Princeton University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

The Seed Farm at Princeton is an active collaboration between students, scholars, and community partners looking to explore environmental justice, mutualism, and society's relationship to the environment. Since 2022, this project has leveraged robust community-campus partnerships, to grows and researches rare, culturally significant seed crops. 

The project engages students in a variety of ways. First, the Seed Farm employs up to 20 students each year to help operate the 3.5 acre farm. These students collaborate with Princeton faculty and researchers on discrete projects and engage with partnered BIPOC community groups. The Seed Farm also hosts many events throughout the year to inform the campus community and advance the project's research goals.  Last year, the Eco Reps hosted weekly sessions to prepare high volumes of okra for a research project at the Seed Farm. The events--open to all staff, faculty, and students--provided a chance to learn more about okra's cultural and historical significance while furthering an experiment's exploration of the crop's potential as a seed oil. The Seed Farm also hosted numerous Environmental Justice workshops with noted scholar Running Grass. 

The Seed Farm at Princeton is an active collaboration between students, scholars, and community partners looking to explore environmental justice, mutualism, and society's relationship to the environment. Since 2022, this project has leveraged robust community-campus partnerships, to grows and researches rare, culturally significant seed crops. 

The project engages students in a variety of ways. First, the Seed Farm employs up to 20 students each year to help operate the 3.5 acre farm. These students collaborate with Princeton faculty and researchers on discrete projects and engage with partnered BIPOC community groups. The Seed Farm also hosts many events throughout the year to inform the campus community and advance the project's research goals.  Last year, the Eco Reps hosted weekly sessions to prepare high volumes of okra for a research project at the Seed Farm. The events--open to all staff, faculty, and students--provided a chance to learn more about okra's cultural and historical significance while furthering an experiment's exploration of the crop's potential as a seed oil. The Seed Farm also hosted numerous Environmental Justice workshops with noted scholar Running Grass. 

Vinay Konuru, an electrical and computer engineering student, is working on a CAL project for direct air capture (DAC) of CO2, aligning with Princeton’s target to reduce greenhouse emissions by 2046. This aims to pilot DAC system on campus capable of capturing about 1 ton of CO2 per year with the help of engineering students from the Princeton University Energy Association (PUEA). As PUEA president, Vinay has organized a major conference, restructured the association to enhance member engagement, and led initiatives like applying for grants to install electric vehicle charging stations in underserved areas. 

Beginning in FY23, James Coleman, a graduate student in the C.H.A.O.S. lab, has led an indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring project at Dillon Gym on campus. This project involves implementing occupancy counting that allows for integration within the building management system (BMS) for efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation at the gym. The goal is to identify, quantify, and field-validate optimal control strategies for spaces with high occupant variability by fine-tuning outdoor air rates while ensuring healthfulness and building code-defined air flow rates. This project will be extended to new dormitories and academic buildings being built on campus, e.g., for dining hall and dorm-level IAQ monitoring. 

In spring 2024, The Center for Policy Research in Energy and the Environment at the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) invited Dr. Nicky Sheats for a Princeton Sustainability Committee Session on particulate fine matter, in which he proposed a policy to ensure climate change mitigation improves the health of environmental justice communities by reducing harmful emissions from power plants.

With the help of CAL research from undergraduate Patrick Newcombe, Professor Cassie Stoddard has successfully advocated for new bird-safe language in Design Standards Manual on campus for all future buildings. This language makes bird-safe glass a mandatory requirement for all new campus buildings. Campus as Lab efforts around bird-safe glass began in FY19 and have continued in various iterations through 2024. 

An upcoming CAL project (AY25) led by Prof. Satish Myneni from the Department of Geosciences will study green roof spaces across campus to understand the impact of different plant types on water runoff from the roofs. 

In spring 2024, the Office of Sustainability launched an interactive exhibition of Princeton’s transition from steam to hot water heating through geo-exchange technology. This Geo-Exchange Exposition, led by Prof. Forrest Meggers (School of Architecture) and Ijeoma Nwagwu (Office of Sustainability), communicates the University’s huge financial investment into digging geo-exchange bores and replacing steam piping across campus. 

Beginning in FY23, James Coleman, a graduate student in the C.H.A.O.S. lab, has led an indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring project at Dillon Gym on campus. This project involves implementing occupancy counting that allows for integration within the building management system (BMS) for efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation at the gym. The goal is to identify, quantify, and field-validate optimal control strategies for spaces with high occupant variability by fine-tuning outdoor air rates while ensuring healthfulness and building code-defined air flow rates. This project will be extended to new dormitories and academic buildings being built on campus, e.g., for dining hall and dorm-level IAQ monitoring. 

In AY22-25, The Office of Sustainability has actively collaborated with Evidn, a behavioral science consulting firm, to understand student and researcher energy usage behaviors in dorms and academic buildings. The main goal of this project is to increase energy efficiency on campus and initial findings have led to the development of an energy conservation program in campus labs and event spaces. 

The Forbes Garden is an ongoing student demonstration garden at Forbes College. It serves as a tranquil space for the students to connect with nature and as a place to grow organic produce on campus. A current Campus as Lab project (2024-present) aims to revitalize and rebuild the garden, which became less active during COVID. Under the tutelage of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Sigrid Adriaenssen, the participating students will reconsider the purpose and function of the Forbes Garden and develop/execute a plan to improve the space. The group will focus on the intersection of sustainability, wellness, food, landscaping, and architecture as they reenvision this valuable space just off Main Campus. The end result will prioritize the vitality and connectedness of the wildlife and plants in the Garden, as well as, the benefits to the campus community. This process will put students in collaboration with engineering faculty as well as Facilities staff.

