Research Progress, 2018-22

We will advance the frontier of knowledge and make a positive impact on the world through collaborative and multi-disciplinary approaches to sustainability-related research that focuses on areas of great social and environmental need.

2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan Goals

  • CELEBRATE: Raise the visibility of faculty research in sustainability. 
  • COLLABORATE: Provide more opportunities and incentives for interdisciplinary research as well as the bridging of academics and operations – promoting an environment of informing and working together. 
  • LIVING LAB: Use the Pitt campus as a living laboratory for faculty and students to implement new ideas and study outcomes over time. 
  • FUNDRAISE: Raise external funds for endowed chair(s) to support faculty with research expertise in sustainability. 
  • ENDOWED RESEARCH: Develop an endowed seed grant fund to provide greater opportunities for sustainability-focused federal grants. 
  • SCHOLARSHIPS: Increase prestigious scholarship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate research in sustainability.  

Where We Are: Sharing Faculty Research

   

In the 2023 QS World University Rankings in Sustainability, the University of Pittsburgh ranked #34 of U.S. institutions and #126 globally. 

Both the social and environmental categories included research considerations; Pitt ranked above the global median for both: #164 in the social “knowledge impact” category and #396 in the environmental “sustainable research” category.   

As demonstrated in the University’s 2021 AASHE STARS Gold documentation, 68.6% of all Pitt departments hosted faculty doing sustainability-focused or -related research.  While it’s difficult to track media outreach and communication across 85 academic departments, in just the narrow “Green & Sustainable Science & Technology” category, Pitt faculty published 104 research papers from 2018 through 2022.  

Many Pitt faculty are advancing sustainability-focused and -related research, with their work garnering positive media attention; a few examples include:  

Engineering Sustainability Conference: From 2005 through 2019, the Mascaro  Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) led and collaborated on delivering the Engineering Sustainability conference biannually in Pittsburgh.  The 2019 conference subtitled “A Climate for Change”, attracted 258 attendees from 49 different Universities, including students, post-docs, and faculty.  In addition, private industry, government, nonprofit, and media representatives also attended. 

Conferences Grants: Since 2009, MCSI has provided conference grants for undergraduate and graduate students as well as young faculty to more broadly promote MCSI-funded and sustainability-focused Pitt research and participate in conferences.  From 2018 through 2022, this funding has helped 37 students raise the visibility of Pitt’s sustainability research around the world.   

Where We Are: Interdisciplinary Sustainability Research

MCSI Research Seed Grants: Since 2004, MCSI’s Research Seed Grants have helped catalyze the formation of convergent research teams focused on sustainability and related solutions. From 2004 through 2022, these MCSI’s research grants have supported over 115 faculty research projects with ~$4.5 million, which has helped leverage nearly $34.5 million in follow-on funding.  Recent projects focused on decarbonizing electricity, acoustic monitoring of birds, amphibian resilience, decarbonizing electricity, infrastructure, magnetics, materials, plastic nurdle monitoring, rare earth free motors, and solar. 

Momentum Grants: A 2019 reframing of University-wide internal research funding resulted in the Pitt Momentum Funds, focused on seeding, teaming, and scaling grants.  Interdisciplinary sustainability-focused projects have been successful in all 3 funding rounds to-date, including: 

