reached, 7 engagements • Twitter: 597 impressions, 8 engagements
October 25, 2021: MCSI Advancing Student Engagement and Innovation Pitt’s Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation Taps David Sanchez as New Associate Director; Assistant Professor Patrick Shirey Joins as Leonard Peters Faculty Fellow (news release) • Facebook: 526 people reached, 12 engagements • Twitter: 1,061 impressions, 41 engagements • LinkedIn: 6,394 impressions, 296 engagements October 27, 2021: Optimus Technologies, co-founded by MEMS alumnus Colin Huwyler, helps DC Water reduce Scope 1 carbon emissions by 90% (news release) • Facebook: 503 people reached, 11 engagements • LinkedIn: 586 impressions, 13 engagements November 16, 2021: Three Swanson School faculty earn 2021 NSF CAREER Awards Leanne Gilbertson will use her CAREER award to create a sustainable material design framework to mitigate pathogen exposure in this invaluable resource. (news release) November 16, 2021: Covestro LLC and University of Pittsburgh collaborate to establish groundbreaking Circular Economy Program Collaboration will establish unique circular design curriculum for graduate and PhD students in the U.S. (news release) • See Appendix I for full report November 30, 2021: Reshaping the Plastic Lifecycle into a Circle 360 million metric tons of new plastic was produced in 2018. Here’s where it all went, and why the world must transform plastic use from linear to circular. (Vikas Khanna, news release) • Eurekalert: 5,597 pageviews • Facebook: 246 people reached December 22, 2021: Jeff Lebsack BSCE '91 appointed director of The Riverline (Buffalo Rising) • LinkedIn: 601 impressions, 10 engagements Winter 2022: Continuing to Evolve Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering Turns 175 (Melissa Bilec featured, Pittsburgh Quarterly) • Facebook: 1,495 people reached, 59 engagements January 5, 2022: Windows that Outsmart the Elements New Research Introduces Adaptable Smart Window Design that Can Heat or Cool a House (Nathan Youngblood, news release) • Eurekalert: 1,351 pageviews • Facebook: 539 people reached, 12 engagements • Twitter: 871 impressions, 2 engagements January 19, 2022: Taking Inventory of a Sustainable Campus Greenhouse Gas Inventory Shows Pitt’s Progress Toward Carbon Neutrality (Jessica Vaden, news release) • Facebook: 453 people reached • Twitter: 1,594 impressions, 30 engagements March 16, 2022: New Book by Kent Harries Explores Bamboo Architecture in China • Facebook: 810 people reached, 28 engagements • Twitter: 568 impressions, 27 engagements April 4: Ask me about ... how the University of Pittsburgh will get to net zero emissions Interview with Aurora Sharrard (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) April 11, 2022: Scott Shrake named assistant vice president for strategy Scott earned his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh’s Sustainability and Green Design Group. (Colorado State University news release • Facebook: 1,271 people reached, 43 engagements • Twitter: 391 impressions, 12 engagements • LinkedIn: 914 impressions, 26 engagements
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37 April 21, 2022: Eric Beckman Receives 2022 Marlin Mickle Outstanding Innovator Award (Innovation Institute) • Facebook: 776 people reached, 32 engagements • Twitter: 830 impressions, 35 engagements • LinkedIn: 3,533 impressions, 148 engagements April 29, 2022: AAEES counts CEE Associate Professor Leanne Gilbertson in its first "40 Under 40" list (news release) • Twitter: 3,650 impressions, 131 engagements • LinkedIn: 2,573 impressions, 108 engagements April 27, 2022: Meet the 2022 Pitt Sustainability Award winners (Pittwire) May 12, 2022: Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation Announces 2022-23 Grant Awardees (news release) • University Times, May 12 • Facebook: 554 people reached, 13 engagements • Twitter: 379 impressions, 19 engagements • LinkedIn: 539 impressions, 15 engagements May 18, 2022: Sparking Sustainable New Chemical Catalysts Pitt Chemical Engineers Show How Tungsten Oxide Can Be Used as a Catalyst in Sustainable Chemical Conversions (James McKone, news release) • Facebook: 668 people reached, 14 engagements • Spring 2022: Recycle, Reuse, Reimagine A Pitt engineer wants to reimagine recycling and rebuild the region along the way. (Melissa Bilec, PittMag)
