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.


Reid to address nitrogen pollution with NSF CAREER Award

Assistant professor Matthew Reid received an NSF CAREER Award to research how carbon can be transformed in the environment to create fuel for nitrogen-consuming bacteria, ultimately reducing nutrient pollution.

Around Cornell

Underwater robot helps explain Antarctic glacier’s retreat

First-of-their-kind observations reveal new details about melting at the grounding line of the vulnerable Thwaites Glacier that is contributing to its retreat and potentially to sea-level rise, according to Cornell researchers and international collaborators.

Milner wins Scialog award to advance methane mitigation

The Scialog initiative aims to catalyze advances in basic science that will enable technologies for removal of C02 and other greenhouse gases to become more efficient, affordable and scalable.

Around Cornell

Cornell-led Team Selected for NSF's Convergence Accelerator

The project, dubbed AUGER (Accelerating Use of Geologically-driven Engineering & Reclamation), was awarded $739K of funding from NSF’s Convergence Accelerator to support translational research combining x-ray and hyperspectral imaging capabilities at CHESS with remote sensing techniques to link macroscale data with microscale mineral properties to create predictive mining insights.

Around Cornell

Precise magma locations aid volcanic eruption forecasts

Cornell scientists have unearthed precise, microscopic clues to where magma is stored in Earth’s mantle, offering scientists – and government officials – a way to gauge volcanic eruption risk.

Rare drought coincided with Hittite Empire collapse

An interdisciplinary collaboration used tree ring and isotope records to pinpoint a likely culprit for the collapse of the Hittite Empire: three straight years of severe drought in an already dry period.

Sprout Awards grow ‘exciting’ pilot projects in engineering

From new approaches for tendon injury treatment to biomass-based construction materials, Cornell Engineering’s inaugural Sprout Awards are funding unique research projects with the potential to grow partnerships across Cornell.

Around Cornell

NY Lt. Gov. tour highlights sustainability, equity

New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado engaged with students and faculty on topics ranging from biological engineering to nutrition to 4-H programs during his first tour of the Ithaca campus on Feb. 2.

Wild bumblebee queens lured and killed in commercial hives

A new study finds that nest boxes of commercial eastern common bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) lead to the deaths of wild queens who are attracted to the brightly colored hives.