  • Circular Economy Research:  Pitt’s circular economy research has grown in inclusion and scale since 2018, starting with a 2018 MacArthur Foundation grant focused on plastics recycling.  A 2-year, $1.3 million, 2019 National Science Foundation (NSF) Growing Convergence Research grant helped expand this work with a 5-university team focused on the complex challenge of global waste through circular economy design and led by Dr. Melissa Bilec (MCSI, Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)). A follow-on 2020 Pitt Momentum grant supported an interdisciplinary Pitt team from Chemistry, Engineering, and Law to focus on Attacking the Plastic Waste Problem. In 2022, Pitt and the University of Georgia received another NSF grant to assess optimizing circular economies over traditional linear economies; “A Tale of Two Cities: Optimizing Circularity from Molecules to the Built Environment.” 
  • Environmental Health: Detailed in the “Equity & Access” section of this report, the Center for Healthy Environments and Equity Research (CHEER) is a multidisciplinary, intersectional, and community-based research project funded by a 2022 Pitt Momentum grant.  CHEER is addressing extensive environmental health disparities with faculty in Public Health, Engineering, and Geology & Environmental Sciences in partnership with Allegheny County Health Department. 
  • Water Equity: The Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory led a successful 2021 Pitt Momentum Funds Teaming Grant focused on water quality, affordability and practice transparency in Allegheny County (Measuring Up: Grading Drinking Water Quality, Affordability, & Transparency Practices in Allegheny County Water Systems), which included research faculty from Geology & Environmental Sciences, Health Sciences, GSPIA and Sociology alongside the local nonprofit Women for a Healthy Environment.  
  • Center for Sustainable Business Grants: The Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) annually allocates $10,000 to funding research on sustainable business research. Recent grants have supported projects on assessing how financial incentives impact auditor assessment of suppliers and theorizing how entrepreneurial demands reinforce, conflict, and resolve issues with democratic organization. The CSB maintains a call for research proposals that support decarbonization, inclusive workforces, and ESG literacy.  
  • Engineering + Public Health: In 2023, the University of Pittsburgh’s the Swanson School of Engineering and School of Public Health launched “Trans-Disciplinary Collaboration” pilot research grants. Priority areas for funding are a) climate change and health; b) global health; and c) environmental justice. 

Where We Are: Campus as a Living Laboratory

On-Campus Sustainability Internships: Students are imperative contributors to sustainability at the University of Pittsburgh. From 2018 through 2022, over 80 students have interned in Sustainability roles across campus, gaining hands-on and co-curricular skills and knowledge that help prepare them for high-impact careers focused on and/or incorporating sustainability concepts. 

Sustainability Dashboards: In addition to providing transparency on specific Pitt Sustainability Plan goals, the Pitt Sustainability Dashboards provide interactive views of building-specific and campus-wide progress in many Stewardship categories.

Many dashboards were created by Pitt students; the data informing all Pitt Sustainability dashboards are available for Pitt community members to download and analyze, opening up campus and building data, systems, and performance as opportunities for teaching, research, and improvement.  

Electric Power Systems Lab: The Electric Power Systems Lab in the Swanson School of Engineering is used for research and education. Sponsored in-kind by Eaton, the lab provides opportunities for Pitt faculty and students to perform advanced work in AC and DC microgrids, innovative grid technologies, power electronic devices and converters, renewable energy systems and integration, controls and communications, automation and relaying, distribution engineering, and other emerging electric power technology areas. 

Student Projects: A number of the University’s sustainability-focused and -related courses regularly originate student projects focused on campus sustainability.  Core courses such as ENGR 1907: Sustainability Capstone and GEOL 1333: Sustainability annually generate projects; from 2018 through 2022, student sustainability research projects also originated in Biology, Business, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, English, Environmental Studies, GSPIA, Industrial Engineering, Law, and Urban Studies courses.  Topics in recent years include but are not limited to; carbon offsets, environmental justice, on-campus renewable electricity generation, reusable to-go containers, pollinator gardens, and stormwater management. 

Where We Are: Research & Operations Collaboration

GHG Inventories:  The University’s greenhouse gas (GHG)  inventorying process is one of the longest standing collaborations between Pitt’s research and operations teams.  Overseen by Dr. Melissa Bilec (MCSI & CEE) since the first inventory for fiscal year 2008, the process is completed by a Pitt graduate student. Pitt’s GHG inventorying process is an ongoing data and analysis feedback loop between research and operations with now annual Pittsburgh campus GHG inventories (and regional campus GHG inventories being initiated). This collaborative effort supports both the University’s academic mission and work towards carbon neutrality by 2037.  

Picogrid Digital Twin: The Picogrid Digital Twin laboratory in Benedum Hall became fully energized in 2022, with research experiments being conducted. Led by Dr. Bob Kerestes (ECE), the Picogrid Lab’s research is connected to the Benedum rooftop solar array and focused on sustainable energy production and security. 

