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.


Renowned biochemist David B. Wilson dies at 77

David B. Wilson, professor of molecular biology and genetics and a world leader in the field of enzymology, died April 29. He was 77.

Cornell researchers map wind to better harvest energy

Cornell scientists and engineers are seeing wind in high resolution, creating the world's largest, most-detailed wind maps ever from the picturesque hills of Perdigão, Portugal.

Preserving our 'pale blue dot' is focus of first Sagan lecture

Lord Martin Rees, who has probed deep into the cosmos, studied gamma-ray bursts and galactic formation, spoke May 8 at Cornell on issues closer to home: the preservation of our “pale blue dot.”

Sweet compounds aid water retention in dry soil

Organic material added by plant roots and microbes provide nutritious candy for the soil. Literally. Cellular sugar boosts water and nutrient retention, says new Cornell research.

Cornell's Innovations in Food Systems Forum is June 7

Dig into digital agriculture, comprehend plant breeding biotechnology, and learn out how the microbiome may solve food production problems at an agricultural technology and partnership forum June 7.

Collaborative startup will monitor pathogens in hospital settings

Biotia, a startup offering microbial surveillance for hospitals, is a joint venture between researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell Tech, founded through the Runway Startup program at the Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute at Cornell Tech.

Asia conference highlights Cornell's sustainability efforts

A conference in Hong Kong April 6-7 brought together 80 researchers and practitioners in Asia and the United States to share sustainable practices and solutions.

CURB enthusiasm: Undergrads show off research at forum

More than 80 students unveiled their scholarly work at the 32nd annual Spring Research Forum hosted April 27 by the Cornell Undergraduate Research Board.

Cornell students swelter in D.C. to cool a warming Earth

Cornell undergraduates joined 200,000 green advocates to parade down Washington's Pennsylvania Avenue for the Peoples Climate March April 29 – in sultry heat – to advocate for rescuing the world from environmental deterioration.