Coverage Specific to Covestro Circular Economy Program November 16, 2021: Covestro LLC and University of Pittsburgh collaborate to establish groundbreaking Circular Economy Program Collaboration will establish unique circular design curriculum for graduate and PhD students in the U.S. (news release announcement) • Eurekalert: 825 pageviews • Facebook: 564 people reached, 14 engagements • Twitter: 627 impressions, 15 engagements • Follow-up Tweet: 931 impressions, 35 engagements • LinkedIn: 1,401 impressions, 65 engagements • Shared in Pitt Research News, November 19, 2021 • Shared in Green Building Alliance Leaflet eNewsletter, December 7, 2021 November 16, 2021: Covestro and Pitt partner on new circular economy program (Pittsburgh Business Times) • Shared in American Society for Engineering Education First Bell, November 19, 2021 • Shared in Pittsburgh Regional Alliance eNewsletter December 8, 2021 November 17, 2021: Covestro, University of Pittsburgh to Establish Circular Economy Program (Coatings World)
38 November 29, 2021: From "THINC" to Action...Educating the CE Leaders of Tomorrow (Rebecca Lucore, Covestro email) November 22, 2021: Covestro and Pitt Partner on Circular-Economy Grad Program (Plastics Today) December 8, 2021: Interested in a circular economy job? There's a Ph.D. for that (GreenBiz Magazine) • Facebook: 816 people reached, 19 engagements • Twitter: 745 impressions, 11 engagements • LinkedIn: 531 impressions, 7 engagements February 24, 2022: Covestro and The University of Pittsburgh are paving the way for innovation in the circular economy (Green Building & Design Magazine) • Twitter: 961 impressions, 38 engagements March 28, 2022: How a circular economy could fix the supply chain (Melissa Bilec, Pittwire) • Facebook 657 people reached, 7 engagements • Twitter: 521 impressions, 15 engagements May 8, 2022: The Covestro Circular Economy Program at Pitt (Bill Flanagan/WPXI/Our Region’s Business) • •
Facebook 605 people reached, 12 engagements LinkedIn: 948 impressions, 38 engagements
Paid Advertisements • American Society for Engineering Education First Bell (~15,000 gross impressions), November 20, 2022: 17 clicks • Pittsburgh Magazine The 412 email, December 14 & 28, 2021 • Pittsburgh Business Times Engineer’s Week Supplement, February 14, 2022 • Pittsburgh Quarterly, Spring and Summer 2022
Covestro Report • Online news conference coordinated by Covestro • Organic social campaigns through Twitter & LinkedIn driving traffic to press release and Pitt & Covestro webpages • 200 media pick-ups o 170M reach o 10K engagements • Twitter: 340K reach, >160 unique mentions • LinkedIn: >28K impressions, top Covestro LinkedIn post in past 15 weeks (organic) • Paid social campaign through LinkedIn (three-week duration) o 475K Impressions o 845K Reach
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J OURNAL A RTICLES Jeremy Weber Work that was funded by MCSI resulted in an article in the top environmental economics journal. Dr. Weber also penned an Post-Gazette op-ed based heavily off the article. The op-ed was referenced in congressional testimony regarding funding for abandoned oil and gas wells
Blackhurst, M., & Matthews, H. S. (2022). Comparing sources of uncertainty in community greenhouse gas estimation techniques. Environmental Research Letters, 17(5), 053002. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac6084 (Impact factor 6.79. Published in April 19 and has 125 downloads). Blackhurst, M. (2021). Identifying Lead Service Lines with Field Tap Water Sampling. ACS ES&T Water, 1(8), 1983–1991. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.1c00227 (ES&T-Water is a new journal but sister journal ES&T has impact factor of 9.03) Hajiseyedjavadi, S., Karimi, H. A., & Blackhurst, M. (2022). Predicting lead water service lateral locations: Geospatial data science in support of municipal programming. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 101277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seps.2022.101277 (impact factor of 4.92) Blackhurst, Michael, R Walsh. “Integrating Distributed Environmental Monitoring to Support More Environmentally Just Housing Policy.” Submitted to Housing Policy Debate in February. (Impact factor of 2.36) James L. Lansing, Lingyan Zhao, Tana Siboonruang, N. Harsha Attanayake, Angela B. Leo, Peter Fatouros, So Min Park, Kenneth R. Graham, John A. Keith, and Maureen Tang. Gd-ni-sb-sno2 electrocatalysts for active and selective ozone production. AIChE J., 67:e17486, 2021. doi: 10.1002/aic.17486. URL https://aiche.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/aic.17486 Wang, M. Harries, K.A., Zhao, Y., Xu, Q., Wang, Z. and Leng, Y. (2022) Variation of Mechanical properties of P. edulis (Moso) bamboo with moisture content, Construction and Building Materials 324 126629 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.126629 Liu, K., Jayaraman, D., Shi, Y., Yang, J., Jin, W., Shi, Y., Wu, J., Jacombe, P., Harries, K.A., Trujillo, D. (2022) “Bamboo: A Very Sustainable Construction Material” - 2021 International Online Seminar Summary Report, Sustainable Structures 2(1) https://doi.org/10.54113/j.sust.2022.000015 Harries, K.A., Trujillo, D., Kaminski, S. and Lopez, L.F. (2022) Development of Load Tables for Design of Full-Culm Bamboo, European Journal of Wood and Wood Products. