University of Louisville
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

Atre,Sundar Vedanarayanan Mechanical Engineering
Baba,Shahid Pervez Medicine (Cardiology)
Bai,Lihui Industrial Engineering
Basyal,Binod  Biology
Berson,Robert E. Chemical Engineering
Bhatnagar,Aruni Medicine (Cardiology)
Carrico,Ruth Lynne Medicine
Cave,Matthew C. Medicine
Conklin,Daniel Medicine (Cardiology)
Croasdaile,Michael Civil & Environmental Engineering
D'Ambrosio,Joseph G Institute - Sustainable Health
Day,Christopher Andrew  Geography/Geosciences
DeCaro,Daniel A  Urban & Public Affairs
DeFilippis,Andrew P Medicine (Cardiology)
Druffel,Theodore L Conn Center
Dunn,Kelli Matheson-Bullard Health Sciences
Emery,Sarah M  Biology
Faul,Anna Catharina Social Work
Fried,Joel R. Chemical Engineering
Gaughan,Andrea Elizabeth  Geography/Geosciences
Ghasemi Fare,Omid Civil & Environmental Engineering
Gora,Evan Matthew  Biology
Gregg,Gary Lee McConnell Center
Gupta,Gautam Chemical Engineering
Haberzettl,Petra Medicine (Cardiology)
Handa,Sachin  Chemistry
Harnett,Cindy Kathleen Electrical & Computer Engineering
Heberle,Lauren  Sociology
Hein,David W. Pharmacology
Jasinski,Jacek Bogdan Conn Center
Kazemi,Hamidreza Infrastructure
Lanier,Clestine Virginia Arts & Sciences Dean's Office
McClain,Craig James Medicine
McCracken,Elisabeth J. Pollution Prevention
McCutcheon,Priscilla  Pan African Studies
McGinley,William Mark Civil & Environmental Engineering
McKinney,William Paul Health Promotions
Newton,Tamara L  Psychology
O'Toole,Timothy Edward Medicine (Cardiology)
Paxton,William F Conn Center
Prough,Russell A. Biochemistry
Rai,Shesh Nath Bioinformatics & Biostatistics
Rivard,Joshua Andrew Infrastructure
Rockaway,Thomas Doan Civil & Environmental Engineering
Running,Mark Paul  Biology
Satyavolu,Jagannadh Venkata Satya Conn Center
Sexton,Aaron Niles  Biology
Srivastava,Sanjay Medicine (Cardiology)
States,J. Christopher Pharmacology
Stevens,Forrest Robert  Geography/Geosciences
Sumanasekera,Gamini U.  Physics
Sun,Zhihui Civil & Environmental Engineering
Sunkara,Mahendra K. Chemical Engineering
Swartz,Kristin M  Criminal Justice
Wright,R. Brent Medicine
Yankeelov,Pamela Anne Social Work
Yanoviak,Stephen P  Biology

Faculty and staff engaged in sustainability-related research were identified through compilation of lists of sustainability research organizations, centers and institutions and through grant proposals submitted from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2018 that are compiled on a data base maintained by the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation Office.

The University of Louisville has researchers from a wide spectrum of disciplines working on sustainability research. In the years 2016-2018 researchers submitted 73 grant proposals and were awarded $37,927,966 on approximately 53 of them. This is a decline from 2012-2015 by 42% as both state and federal grants have declined over this 6-year period. The scope and breadth of research has included faculty from eight of the University’s 12 schools/colleges, including: School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Public Health and Information Science, Speed School of Engineering, Brandeis School of Law, Kent School of Social Work, College of Business, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The University has focused its research efforts in environmental cardiology, environmental health, stream restoration, ecosystems, pollution prevention, and urban sustainability. To encourage and promote these areas the University has created and supported research centers and institutes that bring together multi-disciplinary teams to work on complex urban sustainability issues. The largest such institute is Envirome, which in 2018 secured over $10 million in grants and $5 million in gifts to further its research in Environmental Cardiology.

