Boston University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Awarded by BU Campus Climate Lab in Winter 2023, Questrom PhD student Valerio Iannucci (mentor), CAS Sociology students Talya Havivi and Nikki H. Huang, led a project about the power of art to communicate sustainability, build community and achieve system change. The researchers aim to triangulate artifacts and manuscripts from archives across the nation with an ethnographic observation of climate change activists in Boston to understand how public display of art can foster collective engagement on the issue of sustainability and equitable futures. Their plans for Spring 2023 included collaborating with BU Arts Initiative to host a one-day event on campus that includes an art workshop open to all BU students and a panel discussion with BU faculty and climate change artists from Massachusetts to present research and discuss findings. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/03/Havivi_Huang_Iannucci_Fall2022.pptx

In Spring 2023, two masters students, Jiaoxue Liu (MS Candidate, Applied Business Analytics, MET) and Yujue Tan (MS Candidate, Applied Business Analytics, MET), developed a project under BU Campus Climate Lab to research climate change impacts and mitigation strategies on Boston University Medical Center. This project addresses how climate change will impact the ability of the Boston Medical Center to effectively serve its patients and aims to recommend mitigation strategies that create resiliency to confront these impacts. Climate-related risks that will affect both patient demand and the medical center’s supply chain will be identified and their likelihood and severities quantified. The project will be supervised by BU Metropolitan College faculty members John Maleyeff and David Weidman, who offer their expertise in supply chain and emergency management. The work will be performed by Jiaoxue Liu and Yujue Tan, who are studying enterprise risk management and applied business analytics. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/06/BUMC-Climate-Change-Mitigations_Presentation_04122023.pdf

Presented under Campus Climate Lab in Spring 2023, students Matthew Manberg (Earth and Environment, CAS), Natalie Erb (Earth and Environment, CAS), and Claire Gardner (School of Theatre, CFA), led by Dr. Salvatore Genovesse (Natural Sciences and Mathematics, CGS), and Dr. Nathan Phillips (Earth and Environment, CAS), developed a project about Aquaponics, art, and indigenous food sovereignty. This project will display multi-media paintings on recycled materials of Wampanoag peoples and their traditional food sources mounted on two tanks. The tanks will come from a study aiming to extract data from the potential of algae growth. In the Art Exhibit, this team will work with the Wampanoag nation utilizing an interview with interdisciplinary artist and activist Siobhan Growing Elm Brown to investigate methods of combating environmental racism through the affirmation of indigenous sovereignty and food sovereignty. This project forefronts the power of art in that it is a catalyst to communicate sustainability, build community, and achieve system change in the context of the milieu of climate change discussion at BU. It gives the indigenous community, who experience disproportionate environmental racism, a platform. The research in aquaponics explores aquaponics’ advantages to sequestering more carbon, cutting labor costs, and avoiding soil degradation in the context of indigenous food insecurity. In doing so, the university is elevating its position in addressing the broader challenges of climate change in the understanding of all community members. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/06/Aquaponics_Art_Indigenous_Food_Sovereignty.pdf

Awarded funding by BU Campus Climate Lab in Summer 2023, Benjamin Pedi (Mechanical Engineering, ENG), and Lorenzo Barale (Mechanical Engineering, ENG), mentored by Dr. Emily Ryan (Mechanical Engineering, ENG), proposed a project about bicycle-mounted air pollution monitors. This project aims to design a sensor pack that could be mounted on a bicycle to measure local pollution levels around the city. Air pollution is a general public health issue and is also strongly tied to equity and justice issues in Boston and other major cities. Developing a sensor pack that can collect data around the city can help in determining public policy connected to transportation, green space, public housing, and more. In this project a sensor pack will be prototyped, and the data analyzed to understand the accuracy of the data and how the data varies during different times of the day. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/

Since the summer of 2020, the project of developing heating electrification strategies to decarbonize Boston University's Charles River Campus continues with current student researchers Christopher Lambert (ENG’24), Amanda Baumann (ENG’24), and faculty advisor Professor Michael Gevelber (ENG). Moving on from phase 4 in 2022, Spring 2023 phase 5 focuses on the selection of pilot demonstrating buildings, summer re-heat, and analysis of ground source heat pump opportunities. Plans for the spring included conducting experiments to determine the heating capabilities at lower working fluid temperatures than the boiler is designed for PRB, working with equipment vendors and specific ASHP models to determine which is best suited for high-temperature buildings while achieving significant decarbonization, analyzing expected GHG reduction and cost estimates with new information about boiler/ASHP integration, refining decarbonization estimate for the university as a whole, performing cost and performance analysis of summer reheat, and researching in energy efficiency opportunities. This project builds on the work of previous student researchers and has been continuously re-awarded funding by BU Campus Climate Lab. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/03/Baumann_Lambert_Fall2022.pptx