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00107-022-01798-3 Ben-Alon, L. Loftness, V., Harries, K.A., and Cochran Hameen, E. (2021) Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Natural vs Conventional Building Assemblies, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 144, 110951 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2021.110951 Hamed, Ehab A., Jordan Athas, Xincheng Zhang, Noah Ashenden, and Inhee Lee. 2021. "A Low-Power GPIOBased Size Sensor to Monitor the Imbibition of Corn Seeds Beneath Soil" Electronics 10, no. 19: 2423. https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10192423 Alshayeb, S., Stevanovic, A., & Dobrota, N. (2021). Impact of Various Operating Conditions on Simulated Emissions-Based Stop Penalty at Signalized Intersections. Sustainability, 13(18), 10037. The paper was presented at TRB 2022, DC Jan January 9–13.
40 Alshayeb, S., Stevanovic, A., & Park, B. B. (2021). Field-Based Prediction Models for Stop Penalty in Traffic Signal Timing Optimization. Energies, 14(21), 7431. The paper was presented at TRB 2022, DC Jan January 9–13. Reeb, R.A., Aziz, N., Lapp, S.M., Kitzes, J., Heberling, J.M., & Kuebbing, S.E. 2022. Using convolutional neural networks to efficiently extract immense phenological data from community science images. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12. Nagy, R.C., Balch, J.K, …, Kitzes, J., … [117 others]. 2021. Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community. Ecosphere, 12(12), e03833. Kitzes, J., Blake, R., Bomabci, S., Chapman, M., Duran, S.M., Huang, T., Joseph, M.B., Lapp, S., Marconi, S., Oestreich, W.K., Rhinehart, T.A., Schweiger, A.K., Song, Y., Surasinghe, T., Yang, D., & Yule, K. 2021. Expanding NEON biodiversity surveys with new instrumentation and machine learning approaches. Ecosphere, 12(11), e03795. Lapp, S., Wu, T., Richards-Zawacki, C., Voyles, J., Rodriguez, K.M., & Kitzes, J. 2021. Automated detection of frog calls and choruses by pulse repetition rate. Conservation Biology, 35(5), 1659-1668. Kitzes, J., Brush, M., & Walters, K. 2021. A unified framework for species spatial patterns: Linking the occupancy area curve, Taylor's Law, the neighborhood density function, and two-plot species turnover. Ecology Letters, 24(10), 2043-2053. Chronister, L.M., Rhinehart, T.A., Place, A., & Kitzes, J. 2021. An annotated set of audio recordings of Eastern North American birds containing frequency, time, and species information. Ecology, 102(6), e03329. Muñoz‐Sáez, A., Kitzes, J., & Merenlender, A.M. 2021. Bird‐friendly wine country through diversified vineyards. Conservation Biology, 35(1), 274-284. Shamon, H., Paraskevopoulou, Z., Kitzes, J., Carda, E., Deichmanna, J.L., Boyce, A.J., & McShea, W.J. 2021. Using ecoacoustics metrices to track grassland bird richness across landscape gradients. Ecological Indicators, 120, 106928. Habib, M., Lantgios, I., Hornbostel, K. (2022). A Review of Ceramic, Polymer and Composite Piezoelectric Materials. Accepted with revisions by Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics in May 2022. “Discovery-based Organic Laboratory Experiment that Focuses on Green Chemistry Principles” Nigam, M.; Tracey, M., P. Osman, T.; Pirzada, E. at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Symposium for the Promotion of Academic and Creative Enquiry, Johnstown, PA. April 2022 “Fruit two ways: Integrating green chemical systems into the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory” Morra, B.; Dicks, A.; Nigam, M., 26th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference, Reston, VA, June 6-8, 2022 (abstract accepted for presentation). “Proline Catalyzed Solventless Green Aldol Reaction: An Undergraduate Organic Laboratory Experiment”, Nigam, M.; Tracey M.P. Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, July 31- August 4, 2022 (abstract accepted for presentation). Miu, E. V.; McKone, J. R.; Mpourmpakis, G. The Sensitivity of Metal Oxide Electrocatalysis to Bulk Hydrogen Intercalation: Hydrogen Evolution on Tungsten Oxide. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144 (14), 6420–6433. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.2c00825. Keith, J. A.; McKone, J. R.; Snyder, J. D.; Tang, M. H. Deeper Learning in Electrocatalysis: Realizing Opportunities and Addressing Challenges. Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering 2022, 36, 100824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2022.100824. T. Yang, T.; B. Patil, R.; R. McKone, J.; A. Saidi, W. Revisiting Trends in the Exchange Current for Hydrogen Evolution. Catalysis Science & Technology 2021, 11 (20), 6832–6838. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CY01170G.
