Drexel University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Drexel University emphasizes experiential learning for all students with global research partnerships, field sites and state-of-the-art facilities. There are numerous opportunities to gain hands-on experience from day one: from the first-year STAR (Students Tackling Advanced Research) Scholars Program to research co-ops and assistantships. Students benefit from the mentorship and instruction of top scientists from Drexel’s Academy of Natural Sciences and the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science. In addition, Drexel’s Office of Global Engagement, which helps coordinate Drexel’s annual involvement in the UNFCCC Conference of Parties, offers Global Climate Action Awards. These awards are small seed grants for student and faculty to catalyze new international research related to climate and sustainability. Drexel has sent students to the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties annual conference every year since 2015. Also, the Office of Global Engagement annually holds the Student Conference on Global Challenges. In it’s 14th year, the conference highlights the research of undergraduate and graduate researchers who are working on the world’s most pressing challenges. The Office of Global Engagement also provides annual access to the Student Global Leadership Conference. The Foundation for International Education (FIE)'s Student Global Leadership Conference (SGLC) invites students who feel passionately about sustainability, diversity & inclusivity, social justice and human rights. This year, the conference will have online offerings available for Drexel students to attend for free.

The former, A.J. Drexel Institute for Energy and the Environment consisted of over 100 affiliated faculty representing every college and school from across the university. Launched to promote interdisciplinary research, expanded scholarship and enhanced civic engagement the institute has provided seed funds in excess of $300K to numerous projects ranging from fundamental research on novel materials for renewable energy generation and storage to a deep decarbonization study conducted in cooperation with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. Seed funded projects always required investigators from at least 3 different disciplines. Drexel is currently transitioning the former institute into a new center modeled on the cogeneration of research questions and outcomes with communities in need. Called The Environmental Collaboratory (TEC) it encourages and nurtures sustainability research and promotes multidisciplinary collaboration across the university and the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University. In the coming months TEC, with support from the Office of Research and Innovation will be launching a Rapid Response Research Development Fund focused on seed funding for multidisciplinary sustainability and climate related research.

Drexel libraries offers research consultations with sustainability specialist librarian, a large collection of resources focused on sustainability (such as the environmental science LibGuides resources page linked below), and information assistance available via chat, phone, email, and walk-up onsite at library locations.