The organizations, centers and institutions surveyed at UofL include:
• University of Louisville Sustainability Council—organization that includes faculty, staff, and students that conduct research in the sustainability field. The Council members are appointed by the Provost. Faculty and staff actively engaged in research are listed.
• Kentucky Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development—this institute is composed of seven centers located throughout the University. The purpose of the Institute is to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration on sustainability related research.
• Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research—the Conn Center conducts and facilitates R&D on potentially commercially feasible renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The Center promotes partnerships among the state's colleges and universities, private industries, and non-profit organizations to actively pursue federally and privately funded research and development resources that are dedicated to renewable energy solutions.
• Center for Environmental Cardiology—the Center is engaged in research on how environmental pollutants contribute to cardiovascular risk and to delineate the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms by which pollutants exacerbate atherosclerosis, promote thrombosis and increase myocardial ischemic injury.
• University of Louisville Sustainability Scholars Roundtable—All UofL faculty, staff and graduated students engaged in research related to sustainability are encouraged to join the Scholars Roundtable to share research interests, goals and projects. The goal of the Roundtable is to encourage interdisciplinary research. Faculty and staff who have attended the Roundtable over the last 3 years have been identified for inclusion in the list of faulty/staff engaged in sustainability research.
• Grant Proposal Submittals—all grant proposals are logged onto a data base maintained by the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation (EVPRI). The data base includes the Principal Investigator’s name, the Title of the proposal, whether the proposal was for research, and key word descriptors. The data base from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2015 was searched by key word and title for the following words:

adaptive cycle
adaptive reuse
air quality
alternative fuel
anarchy
aquatic ecosystem
architecture - environmental
bicycle transit
biodiversity
biofuel
biomarker
biomass
bioregionalism
bioremediation
brownfield
building materials
carbon emissions
carbon footprint
city planning
climate change
community development
community gardens
community partners
complete streets
eco-agriculture
ecological
ecological footprint
ecology
economic development
ecosystem
ecotourism
edible landscapes
energy conservation
energy consumption
energy efficiency
environmental
environmental change
environmental education
environmental health
environmental law
environmental policy
exposure
forest ecology
gentrification
global change
green energy
green infrastructure
green movement
green purchasing
green rooftops
green-washing
hazardous waste
inequity
invasive species
landscape architecture
landscape urbanism
LEED
liver toxicity
local food
low-impact development
mass transit
mindfulness
multidisciplinary
natural hazards
neighborhood
networks
new urbanism
organic agriculture
particulate
peace
place making
pollution
pollution prevention
population
POTW
public participation
recycle
recycling
regional development
renewable energy
resilience
risk assessment
rural development
sense of place
smart growth
social change
social justice
social responsibility
social-ecological system
soil
solar
source reduction
stream restoration
sustainability
sustainable agriculture
sustainable architecture
sustainable design
sustainable development
sustainable energy
sustainable living
toxicology
transdisciplinary
transportation
triple bottom line
urban
urban agriculture
urban canopy
urban ecology
urban forest
urban renewal
urban soils
urbanism
urbanization
vulnerability
walkability
walking city
waste management
water quality
watershed
wetland

Identified grant proposals were reviewed and those whose purpose was not research or was not sustainability related, were deleted. Principal investigators were included in the list of faculty/staff engaged in sustainability related research. The total number of faculty members engaged in research is based on the number of tenured research faculty employed by the University.

Unfortunately, our inventory is not a complete accounting of all sustainability-related research at UofL. Rather, it represents our best available data, from an inventory of research grants and publications over fiscal years 2017-2018. We do not have an efficient system for tracking unpublished and non-grant-supported research, but we know many faculty are engaged in such research related to sustainability and we value their many contributions.

It is important to consider the implications of the state of funding described in the additional documentation to support the submission. This details the amount of research proposals related to sustainability that may or may not have been accepted due to budgeting. It must be understood that many of these researchers are still conducting these investigations on their own time and do support to the overall sustainability of the campus and community.