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.


New York Outcomes Fund spurs, supports growers’ sustainability efforts

Run by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the fund delivered payments and provided support to growers who planted cover crops and reduced tillage on nearly 15,000 acres in western and central New York.

Cornell to help revamp Chattanooga public transit with AI power

Cornell researchers are helping to transform portions of Chattanooga’s transit system into a seamless, AI-powered network where buses, shuttles, electric cars and bikes work together to provide the most efficient routes – at the push of a button.

Day-long conference celebrates Cornell Atkinson at 15

The Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability will celebrate its 15th anniversary with a daylong program on April 10, highlighting the center’s varied research and success in developing partnerships that benefit people and the planet.

Economic, environmental and social context are essential to achieving sustainable livestock production

Scientists publish findings from an analysis of 10 livestock systems around the globe

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Cornell to help pinpoint cause of massive honeybee die-offs

Cornell bee experts are analyzing samples of bees and related material to help identify the cause of unprecedented managed honeybee losses this winter.

Kaplan Fellowship recognizes Ahmann’s community-engaged work for environmental justice

Chloe Ahmann, assistant professor of anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, is helping local organizers in their quest for environmental justice — and bringing her students along. For this work, Ahmann was named recipient of this year’s Kaplan Family Distinguished Faculty Fellowship.

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Electrons travel one of two routes in nano-biohybrid systems

Researchers have identified exactly what happens when a microbe receives an electron from a quantum dot: The charge can either follow a direct pathway or be transferred indirectly via the microbe’s shuttle molecules.

First Level 3 EV fast-charging station opens on campus

With a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, Interim President Michael I. Kotlikoff on March 11 officially launched the Abruña Energy Initiative Level 3 EV fast-charging station, named in honor of initiative founder Héctor D. Abruña, professor of chemistry.

Changes in bats’ diets increase spread of viruses, spillover risk

When bats lose access to their habitat and natural food sources, they seek food on agricultural lands - new research explains why, when their diets change, they shed more virus and infect more hosts, increasing the risk of outbreaks and pandemics.