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Fertig, A. A.; Brennessel, W. W.; McKone, J. R.; Matson, E. M. Concerted Multiproton–Multielectron Transfer for the Reduction of O2 to H2O with a Polyoxovanadate Cluster. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143 (38), 15756–15768. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.1c07076. S. P. Sharma and P. W. Leu, “Solar module orientation and tracking type performance and optimization,” Journal of Photonics for Energy, vol. 11, no. 4, p. 045501, Oct. 2021, publisher: SPIE, doi: 10.1117/1.JPE.11.045501. Featured on journal cover Z. Zhou, S. B. Walker, M. LeMieux, and P. W. Leu, “Polymer-Embedded Silver Microgrids by Particle-Free Reactive Inks for Flexible High-Performance Transparent Conducting Electrodes,” ACS Applied Electronic Materials, vol. 3, no. 5, pp. 2079–2086, May 2021, publisher: American Chemical Society, doi: 10.1021/acsaelm.1c00107. Rodriguez, J.; “Outreach Projects: Towards a Structured Curricular Activity for Chemical Engineering Students”. ASEE Annual Conference 2022, Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 26-29, 2022. Proceedings to be published. J. Dean, Y. Yang, G. Veser, and G. Mpourmpakis, “CuZrO3: If it exists, it must be a sandwich”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 23 (2021) 23748-23757. https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CP02245H. Y. Yang and G. Veser, “Exploiting the impact of pore diffusion in core@shell nanocatalysts”, Catal. Today, 371 (2021) 69-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2020.07.067 H. Mantripragada and G. Veser, “Intensifying Chemical Looping Dry Reforming: Process Modeling and Systems Analysis”, J. of CO2 Utilization 49 (2021) 101555. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2021.101555 H. Mantripragada and G. Veser, “Hydrogen production via chemical looping dry reforming of methane”, AIChE J. (2022) e17612. https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.17612 S. Nguyen, E. Brock, P. Connor, E. Cook, M. Abdelhakim, R. Kerestes, “Integrating Distributed Devices onto Rural Circuits”, 2022 IEEE Rural Electric power Conference, Savannah, GA, 2022 E. Brock, L. Bruckstein, P. Connor, S. Nguyen, R. Kerestes and M. Abdelhakim, "An application of reinforcement learning to residential energy storage under real-time pricing," 2021 IEEE PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia (ISGT Asia), 2021, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/ISGTAsia49270.2021.9715712. S. Nguyen, M. Abdelhakim and R. Kerestes, "Survey Paper of Digital Twins and their Integration into Electric Power Systems," 2021 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM), 2021, pp. 01-05, doi: 10.1109/PESGM46819.2021.9638011. R. Brody et al. (including P. Ohodnicki, B. Grainger), Trade Study for Rare-Earth-Free Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine using MnBi Permanent Magnets, ECCE 2022, Accepted for Presentation and Publication. (Related to Faculty fellowship, Electric Motor modeling and course development) D. Karki, E. Hoffman, D. Shengye, V.T. Schmotzer, B. Liu, P. Ohodnicki, Machine vision approach of process control during single crystal fiber growth via laser heated pedestal growth method, SPIE Defense and Commercial Sensing, 2022. (V. T. Schmotzer was a MCSI student in 2021 when working on the paper and is a co-author) Endangered Species Act Expenditures for Fish Taxa Managed by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Are Predicted by Lawsuits, Captive Propagation, and Region Shirey, P.D., and S.A.R. Colvin. 2022. Fisheries early online https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10742 A Review of Recovery Plan Criteria for Threatened and Endangered Fish Taxa Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Shirey, P.D., S.A.R. Colvin, L.H. Roulson, and T.E. Bigford. 2022. Fisheries early online https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10743 Angling for Ideas in Science Communication to Hosting a Photo-essay Workshop: Implementing the Winning Idea from Wiley's Impact-a-thon Defilippi Simpson, J., S. Glaser, K. Murchie, and P.D. Shirey. 2021 Fisheries 46(12):617-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10674.
