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.


For a healthier you, let your smartphone call it in

The National Science Foundation has awarded a five-year, $3 million grant to a multidisciplinary group of Cornell researchers who are developing a device to help you track your health right in the palm of your hand.

Genetics used to improve plants for bioenergy

A genetics investigation into the symbiosis between soil fungi and plants for bioenergy production could lead to more efficient uptake of nutrients, which would help limit the need for fertilizers.

New Cornell Alliance for Science gets $5.6 million grant

With $5.6 million the Gates Foundation, the Cornell Alliance for Science will help inform decision-makers and consumers effectively communicate how agricultural technology works and its potential impacts.

To bolster lithium battery life, add a little salt

Striving to achieve safer, longer-lasting batteries for the modern world’s trappings – automobiles, cell phones, computers, autonomous robots – Cornell chemical engineers have added salt to their chemistry.

$20M grant to support developing eco-friendly plastics

A five-year, $20 million National Science Foundation grant will allow chemists from Cornell and other institutions to study new ways to make plastics more sustainable.

Grad students master mentoring in Arizona field course

Three graduate students learned from faculty members Jed Sparks and Harry Greene how to teach field courses to undergraduates on a 10-day field course to Arizona.

Liners can protect pipelines during earthquakes

Cornell civil engineers have found that retrofitting pipelines with flexible tubular membranes saturated with thermosetting resin could prevent earthquake damage to seismically vulnerable pipelines in the U.S.

Ag secretary briefed on nutrition, dairy, climate research

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack met with Cornell faculty members July 29 to learn about solutions in the realm of dairy, nutrition and climate change.

Book on international development has site for online dialogue

A book on international development co-edited by a Cornell professor has spawned a website for continuing discussion.