MCSI Broadens its Influence Through Engagement Across Campus and the World

Green Speakeasy Events

Remote work provided a unique opportunity to engage a broad and diverse group of speakers for our Green Speakeasy Series. We were delighted that the virtual format and cross-campus collaboration significantly increased attendees with more than 455 people joining us for the six events. To hear directly from our Pitt Leadership on their vision for Sustainability at Pitt access the Pitt Dean’s Talk Sustainability video here.

Pitt Climate Action Talk for Swanson School Alumni

Dr. Melissa Bilec and Pitt Director of Sustainability, Dr. Aurora Sharrard provided an update on the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the Pitt Climate Action Plan. More than 100 Engineering alumni and friends joined the conversation. Climate Action Plan preview shows roadmap to carbon neutrality | University Times | University of Pittsburgh

Pitt Employee Professional Development Courses

MCSI’s Ellie Cadden and the Office of Sustainability’s Samantha Ford co-taught the Sustainability Foundations course. This course was attended by 52 professional staff and is a preamble to our Professional Development Sustainability Certificate for employees.

Pitt First Year Program impact

MCSI has trained student volunteers to provide sustainability presentations within first year seminars and other classes.

This year, our team of student leaders provided presentations to 41 classes and impacted nearly 1800 students doubling the number of students from last academic year.

Pitt Greenhouse Gas Inventory

Melissa Bilec and her graduate student, Jessica Vaden completed Pitt’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory for FY2019, helping support development of the Pitt Climate Action Plan, predicating carbon neutrality for the Pittsburgh campus by 2037.

Virtual Field Trip - UCLA Center X

Dave Sanchez virtually hosted an all-girls STEM Academy from Los Angeles in his lab for an education field trip where they discussed water quality, engineering, and science. We collaborated with UCLA Center X and engaged more than 30 students.

Read more about the event here:

Global Engagement Series – Guam

As part of a Virtual Global Engagement Series created in the Fall with the Pitt Office of Study Abroad, Dave Sanchez presented virtually on Sustainability of Island Nations.

Teach-the-Teacher - Summer 2020

Dave Sanchez transitioned the Teach-theTeacher to a virtual format and hosted ~20 teachers in June 2020. In collaboration with the UCLA Center X, they hosted Middle School science teachers for a 2-day workshop that provided them with training and modules they could take back to their classroom. Indirectly,

the program engages more than 2000 students.

Pitt Day of Giving

MCSI’s Ellie Cadden led efforts for Pitt Day of Giving for all Sustainability programs - including Office of Sustainability, Water Collaboratory, Center for Sustainable Business and the Student Office of Sustainability. These efforts have a primary goal of generating awareness of sustainability efforts throughout our campus. It also helped to generate more than $3,500 in support. Day of Giving - Give to Pitt Sustainability!

Carnegie Science Center Shows Role of Filters in Spread of SARS-CoV-2

Melissa Bilec developed this new display at the Carnegie Science Center that depicts how the right filters in an HVAC system can add a layer of protection to indoor air. Image provided by Carnegie Science Center.

“As an advocate for science literacy, we saw the pandemic as an opportunity to combine a message about real research, current events and museum collections in one place. We didn’t want to just dwell on the pandemic for our visitors….but we did want to reassure them about our precautions while they are here, to connect research to real-world examples, like protecting our valuable collections - and our valued guests.” --Dennis Bateman, Director of Exhibits, Carnegie Science Center”

Empowering Women and Girls

Melissa Bilec and graduate student, Jessica Vaden, are working with Pitt alumna, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, and her organization Kakenya’s Dream on educational modules around environmental justice.