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Dynamics of large wood added to Midwestern, USA, streams Bosio, S.F., P.D. Shirey, S.A. Entrekin, T.J. Hoellein, A.H. Moerke, E.J. Rosi, J.L. Tank, and G.A. Lamberti. 2021. River Research and Applications. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3798 R Forgrave, EM Elliott, DJ Bain (2022) “Event Scale Hydrograph Responses Highlight Impacts of Widespread Stream Burial and Urban Infrastructure Failures” Hydrological Processes, 10.1002/hyp.14584 DJ Bain, T Cantlay, B Garman, JF Stolz (2021) “Oil and gas wastewater as road treatment: radioactive material exposure implications at the residential lot and block scale”, Environ. Res. Commun. https://doi.org/10.1088/25157620/ac35be Engler, I.D., Curley, A.J., Fu, F.J., Bilec, M.M. (2022). “Environmental Sustainability in Orthopaedic Surgery.” Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: June 1, 2022 - Volume 30 - Issue 11 - p 504-511. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35412500/ Berry, B., Farber, B., Cruz Rios, F., Haedicke, M. Chakraborty, S., Lowder, S.S., Bilec, M.M., Isenhour, C. (2021). “Just by Design? Exploring justice as a multidimensional concept in US circular economy discourse.” Local Environment. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2021.1994535 Cruz Rios, F., Panic, S.+, Grau, D., Khanna, V., Zappitelli, J., Bilec, M.M. (2022). “Exploring circular economies in the built environment from a complex systems perspective: A systematic review and conceptual model at the city scale.” Sustainable Cities and Society, 80(May 2022):103411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2021.103411. Zappitelli, J., Smith, E., Padgett, K., Bilec, M.M., Babbitt, C., Khanna, V. (2021). “Quantifying Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Embodied in Global Primary Plastic Trade Network.” ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 9, 44, 14927–14936. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.1c05236 Mohammadiziazi, R., Copeland, S.+, Bilec, M.M.* (2021). “Urban building energy model: Database development, validation, and application for commercial building stock.” Energy and Buildings, 248(1 October 2021):111175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111175 Cruz Rios, F., Grau, D., Bilec, M.M.* (2021). "Barriers and Enablers to Circular Building Design in the US: An empirical study." ASCE Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147(10):04021117. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0002109 Clark, R., Spisso, A.+, Ketchman, K.J., Landis, A.E., Parrish, K., Mohammadiziazi, R., Bilec, M.M.* (2021). “Gamifying Sustainable Engineering Courses: student and instructor perspectives of community, engagement, learning, and retention.” ASCE Journal of Civil Engineering Education, 147(4):04021009. https: DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EI.2643-9115.0000047 Babbitt, C., Althaf, S., Cruz Rios, F., Bilec, M.M., Graedel, T.E. (2021). “The role of design in circular economy solutions for critical materials.” One Earth, 4(3), 353-362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.02.014
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C ONFERENCE P ROCEEDINGS Kaminski, S., Harries, K.A., Lopez, L-F, Trujillo, D. and Archila, H. (2022) Durability of Whole Culm Bamboo: Facts, Misconceptions and the New ISO 22156 Framework, NOCMAT 2022, June 2022 (virtual) Harries, K.A., Mofidi, A., Naylor, J., Trujillo, D., Lopez, L. F., Gutierrez, M. and Sharma, B. (2022) Knowledge Gaps and Research Needs for Bamboo in Construction, NOCMAT 2022, June 2022 (virtual) Harries, K.A., Rogers, C. and Silva, E. (2022) Experimental evaluation of bamboo reinforced concrete, NOCMAT 2022, June 2022 (virtual) Chacón, D., Papadopoulos, C., Acosta, F., Harries, K.A. and Saffar, A. (2022) Development of a Method to Test Bamboo Culms in Direct Torsion, NOCMAT 2022, June 2022 (virtual) Harries, K.A. (2021) Standard Material or Material Standard – reflections on codes development for non-conventional material. Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Composites in Construction (CICE 2021), Istanbul, December 2021. (Keynote lecture) Mohammadiziazi, R.*, Bilec, M.M. (2021 accepted). “Integrating Climate Change with Urban Building Energy Modeling: Case of A Commercial Building Stock.” Building Simulation 2021 Conference. Bruges, Belgium, September 1-3, 2021. Cruz Rios, F.*, Berry, B., Isenhour, C., Zappitelli, J., Khanna, V., Bilec, M.M. (2021). “Why Bother? Environmental and Social Implications of Using Durable Building Products.” 