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.


From the Living Lab: Students tackle campus trash and food waste

From donating excess dining hall food to surveying their peers' leftovers, students reduce waste and make campus more sustainable. 

David Lodge, ecologist and Cornell Atkinson director, to retire

David Lodge, ecologist and director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, will retire May 22, 2026.

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Low-cost solution to parasite, poverty at risk from possible NSF cuts

Cornell-led research linking poverty and disease – and a promising path out of both – faces an uncertain future as federal science funding comes under pressure.

Mass timber industry offers sustainable construction, high-quality jobs

The ILR School’s Climate Jobs Institute presented its primer on the how the production of mass timber can create jobs and accelerate the creation of affordable housing.

Wine’s leftovers could help wean chicken farms off antibiotics

A new study finds that grape pomace – the skins, seeds and stems left over from winemaking – may match the growth-promoting effects of antibiotic additives in broiler chickens, without the public health risks.

Sea Grant seeks graduate students for 2027 Marine Policy Fellowship Program in D.C.

New York Sea Grant is looking for graduate students to apply for Sea Grant’s John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, a nationwide program that provides year-long unique opportunities to work in Washington, D.C. executive and legislative offices where they contribute to real-world marine policy work.   

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Over hill and dale, students’ Internet of Things projects benefit Finger Lakes communities

Students in a Duffield Engineering class are equipping a racing baton and a flying drone with Internet of Things technology to address challenges in and around Geneva, N.Y.

From the Living Lab: Small biodigester to fuel research, extension

One of the newest additions to Cornell’s Living Lab, the anaerobic digester will generate electricity and provide a real-world testbed for researchers across campus. 

Entrepreneurial students win awards for summer work on their startups

Thirty student startups received Human Spirit, Beck Fellows and Cane Entrepreneurial Scholars awards this summer from Entrepreneurship at Cornell, funding that will allow students to work on their startups rather than take traditional summer positions.

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