Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	68.18
Liaison	Ezra Small
Submission Date	Feb. 5, 2015
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.0

University of Massachusetts Amherst
AC-9: Academic Research

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	11.54 / 12.00	Craig Nicolson Director of Sustainability Programs Environmental Conservation

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Number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:

201

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Total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in research:

993

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Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that include at least one faculty or staff member that conducts sustainability research:

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The total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that conduct research:

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A copy of the sustainability research inventory that includes the names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:

Aashe_Sustainability Faculty by Dept_2015.pdf

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Names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:

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A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the research inventory:

The research inventory was conducted over a 3-year period. We gathered data on faculty, departments, and research projects that focus on or relate to the topic of sustainability. We reviewed every research proposal submitted to a funding agency to identify faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research. We also reviewed the University's research database to identify sustainability-related projects. The output is a comprehensive inventory of our faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research.

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A brief description of notable accomplishments during the previous three years by faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:

Energy Extension Initiative Funded by a $6 million grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, the UMass Amherst Energy Extension Initiative promotes adoption of renewable energy technology and energy efficiency activities across the state. Approximately $4 million of this grant supports development of an energy outreach and extension-type program on campus that draws on UMass Amherst experts to help provide assistance and solutions to regional clean energy initiatives. New England Water Innovation Network A $4.1 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has funded UMass Amherst research in water treatment innovation, focusing on the development of healthier and more effective alternatives to chlorine for disinfecting in U.S. water treatment facilities. This is also a research and extension-type service that provides faculty expertise to regional and national water treatment problems. Smart Meter Data Analysis 18,000 smart meters have been deployed in western Massachusetts by computer science faculty and students working in conjunction with a local energy company, providing real time data on consumer electricity usage. This information yields patterns—peak usage times, appliance usage, and more—that are invaluable in making buildings more efficient. The data will feed several sub-projects already underway, including an automated thermostat, that uses building-specific data to make customized usage recommendations and implement such simple yet effective changes as automatically adjusting the thermostat when no one is home. Northeast Climate Center Grants UMass Amherst was selected by the U.S. Department of the Interior as host for the Northeast Climate Science Center. Since its inception in 2012, the NECSC has awarded more than $700,000 in grants to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change. The six studies funded include the impact on wildlife due to changes in snowpack and lake ice in the Great Lakes Basin, information management needs for the floodplain conservation lands of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the development of distribution models for North American breeding birds showing the impact of climate change in order to identify the most vulnerable species and regions. Sustainable Manufacturing Through Nanotech A team of scientists have developed a breakthrough technique for controlling molecular assembly of nanoparticles over multiple length scales that should allow faster, cheaper, more ecologically friendly manufacture of organic photovoltaics and other electronic devices. The new techniques successfully address two major goals for device manufacture: controlling molecular assembly and avoiding toxic solvents like chlorobenzene. While being currently used to produce organic photovoltaics and solar cells, this technique has many applications, offering a flexible and ecologically friendly new approach to manufacturing.

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The website URL where information about sustainability research is available:

http://www.umass.edu/researchnext/

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.

STARS v2.0

University of Massachusetts Amherst AC-9: Academic Research

University of Massachusetts Amherst
AC-9: Academic Research