4th PLATE 2021 Virtual Conference, Limerick, Ireland, May 26-28, 2021. Morra from University of Toronto at the 26th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference titled “Fruit two ways: Integrating green chemical systems into the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory” at Reston, VA, June 6-8, 2022 (abstract accepted for presentation).. Biennial Conference on Chemical Education at Purdue University titled “Proline Catalyzed Solventless Green Aldol Reaction: An Undergraduate Organic Laboratory Experiment”, Nigam, M.; Tracey M.P. Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, July 31- August 4, 2022 (abstract accepted for presentation). Kotchey, G.P., Arnold-Paine, E.O., Zhou, J., Hong, S.H. Sanchez, D.V.P., Endogenous degradation of Bisphenol-A in Modified ARB Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1 International Conference on Emerging Contaminants Sep 2021. Sanchez, D.V.P., Kerzmann, T.K, Chouinard, C.P., Kotchey, G.P., Assessing the Effectiveness of a Flex Model for a Sustainability Course in the COVID-19 Learning Environment, American Society of Engineering Education Los Angeles CA June 2021 Sanchez, D.V.P., Kerzmann, T.K, Chouinard, C.P., Understanding Key Student Perspectives in an Interdisciplinary Flex-Model Sustainability Course as Compared to a Traditional in Person Course, American Society of Engineering Education Los Angeles CA June 2021
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B OOKS Each of these books was supported by funding through the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation.
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MCSI S TRATEGIC P LANNING MCSI has recently completed a 5-month effort to explore and recommend ways to accelerate and expand our positive impact in sustainability in our curriculum, research, and community engagement and service. Through this effort, we engaged 8 Deans, dozens of sustainability leaders, nearly 50 faculty, 15 staff leaders, and over 100 students. Our internal and external conversations have been complemented by research on similar efforts nationwide and extensive conversations with peer (and aspirational peer) institutes. The corresponding framework offers a draft strategic view of how we recommend constellating a University-wide institute for sustainability over the next three years. We have embarked on this Plan to: • Define how the core value of Sustainability can be even further woven and advanced into academics at Pitt. • Accelerate the positive impact of our research on key sustainability topics (including but not limited to climate and health, water, circular economy, energy, and environmental justice). • More closely connect various sustainability centers, initiatives, programs, and activities on campus. • Strengthen the critical link between academics and research to our operations, student activities, and communities. Priority Recommendation Establish Pitt's University-wide Institute for Sustainability. Our vision for this Institute as a single, empowered (yet connected) entity organized to constellate sustainability efforts across Pitt, break silos, and uncover latent connections for greater positive impact. We have outlined the proposed characteristics of a University of Pittsburgh (Mascaro) Sustainability Institute [P(M)SI] below. PURPOSE: The Difference We Make. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 1: Demonstrate Pitt’s commitment to sustainability by constellating a new, resourced and connected university-wide institute. PEOPLE: Who We Are. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 2: Expand investment in our greatest asset: our people. PROGRAMS: What We Do. STRATEGIC PRIORITY 3: Enhance programs, initiatives, and activities What Changes if We Are Successful • Sustainability is a part of Pitt’s ethos. • Exponential number of Pitt faculty leading transdisciplinary research to solve complex sustainability problems. • Increase in sponsored research supporting interdisciplinary sustainability research, implementation, and partnership. • Current undergraduate and graduate students are empowered, engaged, and celebrated for their positive contributions to campus, region, and world. • Prospective students are increasingly attracted to Pitt for its first-hand on-campus sustainability opportunities. • Strong, mutually benefitting partnerships across all sectors including industry, nonprofits, and government. • Enhanced connections between academics, research, operations, and community connections internally and a clear entry point for new partners interested in sustainability collaborations. • A strong and connected sustainability alumni network proud of their alma mater (and increasingly giving back via internships, partnerships, and gifts as a result). • Pitt graduates gaining academic and professional opportunities where they continue to lead and impact a more sustainable world. • Pitt celebrated locally, regionally, nationally, and globally for authentically aligning values and investment.