Design & Construction Capstone: The University of Pittsburgh’s built environment is an obvious learning and research opportunity.  Every Spring semester, student projects in Pitt’s Civil and Environmental Engineering Capstone course focus on improving the built environment on-campus and off, with many focused on or related to sustainability. 

Local Renewable Power Generation: In addition to powering the Pittsburgh campus with renewable electricity, the University’s 2 long-term power purchase agreements for local, renewable power provide opportunities for faculty and students at these solar and run-of-the-river hydro facilities for learning and research. 

MCSI Task Force Research and Operations Subcommittee: Since 2019, a sub-committee of the MCSI Faculty Sustainability Task Force has been focused on building internal Pitt relationships and frameworks for internships, course projects, summer research, and faculty-led research opportunities that benefit Pitt operations and provide hands-on research project experiences for faculty and students. 

Where We Are: Student Research Opportunities

MCSI Undergraduate Research: Since 2004, MCSI has offered 12-week paid undergraduate summer research opportunities that partner Pitt students with faculty on sustainability-focused research projects.  From 2004 through 2022, MCSI supported 325 undergraduate student research opportunities across a wide array of disciplines including, but not limited to biological sciences, communications, economics, education, engineering, environmental studies, equity, history, psychology, and sociology. For 2023, opportunities are offered from 15 different academic departments creating a truly interdisciplinary research program. 

Honors Fellowships: Since Summer 2021, the David C. Frederick Honors College’s undergraduate community research fellowship has supported a number of experiential learning opportunities focused on creating a socially responsible, mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources with community partners.  Over the years, over $12,000 in Honors College creative and research fellowships have also been awarded to sustainability-related undergraduate research projects, including a 2020 art installation focused on campus building energy use.  

Sustainable Business Research: Since 2020, Pitt’s Center for Sustainable Business has partnered graduate students with corporate sponsors on semester and year-long research projects, resulting in tailored sustainable business solutions. Results have included assisting CONSOL Energy with the creation of a just energy transition stakeholder engagement strategy, conducting research on bias intervention strategies for a retailer, and to assess the viability of new transportation industry technology adoption for Ingevity. 

Partnered Water Research: Since 2018, the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory has hosted research interns and fellows who partner with water system practitioners in nonprofits, local governments and their agencies, and community organizations. Recent projects have focused on drinking water affordability, urban stream ecology, emerging and legacy river system contaminates, community perceptions of water resources, modeling population impacts on water quality, and green infrastructure solutions for localized flooding. 

Where We Are: Research Fundraising 

There are 3 goals in the 2018 Pitt Sustainability Plan that concentrate on sustainability fundraising, with focus on supporting research by faculty, endowed research funds, and undergraduate and graduate student research scholarships. 

Endowed Research:  Thanks to the generosity of several Pitt alumni, MCSI has created endowed funds that support the MCSI summer undergraduate research program, detailed in the “Engagement & Awareness” section. 

Graduate Research Giving: Established in 2016, the John C. Mascaro Fellowships support graduate students pursuing the Masters of Sustainable Engineering degree.  John “Jack” Mascaro was a Distinguished Alumnus of Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering; along with founding MCSI, his passion for sustainability created an impactful legacy at the University in student scholarships, research, and beyond.   

Multi-year funding from Covestro for the Covestro Circular Economy program supports 3-year graduate fellowships for talented doctoral students advancing circular economy research.  

Sustained, multi-year funding from The Heinz Endowments and Hillman Foundation supports Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory doctoral students advancing regional water research.   

Pitt Day of Giving: Starting in 2019, Pitt’s Sustainability partners have individually and collectively offered opportunities for alumni, internal, and external donors to support Pitt Sustainability during the Pitt Day of Giving. This University-wide day brings the Pitt community together with the shared goal of giving today to transform tomorrow; recent sustainability fundraising has focused on funding student-led sustainability projects.  

Check out other sections of the 2018-22 Progress Report on the Pitt Sustainability Plan: