Stevens Institute of Technology
EN-10: Community Partnerships

A team of Stevens graduate students developed a Sustainability Management Plan for the city of Jersey City, NJ as part of their capstone project in sustainability management in 2019. This project was advised and supported by professor Dr. D. Sarkar, on behalf of the institution. In 2018, Jersey City launched the Office of Sustainability to coordinate sustainability initiatives across all government departments and to provide a holistic view for how Jersey City will operate in the future. The Sustainability Management Plan identifies four key focus areas and accompanying strategies that are necessary for the City to pursue a sustainable, greener future. The expectation is that the Sustainability Action Plan will be updated regularly to stay relevant to current concerns from residents, businesses, and other stakeholders.

The Town of Secaucus and Stevens are partners on a research project funded by the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that explores the possibilities of retrofitting green infrastructures with green technologies to make Secaucus more resilient to extreme climate events and to improve overall environmental sustainability efforts of the town. Dr. D. Sarkar, a professor of environmental engineering at Stevens is the Principal Investigator of this grant. Below are the 4 major objectives of the project:
1. Retrofit an existing bioretention system with green-material-coated mulch to remove phosphorus and metals.
2. Retrofit storm drains (that receive high concentrations of metals and hydrocarbons from automobiles) with catch-basin inserts with green filter media.
3. In Retrofit 3, a floating treatment wetland with hydroponically-grown vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides), a non-invasive, high-biomass nutrient- and metal-hyperaccumulator with massive root system will be optimized and installed in a stormwater retention pond next to a highway for water quality improvement.
4. A survey instrument to collect opinion data will be implemented to evaluate the potential of broad-scale future application of these green technologies in Secaucus and similar urban coastal communities to make them more sustainable and resilient to extreme climate events.

The Hugo Neu Corporation Sustainability Seminar Series is a weekly lecture hosting a variety of speakers who focus on a wide range of sustainability issues. The series is sponsored by the Hugo Neu Corporation, and co-sponsored by BEM Systems, Brown and Caldwell, Geosyntec Consultants, and H2M Architects and Engineers. It is organized by the Stevens Sustainability Management Master's Program. The seminar series is "free" for anyone in the community to attend, either in person or online. It has been intentionally kept free to encourage anyone and everyone in the community to participate.

Please see https://www.stevens.edu/schaefer-school-engineering-science/departments/civil-environmental-ocean-engineering/graduate-programs/sustainability-management-masters-program/sustainability-seminar-series.