Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Cornell is a global leader in sustainability and climate change research, teaching and engagement. Our campuses are living laboratories for developing, testing and implementing solutions that address these most challenging issues.


19 Cornell faculty chosen as 2017 Public Voices fellows

Cornell’s Public Voices Thought Leadership Fellowship Program seeks to increase the public impact of top underrepresented thinkers in the U.S. and to help them contribute to public conversations.

Decoded microbial metabolism explains biofuel yield

Cornell professor Ludmilla Aristilde is unraveling how intricate waste biomass converts to biofuels by studying the bacterium Clostridium acetobutylicum's sugar-processing complexities.

After Deepwater Horizon spill, oyster size did not change

Contrary to their own scientific intuition, Cornell researchers found that the body size of intertidal oysters went unchanged after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

With three new solar farms, Cornell skims energy from the sun

Cornell now milks the sun for energy: The university formally opened three additional solar farms in December that will generate large amounts of electricity and help the campus achieve carbon neutrality.

CHESS facility helps scale up solar cells

Researchers from Cornell and the University of Virginia collaborated at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source in an effort to better understand the chemistry behind solar cells.

Devastating mites jump nimbly from flowers to honeybees

A new study describes for the first time – and documents with video footage – how Varroa destructor mites can nimbly jump from flowers onto bees.

Planning chair and scholar Susan Christopherson dies

Professor and chair of city and regional planning Susan Christopherson, known for her scholarly work and expertise on regional economic development, died Dec. 14, 2016, following a battle with cancer. She was 69.

'Win-win' for wildlife, African farmers stems from partnership

Animal and wildlife officials, and a College of Veterinary Medicine professor have developed policies to ensure safe trade of meat products while also aiding wildlife conservation.

Cornell awarded $7M to lead transportation research center

Cornell has been awarded up to $7 million over five years to lead a consortium of universities exploring new transportation innovations that limit adverse impacts on public health and the environment.