MCSI Research Program Expands Cohort

MCSI RESEARCH PROGRAM EXPANDS COHORT OF ENGAGED RESEARCHERS AND FORGES NEW PATHWAYS

Covestro Program

The newly created Covestro LLC Circular Economy Program, led by Drs. Eric Beckman and Melissa Bilec, will create a comprehensive academic initiative that will be focused on training the next generation of engineers to lead in the circular economy.

“Sustainability is a core value for the University of Pittsburgh and Covestro, and bringing these two organizations together will act as a force multiplier in achieving circularity for the materials industry. --Richard Skorpenske, Covestro”

NSF Workshop to set Circular Economy Research Agenda led by Bilec

Melissa Bilec received $98,000 from the National Science Foundation to convene a panel of experts for a workshop on the circular economy that will help set the research agenda for years to come. The workshop brought together experts and thought leaders in academia, industry, government, and nonprofits to discuss circular economy design from molecules to the built environment. During three, three-hour sessions over three weeks, the workshop was an opportunity for the wide array of invited constituents to discuss and develop ideas in circular economy research. Reach more here.

Practical Strategies for Inclusive Engineering Education

More inclusive classrooms improve learning and academic performance, and under-represented students in particular benefit from inclusion. Melissa Bilec and April Dukes are leading a project called “Collaborative Research: Increasing Implementation of Proven Inclusivity Practices in Undergraduate Engineering Education” that will provide tangible guidance to educators for operating an inclusive classroom.

The Built Environment and Climate Change

In collaboration with Drexel University’s Dr. Simi Hoque, Melissa Bilec is exploring and developing an analytical framework for predicting urban building energy consumption considering different energy source types and associated greenhouse gas emissions under different climate scenarios. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation with $225,000 awarded to the University of Pittsburgh. This work will fill a gap in our understanding of how to interpret and address climate change-related stresses on building performance. This will provide guidance for the development of standards addressing new building design, but also promote improved adaptation and mitigation strategies in the existing building stock, while taking life cycle environmental impacts into account.

2021 MCSI Seed Grant Follow-on Funding Totals $2.5MM

The goal of the MCSI Research Seed Grant Program is to catalyze the formation of convergent research teams focused on sustainability and associated solutions. Since 2004, MCSI has supported over 113 faculty research projects, resulting in nearly $30 million in follow-on funding.

Title

Convergence Accelerator: Workshop on Design for a Circular Economy from Molecules to the Built Environment

Source

National Science Foundation

Faculty Amount

Bilec, Beckman, Jiang $98,800

PIPE: Proven Inclusivity Practices for Engineering National Science Foundation Bilec, Duke $300,000

Climate Impacts on the Urban Built Environment National Science Foundation Bilec, Melissa $450,000 $225,000 (Bilec)

Greenhouse Gas Inventory FY 2020 Pitt Facilities Bilec, Melissa $21,000

Designing a Piezoelectric-Powered Buoy NOAA, NREL Hornbostel, Katherine $10,000

Enhancing Atomistic ModeLing: Physically Robust Atomistic Machine Learning Models for Predictive Insights into Solvated Chem Reactions INTER/MOBILITY Keith, John $79,000 EUR

Automated Acoustic Monitoring of Focal Bird Species in Dynamic Forest Restoration Blocks in the PA Wilds and Laurel Highlands

Floristic Inventory and Threat Assessment of Yellow Oak-Redbud Woodlands in the Allegheny Plateau National Fish & Wildlife Foundation

PA Dept of Natural Resources

Cooperative Catalysts for a Zero-Waste Chemical Economy (Beckman Young Investigator Award)

Robust Bio-electrochemical Electrodes for Space Applications Arnold and Mabel Beckman Fndt

NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab

Sustainability in Micronesia GSC

Developing an Energy-Conscious Traffic Signal Control System for Optimized Fuel Consumption in Connected Vehicle Environments US Department of Energy Kitzes, Justin $198,742 ($180,680 direct)

Kuebbing, Sara $23,876

McKone, James $600,000

Sanchez, David $25,000 ($140,000K)

Sanchez, David $40,000

Stevanovic, Alex $2,366,460 ($519,044 direct)