In Winter 2023, undergraduate student Jakub Zolkos, PhD candidate Mertcan Cokbas and Professor Janusz Konrad, all from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and undergraduate student Vladimir Pyltsov and Professor Michael Gevelber, both from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, presented their research project funded by BU Campus Climate Lab on evaluating alternative sensors to minimize HVAC energy use in Boston University buildings to ensure indoor air quality. Current HVAC systems waste energy due to maximum airflow even for a few people. Reducing this energy waste is a crucial step towards a sustainable campus. The research aims to evaluate two alternative sensing approaches to “right-sizing” airflow based on the level of occupancy. By comparing the accuracy of both approaches in determining occupancy in large classrooms and open offices, researchers provide an estimate of the potential savings offered by such technologies in several buildings with different room types. The project concluded that both systems are accurate for Demand-Controlled Ventilation to realize energy savings. In comparison, a CO2-based system is less expensive and simpler to implement but less robust than a camera-based system for the right size airflow in campus indoor spaces. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/03/Pyltsov_Zolkos_Cokbas_Fall2022.pptx

During Spring 2023, 4 students from the Mechanical Department, Jainil Surelia (Mechanical Engineering, ENG ’23), Hoshing Lau (Mechanical Engineering, ENG ’23), Easus Jimenez Y West (Mechanical Engineering, ENG ’23), and Ryan Indarto (Mechanical Engineering, ENG ’23), led by faculty mentor Dr. Anthony Linn (Mechanical Engineering, ENG), designed and executed the project Vehicle Energy Harvester funded by BU Campus Climate Lab. The Vehicle Energy Harvester project harvests electricity from vehicles passing on a road. The prototype will be installed on the surface of the road. The project would rely entirely on Mechanical and Electrical principles to achieve the desired results. Currently, there are no external forms of energy recycling at the parking lot, but the consistent flow of cars in and out of the parking lot every day offers a great opportunity to collect clean energy and distribute it across the utilities at the parking lot. The Capstone project aims to create a mechanism that can transform linear to rotational motion to power up a generator for power distribution. The entire mechanism goes underground, and the system will work as a typical parking lot speed bump. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/06/Vehicle_Energy_Harvester.pdf

Continuing the Warren Garden Project funded by BU Campus Climate Lab since the summer of 2021, a community garden network will be developed on campus with an established distribution system over the summer and fall of 2023. The Warren Towers Garden and the Fenway rooftop garden have been extremely popular with students, and the project aims to expand access, and student involvement, and increase campus-grown fresh produce. Establishing a permanent greenhouse on campus this year will provide the long-term sustainability necessary for growing both annual and perennial crops for years to come. In Spring 2023, BU Community Garden provided fresh green harvests to the BU student community for free and herbs to the BU Dining Services for the farm-to-table dinner and Earth Day celebration. They have also promoted sustainable agriculture and student engagement by hosting open houses on Earth Day, inviting students to plant fruits and vegetables, maintain garden beds, and learn sustainable urban gardening techniques. Students and faculty involved include Renata Feinstein (BA Candidate, Wheelock), Matthew Kalinowski (BA Candidate, Earth and Environment, CAS ’24), Charlotte Galusza (BA Candidate, Earth and Environment, CAS), Carolina Ceribelli (BA Candidate, Wheelock), Sophia Tigges (Mentor), Dr. Ellen Faszewski (Faculty Mentor, Wheelock), Dr. Thomas J. McKenna (Faculty mentor, Wheelock), and Dr. Nathan Phillips (Faculty Mentor, Earth and Environment, CAS). URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/archive/

