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.


Cornell, startup receive $7M for novel clean energy tech

Cornell researchers and a startup have received more than $7 million in federal grants to advance novel clean energy research that includes wirelessly charging electric vehicles, low-carbon jet fuel and construction materials made from waste.

Unbuild better: a Collegetown case study in deconstruction

A project led by Felix Heisel and community partners is investigating deconstruction’s potential as a more sustainable alternative to building demolition, a source of significant waste that contributes to climate change.

Students honored with entrepreneurial fellowships

Twenty-six students with businesses ranging from drinking water treatment to alternative medicine to kitchen robots, received fellowships to work on their businesses this summer.

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Cornell-inspired NY soil law buoys climate-change resilience

New York growers will get a sustainable boost this planting season from the new Soil Health and Climate Resiliency Act – backed up by Cornell research – and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Engineers reveal cause of key sodium-ion battery flaw

A new X-ray technique developed by Cornell engineers has revealed the cause of a long-identified flaw in sodium-ion batteries; a discovery that could prove to be a major step toward making sodium-ion as ubiquitous as lithium-ion.

NYS Gov. Hochul to Cornell students: ‘We need your voices’

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined plans for rebuilding the state’s infrastructure Feb. 10 at a New York City event sponsored by Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs.

Electrostatic engineering gets the lead out for faster batteries

A Cornell-led collaboration has discovered a new approach for making a lead-free antiferroelectric material that performs as well as its toxic relatives.

Former NYC sustainability head Ben Furnas ‘06 to direct University Climate Initiative

Ben Furnas, ’06, has been hired as executive director of The 2030 Project: A Cornell Climate Initiative.

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Texas power crisis revealed flaw in market’s design

New research finds decentralized electricity markets are prone to underinvestment in resilience to rare events like the severe winter storms that crippled the Texas grid a year ago.