EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
MASCARO CENTER
FOR SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
The University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering has long operated at the forefront of sustainability, dating back to the debut of its pioneering green construction program in 1997. An offshoot of this program, the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI), would quickly grow into a center of excellence through the support of John C. Mascaro (ENGR ’66, ’80G), the Heinz Endowments, and the estate of George M. Bevier (ENGR 1913).
The center’s mission . is twofold: to create . systems and processes . that improve quality of life while positively impacting the environment and to educate and inspire the . next generation of leaders . in sustainability. Since its founding, MCSI has been the driving force behind the Swanson School’s commitment to environmentally responsible engineering and the integration of sustainable practices throughout the curriculum. MCSI has become the University’s academic sustainability conscience through its efforts to develop new paradigms in sustainability education and research.
The Center’s Evolution In the late 1990s, the University began its collaboration with the Heinz Endowments and the Green Building Alliance to develop a green construction program within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. By 2003, the collaboration had evolved to form the Mascaro Sustainability Initiative (MSI), which focused on bringing national prominence to the region’s strong intellectual activity in green construction and sustainability. In 2005 and 2006, major grants from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need program attracted a cohort of 21 highly talented and passionate U.S. graduate students from multiple disciplines who formed the early core of MSI’s research efforts. Many of these former
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students have gone on to influential positions in academia and industry, including at the University of Cambridge; Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Rochester Institute of Technology; Duke University; Avon Products, Inc.; United Technologies Corporation; and Volkswagen, among others. In 2007, then Provost James Maher recognized MSI’s growth and success by redesignating it the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. In 2009, MCSI moved into its new 42,000-squarefoot LEED Gold-certified facility, with 16 faculty members and more than 100 students.
“ I can’t say enough about the importance that the MCSI IGERT program played in my success in my current position at Arizona State University. The success and program growth that have occurred in my first year here at ASU are due in large part to the training and experiences I received while at MCSI and the Swanson School of Engineering.” - Scott Shrake, director of engineering projects in community service, . Arizona State University
