State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
AC-10: Support for Research

Sustainability research is central to ESF's core mission, and it includes the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. A high percentage of undergraduates and virtually all graduate students participate in research activity as part of their educational experience. Over 90% of full-time faculty are actively engaged in funded research, creating many opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in sustainability research with financial support. Additional programs further support student research in sustainability such as the annual “Spotlight on Student Research” poster session, upper and lower division honors programs, capstones, master’s and doctoral thesis research, research experience courses, field and laboratory research components of many sustainability courses or courses that include sustainability, internships, study abroad programs, paid and for-credit opportunities with the ESF Office of Sustainability, etc.

ESF faculty are heavily involved in sustainability research and have extensive academic backgrounds in sustainability. A 2011 self-assessment at ESF revealed that 74 of the 135 research-active faculty members specifically engaged in research related to sustainability and all academic departments had at least one faculty member involved in sustainability research. The college has invested in sustainability research facilities such as an aquatic research laboratory and a biofuels pilot plant. Numerous new faculty members have been hired since 2005 to augment sustainability research, and ESF continues to search for and hire new faculty who will conduct sustainability research.

The Office of Research Programs at ESF provides numerous ongoing programs and incentives to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct and collaborate on research in sustainability topics. “Research Times” is published by the Office of Research Programs, and it enhances ESF’s efforts in finding, advertising and winning grants and contracts at the College.

Numerous faculty, and collaborative research institutes and centers at ESF engage in interdisciplinary research (www.esf.edu/research/ric.htm). ESF and the Office of Research Programs provides additional support and incentives for new and existing faculty and centers to develop collaborative interdisciplinary research proposals and strive for formal partnerships with private entities.

The Division of Environmental Science is organized as a nucleus for interdepartmental and interdisciplinary education, research, and collaboration. The Division draws upon faculty from across many departments of the college in order to emphasize a multidisciplinary approach to environmental understanding, problem solving, and stewardship. It maintains a strong academic orientation and facilitates student and faculty engagement of fundamental environmental challenges such as resource utilization and sustainability, the uses and limits of scientific prediction and risk analysis, and a holistic concern for the health of the environment.

Yes, the Office of Research Programs is closely linked to the College library. For example, the Library Director maintains "Research Times," which is published biweekly with primarily sustainability-related grant options. The Director recently traveled to NYC to learn of new Elsevier opportunities that promote research dissemination. The library has a strong and growing set of publications and reference works in sustainability.