In spring 2023, undergraduate students Zain Ahmed (ENG ’25) and Ankit Patro (Pardee School of Global Studies, CAS ’25), led by Zakaria Elkawa (Pardee School of Global Studies, CAS ’23), proposed a project to BU Campus Climate Lab on transforming Cummington Mall into a more walkable and climate friendly area. This project aims to develop a feasibility study that assesses the ease of how BU can re-design and implement changes to make Cummington Mall a more welcoming and open space for the BU community. This is the first phase of the feasibility study as researchers utilize tactical urbanism as a framework to research case studies of other cities' implementation and scientific studies of people-oriented city designs in community-oriented environments. These studies suggested simple and effective measures suitable for Cummington Mall that can make the area more dynamic, sustainable, and inviting to all members and commuters of the area. The project created a visualization of how the area would look if measurements such as bike lanes and green spaces were implemented in the area for a more walkable and sustainable environment. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/06/Transforming_Cummington_Mall_Slides.pdf

In winter 2023, team members Carly Golden (Ph.D. student), Saylor Williams (Lab manager), Angie Serrano (PI mentor), and Greg Miller (CReM Lab Manager) started a project establishing sustainable laboratory practices and standard operating procedures that offset waste production in biomedical research. Funded by BU Campus Climate Lab, this project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of different waste management schemes and sustainability assessments targeting the unavoidable waste produced in biomedical research practices. Researchers will implement several recycling services and sustainable practices, such as Kimberly Clark Right Cycle program, My Green Lab, Polycarbin, and energy usage monitoring of large equipment, which will allow them to track their overall impact on the environment. A second goal of this project is to establish standard operating procedures for sustainable practices that can be easily incorporated into everyday research tasks and adopted by the wider BUSM community when addressing waste production in research labs. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/05/AprilCLLPresentation.pptx \

In winter 2023, undergraduate student Muntasir Meah serving as a Sustainability Intern for Boston University Dining with Alexandra Raczka, the Sustainability Director of BU Dining Services, and advised by Ziba Cranmer, the Director of BU SPARK!, developed a post-consumer waste reduction machine learning program under BU Campus Climate Lab. This project pilots a machine-learning image classification model available on an app, TensorFlow, to classify images of post-consumer plate waste into categories of commonly wasted meals and determine the most common sources of post-consumer waste at Boston University’s dining halls. The improved identification process will allow university dining managers to better understand the most wasted menu items and modify menus to reduce post-consumer food waste. This project will be implemented to discover the most commonly wasted meals to modify menus, recipes, and/or portion sizes and thereby reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions generated in the supply chain of food production thus assisting Boston University in achieving Zero Waste targets as part of their Climate Action Plan. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2022/08/Meah_220516.pdf

Awarded by BU Campus Climate Lab in the summer of 2023, undergraduate students Manpreet Singh (MGP Candidate, Pardee School of Global Studies, ’24) and Rachel Hull (MAIA Candidate, Pardee School of Global Studies, ’24), mentored by Dr. Mahesh Karra (Faculty Mentor, Pardee School of Global Studies), developed a project addressing BU's scope 3 emissions by measuring BU's water consumption levels. Boston University, as a non-state actor, plays a crucial role in water consumption and management in the city of Boston, serving a larger population of students, faculty, visitors, and staff. Over the summer of 2023, this project aims to assess variation in water use and consumption across BU campuses (Charles River, Fenway, and MED) while also providing a deeper lens looking at each campus on a building-by-building basis from 2006 to 2022. The goal of this project is to identify sources of consumption that contribute to a larger water footprint and understand BU’s scope 3 emissions as related to water consumption. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/

Awarded funding by BU Campus Climate Lab in Summer 2023, undergraduate students Inal Shomakhov (BS candidate, ENG, ’26), Nahiyan Muhammad (BS Candidate, ENG, ’25), and Dr. Raymond Nagem (Faculty Mentor, ME), developed a project on improved Seabin technology: Charles River cleaning initiative. Rivers and other water bodies, such as the Charles River, are vital resources that provide clean water for drinking, recreation, and habitat for aquatic life. Unfortunately, due to human activities, these water bodies have become severely polluted by non-degradable plastic litter, especially near docks or lagoons. The proposed research project aims to address this issue on the BU campus territory by designing a water surface litter collector, based on the Seabin Project, that is adaptable to shifts in water level, energy-free, and effective at collecting plastic while being safe for marine life. Currently, they are working on designing an energy-free pressure pump and researching filtering methods and sustainable materials that will be used in manufacturing. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/archive/