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A PPENDIX MCSI Leadership Team • • • • •
Eric Beckman, Bevier Professor of Engineering and Director Emeritus, Mascaro Center Melissa Bilec, William Kepler Whiteford Professor & Co-Director Mascaro Center, Civil & Envir Eng Gena Kovalcik, Co-Director Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation David Sanchez, Associate Professor & Associate Director Mascaro Center, Civil & Environmental Eng. Ellie Cadden, Sustainability Engagement Assistant, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
Faculty Sustainability Task Force ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Michael Aklin, Assistant Professor, Political Science Danielle Andrews-Brown, Lecturer and Environmental Studies Coordinator, Geology & Env. Science Drew Armstrong, Associate Professor and Director of Architectural Studies, Architectural Studies Dan Bain, Assistant Professor, Geology & Environmental Science Aaron Barchowsky, Professor, Environmental and Occupational Health, GSPH Eric Beckman, Bevier Professor of Engineering and Co-Director, Mascaro Center Melissa Bilec, Associate Professor and Deputy Director Mascaro Center, Civil & Environmental Eng. Mike Blackhurst, Co-Director of Urban and Regional Analysis, Center for Social & Urban Research John Camillus, Beall Professor of Strategic Management, Katz School of Business Walter Carson, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences Emily Elliott, Assistant Professor, Geology & Environmental Science Shanti Gamper-Rabindran, Assistant Professor, GSPIA Justin Kitzes, Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Grant MacIntyre, Clinical Asst. Professor of Law and Dir. of Environmental Law Clinic, School of Law Gena Kovalcik, Co-Director, MCSI Daniel Mosse, Professor and Chair, Computer Science Cassie Quigley, Associate Professor, School of Education David Sanchez, Assistant Professor & Assistant Director Mascaro Center, Civil & Environmental Eng. Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of Sustainability, Office of Sustainability (liaison) John Sebastian, Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering Kay Shimizu, Assistant Professor, Political Science Kyle Whittinghill, Lecturer & Environmental Science Undergraduate Advisor, Geology & Env. Science Amy Wildermuth, Dean, School of Law Jeremy Weber, Assistant Professor, GSPIA
External Advisory Board ● ● ● ● ● ●
Chuck Blumenschein, Vice President & Industrial R&D, Veolia Water David Constable, Director, Green Chemistry Institute at American Chemical Society Kendell Ernst, Project Manager, National Renewable Energy Lab Charles Liotta, Vice Provost for Research & Dean of Graduate Studies, Georgia Institute of Technology Annie Pearce, Associate Professor Department of Building Construction, Virginia Tech Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of Sustainability, University of Pittsburgh (liaison)
University of Pittsburgh Sustainability Steering Committee ● ● ● ● ●
Aurora Sharrard, Executive Director of Sustainability, Office of Sustainability Nicholas Goodfellow, Sustainability Coordinator, Dining Services by Sodexo Gena Kovalcik, Codirector, Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation Erika Ninos, Sustainability Coordinator, PittServes, Student Affairs Laura Zullo, Director of Administration, Business & Operations