Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.20
Liaison Olivia Conner-Bennett
Submission Date March 2, 2020

STARS v2.2

Stevens Institute of Technology
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 4.00 Minghui Wang
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH AND EFFECTIVENESS
Office of the Provost
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Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
1. Stevens' participation in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition since 2011 offers students a singularly unique learning experience that brought together undergraduate and graduate students with expertise in engineering, energy efficiency, architecture, business, communications, management and computer science to create a net-zero, solar-powered home.

A team of Stevens students won the Solar Decathlon in 2015, with the SUstainable + REsilient (SURE) House. This storm resistant, energy efficient house is now a permanent exhibition at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ where it continues to educate students and the community on resilient construction and clean energy systems.

2. The annual Stevens Innovation Expo is an annual showcase for student design, innovation and entrepreneurship. The main exhibition displayed the breadth of ideas and the wealth of innovation that students pour into Senior Design Projects, the capstone of the Stevens undergraduate experience and the culmination of an education focused on problem-solving, multi-disciplinary thinking and teamwork. The program also featured the Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition, an exciting student pitch competition that provides select project teams with an opportunity to display the entrepreneurial mindset that's a hallmark of the Stevens experience. The Innovation Expo provides students an opportunity to work at meeting a practical, industrial need, experience with cross-disciplinary teams and interaction with attending professionals and guests that develop greater professionalism and perspective. Several projects turn into "real life", attainable products or businesses.

All engineering Senior Design Projects require a sustainability impact assessment to be included, even if the project is not directly addressing a sustainability goal.

Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
Stevens performs leading-edge research in a wide variety of critical disciplines. The university has chosen to exert particular research focus on six specific foundational research pillars in which Stevens currently possesses leading expertise. One of the foundational research pillars is Resilience & Sustainability. Stevens is an international leader in coastal and urban resilience research, driving study and discussion about protecting coastal communities from the effects of climate change. Stevens researchers plan and design wind-energy facilities and water-treatment systems, develop green technologies that utilize algae as fuel and filter rainwater and perform other work that protects environmental quality and reduces human health risks from exposure to environmental contaminants.

The Division of Development and Alumni Engagement actively seeks foundation and corporate support for the valued work that Stevens professors are doing. Since one of Stevens pillars is Resilience & Sustainability, the Division of Development and Alumni Engagement works to build external relationships and submit applications to support faculty research in these areas. For example, Stevens has secured support from the PSEG/PSEG Foundation, the Hugo Neu Corporation and Geosnytec Consultants.

Partial overhead return is provided to faculty to reward them for their efforts in research.

Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
No

A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
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The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
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Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
The Samuel C. Williams Library provides access to subscription electronic resources that offer access to content related to sustainability research including but not limited to: Academic Search Premier, AccessEngineering, AccessScience, ACS Journals, ASCE Journals, GreenFile, IEEE Xplore, Knovel, ProQuest Central, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library. 

The Library has created and maintains several online research guides (Springshare LibGuides) that cover content related to sustainability research.

The Library also provides course-specific research instruction sessions and workshops related to sustainability research and course assignments.

Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Website URLs where information about the student research programs include:
1. https://www.stevens.edu/research-entrepreneurship/student-research

Website URLs where information about faculty research programs include:
1. http://www.stevens.edu/osp
2. https://www.stevens.edu/research-entrepreneurship/foundational-research-pillars/resilience-sustainability

Website URLs where information about the library's support for sustainability research include:
1. Library website - https://library.stevens.edu/
2. Library A-Z databases - http://researchguides.stevens.edu/az.php
3. Library Research Guides - https://library.stevens.edu/research-guides
4. Library instruction - https://library.stevens.edu/research-help/instruction
5. Information Literacy - https://library.stevens.edu/information-literacy

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.