Presented in Winter 2023, a group of BU students developed a project evaluating the efficacy of extreme weather and climate preparedness across Boston University campuses. Extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent and severe with continued climate change. This project aims to critically review Boston University’s existing extreme weather preparedness plan (EWPP) and evaluate community needs by assessing perceptions, utilization, and critiques of ongoing extreme weather preparedness activities across BU’s Charles River and Medical Campuses. Through a qualitative investigation, they hope to identify opportunities for increased accessibility to the services provided by the EWPP, particularly among vulnerable groups within the BU community. Report findings go back to both Boston University and climate and health networks to strengthen urban college communities and cities in their extreme weather response. Results will inform efficient resource utilization. Examples include providing internal & external heat safety messaging and opening/operating cooling centers during extreme heat events. Their team consists of PhD student, Quinn Adams; medical student, Neil Singh Bedi; MPH student, Katharine Teigen; and professors Amruta Nori-Sarma and Gregory Wellenius, all affiliated with the Department of Environmental Health at the School of Public Health. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/03/Adams_Bedi_Teigen_Fall2022.pptx

In winter 2023, Alice Scollins, a Political Science undergraduate student, and Mya Briones, an Environmental Analysis and Policy undergraduate student, mentored and collaborated with Earth and Environment professors Anne Short Gianotti and Abigail Sullivan, and BU Sustainability Director Lisa Tornatore, presented their project about fostering diversity in sustainability through an assessment of undergraduates' perceived barriers to and experiences with sustainability education opportunities. This project investigates how undergraduate students at BU perceive, decide to engage with (or not), and experience sustainability-oriented educational opportunities at BU. The final steps of their continuing project will include focus groups with both student groups and sustainability faculty, which enhances their survey research that was previously compiled during the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 semesters. The goal of the project is to contribute to BU’s efforts to ensure “every undergraduate [is] touched in some way” by sustainability and climate education (as outlined in section VII of BU’s Climate Action Plan). URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/files/2023/03/Scollins_Briones_SlideDeck_Fall2022.pptx

During the Summer of 2023, BU Impact Measurement & Allocation Program (IMAP) hosted two summer fellows as part of the IGS (Institute for Global Sustainability) Graduate Student Summer Fellows program. IMAP supports research that enables financial investors to better understand the environmental and social impacts of their corporate investments. IMAP is jointly led by the Susilo Institute for Ethics in the Global Economy at the Questrom School of Business and the Institute for Global Sustainability at BU. Sakshi, a master’s student in BU’s Department of Computer Science, will be building a database in MongoDB for the Corporate Carbon Risk project, enabling the project to efficiently grow both its data and analyses. She’ll import and analyze historical data on carbon emissions, future carbon target statements, progress on capital investment projects, emissions reduction initiatives, and other unique circumstances of each corporation and industry sector. Claudia, a PhD student in BU’s Department of Earth and the Environment, will be conducting a content analysis of municipal budgets and capital finance plans of ten selected cities in the United States that have explicitly incorporated justice into their climate action planning. She’ll pilot a method to systematically assess and compare climate finance across those cities. By analyzing how these cities are funding and financing climate action, whether and how they incorporate justice into budgeting planning, and the types of climate programs and policies to which investments are being directed, this research will explore the role that climate finance plays in the implementation of just urban transitions. URLs: https://www.bu.edu/imap/2023/06/07/imap-welcomes-2-new-researchers-for-the-summer/ https://www.bu.edu/imap/2023/07/27/2023-summer-fellows-wrap-up-their-projects/

Awarded by BU Campus Climate Lab, researchers Rachel Barton (MA Candidate, School of Theology) and Dr. Rebecca Copeland (School of Theology) developed a project called Living Faithfully in the Anthropocene in Spring 2023. This project will gather faith leaders and groups across campus to develop faith-based responses to Climate Change. By bringing leaders from across different faith traditions into dialogue across differences and conversations centered around environmental justice, this project seeks to galvanize faithful commitments to care for the Earth into inter-faith actions that support a more just and whole campus and community at BU. This project used the BU campus as a living laboratory to test the hypothesis that there is an appetite for interfaith dialogue and action around environmental justice at BU among the undergraduate population. URL: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/archive/

This represents FY2023 BU Metrics. More Information: https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/ https://www.bu.edu/igs/research/campus-climate-lab/research-projects/archive/ Investment & Finance: https://www.bu.edu/imap/2023/06/07/imap-welcomes-2-new-researchers-for-the-summer/