In 2023, Prof. Raj Moulik (Geosciences) launched a new course project to study New Jersey’s regional geology using tailings from geo-exchange boreholes. Students engaged with experts and faculty through field visits that explored the geology-influenced design elements of the geo-exchange system.

In the CAL course Investigating an Ethos of Sustainability (AY 2022-2024) a student conducted a research project to investigate sustainable procurement practices at Princeton. The project focused on departmental purchasing through an online service Marketplace. The research found that despite the University’s Sustainability Action Plan guidelines, cost remains the primary factor in purchasing decisions. 

An anonymous survey conducted by the student showed that 80% of requisition creators would benefit from a service that provides or highlights sustainable alternatives. Following extensive engagement with University procurement staff and the Office of Sustainability, the study proposed a redesigned interface for Marketplace that highlights sustainable options to encourage eco-friendly purchasing.

In November 2022 Thermodynamics (MAE 221) students toured the University’s new EV buses in a tour set up by the CAL program. The students learned from Transportation staff about Princeton's transition from diesel-powered buses to electric, and the environmental implications of that change. 

Beginning in FY 2023, Princeton University Robotics Club started to sustainably retrofit a 1990s era golf cart by installing solar panels and software. The goal is to equip the cart to drive itself to optimal charging stations. To date the group has installed a new motor, modern lithium batteries that are lighter and more efficient, and a solar charge controller. In the future, they will attempt to implement automation for throttle and steering.

The Sustainable Composting Research at Princeton (SCRAP Lab), led by Sustainability Project Manager and alum Gina Talt, is the University's longest-running and largest Campus as Lab project. From 2016-present, the SCRAP Lab has served as a demonstration of small-scale composting technology, landfill diversion, soil revitalization, and student engagement. The SCRAP Lab has focused on expanding the use of compostable products on campus, improving food scrap collection processes, and composting food scraps from Retail dining options. 

In spring 2024, Ian Gunady, a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering graduate student, led a landfill diversion project in collaboration with Princeton’s GradFutures program. This project sought to decrease Princeton's waste to landfill by better understanding the campus’s waste profile and bin infrastructure. The research centered around a “binventory” that seeks to understand what kind of waste Princeton produces, what bin infrastructure exists, and how to optimize bin locations. 

In summer 2024 Gavi Carter and Ryan Boyd, fellows in the Office of Sustainability, worked on a baseline report on waste reduction on campus. The report helped to direct future waste diversion and reduction CAL projects on campus.

Princeton University students affiliated with the High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) lead a Stream Watch project in collaboration with the Watershed Institute, a local enviornmental non-profit in central New Jersey, and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to measure and record water quality data from around central New Jersey by testing water chemistry, bacteria levels, and assessing the biological and physical health of local waterways. The Stream Watch data helps the Watershed Insistute better assess the impacts of pollution and land use on local streams and determine actions necessary to protect and improve water quality. Following this project, the NJDEP released a clean water report card in 2023, which compiled water quality data for central New Jersey from 2019 to 2023.

A low-carbon concrete project at a new parking garage on campus has served as a prototype to plan for future low-carbon concrete use in industry. Daniel Trujillo, a senior thesis student advised by Professor Branko Glisic and Raymond Sandiford, studied the performance of CO2-injected concrete during and after construction to support future research on this technology. This FY 2023 project was vital in expanding the limited literature on the behavior of carbon-sequestering concrete in real-world settings. Specifically, this student used data from Fiber Bragg Grating sensors installed in the garage’s column and slab to analyze the behavior of the low-carbon concrete. This study compared the temperature and strain changes during construction and post-construction for a detailed structural analysis of the column.

Students in a 2023 course from Prof. Hanna Garth called Food, Culture, and Society partnered with a local nonprofit called Arm in Arm. The students volunteered weekly to pack food baskets while they used ethnographic research methods to explore responses to a question on the agency’s mind: when we know that there is so much hunger and malnutrition in our community, why don’t more people use our services? Students identified approaches to address this concern, including reimagining signage, collaborating with local agencies to improve parking accessibility, establishing volunteer trainings, and forging closer relationships with the university via sustained volunteering. 

In 2022, a senior thesis student, Harry Shapiro created a mathematical model using over two million data points to optimize campus energy use. His model aimed to reduce costs and carbon emissions as part of Princeton's pursuit of net-zero emissions by 2046. Shapiro's model, developed with real-world data and guidance from Lecturer Lamyaa El-Gabry and Facilities staff, estimates a potential 36% reduction in carbon emissions and 20% cost savings. His project was inspired by a core thermodynamics course and involved extensive collaboration, validating design assumptions and challenging existing strategies. 

The Office of Sustainability and Behavioral Science firm Evidn worked with 2023 Advanced Programming Techniques students to prototype an energy monitoring and feedback solution for laboratories across campus. The students created a solution that provides clear and timely feedback about lab energy use with information about how their actions and behavior impact energy consumption in real-time. Being able to track and measure energy usage is key in helping lab staff and students understand the impact of their choices, make informed decisions, and, ultimately, take steps to reduce their energy footprint. Reducing energy consumption across campus is crucial in helping the Princeton community reduce emissions and costs.

The Forbes Garden is an ongoing student demonstration garden at Forbes College. It serves as a tranquil space for the students to connect with nature and as a place to grow organic produce on campus. A current Campus as Lab project (2024-present) aims to revitalize and rebuild the garden, which became less active during COVID. Under the tutelage of Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Sigrid Adriaenssen, the participating students will reconsider the purpose and function of the Forbes Garden and develop/execute a plan to improve the space. The group will focus on the intersection of sustainability, wellness, food, landscaping, and architecture as they reenvision this valuable space just off Main Campus. The result will prioritize the vitality and connectedness of the wildlife and plants in the Garden and the benefits to the campus community. This process will put students in collaboration with engineering faculty and Facilities staff.