University of Massachusetts Lowell
EN-10: Inter-Campus Collaboration

1. Fall 2011 Wind Energy Research Workshop: Leaders and experts from academia, industry, and government convened in Lowell to participate in discussions of the current trends in and defining the future direction of wind energy research. Participating institutions included: UMass Amherst, University of Maine, University of Texas-Dallas, MIT, Iowa State, UVM, Texas A&M, Clemson, Boston University, Prairie View A&M, North Carolina State, Uconn, Clarkson, and Northeastern. http://www.uml.edu/Research/Centers/Wind-Energy/default/Workshop.aspx 2. Fall 2011 Carbon Smarts Conference: The conference brings diverse communities together to examine the potential of Out of Home Media (mass transit, billboards, posters, smart phone apps., radio, etc.) to foster informal science learning about climate change among the commuting adult population. Speakers include representatives from UMass Lowell, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell and University of Rhode Island. http://www.uml.edu/Education/Scienceexpress/Carbon-Smarts/Speakers.aspx 3. Fall 2014 Climate Change Teach-In: Over 600 students, staff, faculty and community members attended the Fifth Annual Climate Change Teach-In, “Taking the High Ground: Real Actions to Address Global Climate Change.” This year’s speakers included representatives from UMass Lowell, Boston University, and MIT. http://www.uml.edu/Research/Climate-Change/events/default.aspx 4. 2014 Massachusetts Sustainable Communities and Sustainable Campuses Conference: Hosted by UMass Lowell in 2014, the annual Sustainable Communities and Campuses Conference connects stakeholders from municipalities, college campuses, government, businesses and nonprofits. Everyone wanting to learn more about best practices, current trends, and resources will find this conference timely, practical and valuable. Our 2014 Conference attracted nearly 400 in Lowell and was full in advance. Experts and learners from 9 states, 30 nonprofits, 40 colleges, 45 companies, and 95 communities attended. http://masustainablecommunities.com/previous-conferences/2014-conference/

1. SEP Collaborative: A team from UMass Lowell and Wichita State University will research new forms of bio-derived materials for next generation wind turbine blades, to enable sustainable wind energy pathways. This project will describe how to replace existing petroleum-based epoxy resins with bio-based materials to impart re-workability, allowing repair and/or reuse at end-of-life, as well as understanding the impacts on the economy, wind industry, environment, and society. http://www.uml.edu/Research/Climate-Change/projects/faculty-projects.aspx 2. WindSTAR Industry/University Cooperative Research Center: WindSTAR is an NSF-funded Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Wind Energy, Science, Technology and Research. A collaboration between UMass Lowell, Univ. of Texas at Dallas, Iowa State Univ., SMCC, MWII, and Kid Wind, the center aims to bring together university and industry researchers solve the pressing needs of the wind industry. http://www.uml.edu/Research/Centers/Wind-Energy/WindSTAR/default.aspx 3. ScienceToGo: ScienceToGo is a collaboration led by UMass Lowell that includes the MBTA, UMass Boston, Hofstra University, the National Science Foundation and the Museum of Science. We are exploring new ways to share science with the public. Education can happen in unexpected places, especially with the advent of smart phones. Combining posters on the T, online resources, social media, and physical exhibits around Boston, we’re hoping to share science with a novel audience of learners. Although this project looks at how people learn with different media, we have focused specifically on climate change because it’s an important and interesting topic. http://www.sciencetogo.org 4. Cool Science: Cool Science is a collaborative effort between the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s Graduate School of Education and the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Department of Environmental, Earth, and Ocean Sciences. The Cool Science team brings an inter-disciplinary approach to the challenge of improving public understanding of climate change science. Cool Science aims to engage students, teachers, parents, and the general public with the science of climate change. http://www.uml.edu/Education/Scienceexpress/Coolscience/default.aspx 5. Climate Interactive: With funding from the NSF, the UMass Lowell Climate Change Initiative and Climate Interactive are partnering to bring transformative climate change education tools to educators and students. Our approach leverages Climate Interactive’s decision-support simulations in immersive role-playing games that enable students, citizens, and decision-makers to come to their own insights, grounded in current scientific understanding, about the impacts of national and regional climate and energy policies. University partners include UMass Lowell and MIT Sloan School of Management http://www.climateinteractive.org/

The information presented previously summarizes the ways that UMass Lowell collaborates with other campuses to advance sustainability.