University of California, Irvine
ER-16: Faculty Engaged in Sustainability Research

Please see pages 18-23 of the attached inventory. Additional information regarding listed faculty is shown on pages 24-56. A PDF of the 2013 Sustainability Research Inventory is available at http://www.sustainability.uci.edu/UCI_2013SustainabilityResearchInventory.pdf

Increased capture of natural gas from oil fields probably accounts for up to 70 percent of the dramatic leveling off seen in atmospheric methane at the end of the 20th century, according to research conducted by UC Irvine chemistry professor DONALD BLAKE and colleagues. “We can say with confidence that based on our data, the trend is largely a result of changes in fossil fuel use,” said Blake. Methane has 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, although CO2 is filling the atmosphere in far larger amounts. After decades of increases due to worldwide industrial and agricultural activity, the tapering off of methane from the 1980s through 2005 was remarkable. Scientists have long wrestled with the cause. Blake and his team, who have conducted the world’s longest continuous methane and ethane sampling, said close scrutiny of their data shows that the major factor was most likely the trapping and sale of natural gas for use as a fuel source, which sharply reduced the skyward venting and flaring of methane from oil fields. Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas. Since 2007, levels have started to climb again, adding urgency to the scientific mystery. The group’s findings were published in the journal “Nature” on Aug. 23, 2012. The lead author was Isobel Simpson, a UCI research associate. See: http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/atmopsheric-methane-mystery-closer-to-being-solved/ http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=4579 UC Irvine biologist BRUCE BLUMBERG believes industrial pollutants are contributing to America’s obesity epidemic. Blumberg is among a growing number of researchers exploring how chemicals used in plastics, food packaging, pesticides and cosmetics can trigger dramatic increases in body fat. He has even coined a word for these compounds that corrupt the normal function of metabolic hormones: obesogens. “It makes a lot of sense that chemicals able to reprogram metabolism and favor the development of fat cells could be important contributing factors to obesity,” says Blumberg, professor of developmental and cell biology. “The potential role of obesogens in fat accumulation raises questions about the effectiveness of focusing on diet and exercise alone in helping people lose pounds and maintain a proper weight,” he said. Obesogen research is in its early stages but gaining widespread attention. In ongoing research, Blumberg has identified how obesogens target signaling proteins to tell a developing fetus to make more fat cells. This can have lifelong consequences, increasing the likelihood of body fat accumulation as a person ages and making it more difficult to lose excess weight. Blumberg's most recent research showed that prenatal obesogen exposure can have effects in the exposed individual, as well as its "children" and "grandchildren.” See: http://news.uci.edu/features/a-chemical-cause-of-obesity/ http://devcell.bio.uci.edu/faculty/bruce-blumberg/ The W.M. Keck Foundation has granted $1 million to UC Irvine to build a campus laboratory in which researchers can explore the potential of using the deep ocean’s low-temperature and high-pressure conditions to generate carbon-free power from methane hydrates. “This will be the only facility in the world capable of examining both high-pressure combustion and carbon sequestration,” said DEREK DUNN-RANKIN, professor and chair of mechanical & aerospace engineering and lead investigator on the project. “By conducting these studies in a controlled laboratory setting, we aren’t jeopardizing the ocean. And by learning how to handle methane hydrates, we can determine a scientific basis for making rational decisions about how to safely and wisely use them. This laboratory opens the door to an exciting future of deep-ocean power science.” Deep-sea methane hydrates are the world’s largest untapped fossil energy resource, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, but the process and technology for safe and effective mining and use have not yet been established. Exploratory extraction efforts are under way in several countries. PETER TABOREK, professor and chair of physics & astronomy, is the co-principal investigator. “Carbon sequestration is an important problem that needs to be solved, and the natural conditions of the ocean – low temperature and high pressure, work to our advantage. We have the potential to make a large, positive ecological impact. There are very few options for making energy in a way that doesn’t mess up the environment, and this is an important one,” Taborek said. See: http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/w-m-keck-foundation-grants-uci-1-million-for-deep-ocean-power-science-lab/ STANLEY GRANT, a UC Irvine professor who specializes in water quality, and his group have been selected by the National Science Foundation to spearhead a $4.8 million collaboration between Australian and southwestern U.S. partners to find low-energy methods of turning wastewater into drinking water. Climate change, drought and global population growth demand creative ways to augment decreasing supplies, Grant said. The project links five universities in two water-stressed regions of the world that have unique and complementary expertise in the development of rainwater tanks, biofilters and waste stabilization ponds for potable substitution and watershed protection. A special Aug. 10, 2012, issue of the journal “Science,” addressed “Taking the ‘waste’ out of wastewater for human water security and ecosystem sustainability.” Wastewater reuse and conservation represent “the only path forward to provide water for humans as well as for ecosystems,” said Grant, the lead author. “We need to focus on improving the productivity and value of existing supplies, which basically means getting more out of a glass of water.” Professor Grant holds a joint appointment in the departments of civil & environmental engineering and chemical engineering and materials science. See: http://news.uci.edu/briefs/stanley-grant-to-head-4-8-milllion-international-water-project/ http://news.uci.edu/press-releases/wastewater-reuse-key-to-drinking-water/ http://video.sciencemag.org/SciOriginals/waterprod/ http://water-pire.uci.edu/

The total number of faculty engaged in research is 1194. This number includes Senate and non-Senate faculty. Faculty is broadly defined as "an academic appointee in a school, college, division, department, or program of instruction and research who has independent responsibility for conducting approved regular University courses for campus credit."