Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.75
Liaison Cindy Shea
Submission Date July 24, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
AC-10: Support for Research

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Cindy Shea
Sustainability Director
Sustainable Carolina
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Student Sustainability Research Incentives 

Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability? :
Yes

A brief description of the student research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Institute for the Environment awards help students attend one of the program's field sites, and almost all of them support students who are willing to do internships or other community service activities. http://ie.unc.edu/education/awards-scholarships/ The Pate Scholarship offers financial support for any Institute of the Environment field site study abroad program. This scholarship is awarded based on merit and need. http://ie.unc.edu/education/awards-scholarships/ The Weiss Urban Livability Program supports graduate students to conduct research in “urban livability”, focusing on ways to improve the environmental and social quality of life in contemporary communities. Weiss fellows are given financial as well as professional support and growth. There are about 10 Weiss Fellows each year that are chosen by the Weiss Fellowship Board, consisting of mentors from many departments that work with the students throughout the year. http://gradschool.unc.edu/funding/gradschool/weiss/ The Office of Global Health provides limited funding for undergraduate international/global health internships and practica, including the Malawi Summer Institute, and specific fellowships and internships. OGH also maintains a list of resources for on-campus and off-campus funding and internship opportunities. http://global.unc.edu/grants-funding/ Green Plus Sustainability Fellowships for Graduate Students: The Institute for Sustainable Development and The Graduate School at UNC-Chapel Hill offer Green Plus Sustainability Fellowships. These eight-week summer fellowships bring together graduate students from different disciplines and a variety of universities in supporting the Green Plus program of the Institute for Sustainable Development. Through Green Plus, Summer Fellows will help small and medium sized employers in the Research Triangle and across the U.S. become more sustainable -- that is, integrating best business, environmental, employee, and community practices. Green Plus Summer Fellows help research best practices on a wide variety of sustainable business topics which are shared through www.gogreenplus.org and through the Environmental Help Desk for Business, www.envirohelpdesk.com. Answer questions for small businesses and non-profits in person or remotely through the Green Plus Program and the Environmental Help Desk for Business. Develop features on environmental and other sustainable business innovation. http://cifd.unc.edu/2016/04/12/green-plus-sustainability-fellowships/

Faculty Sustainability Research Incentives 

Does the institution have a program to encourage faculty from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct research in sustainability topics?:
Yes

A brief description of the faculty research program, including the incentives provided and any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) in Solar Fuels and Next Generation Photovoltaics is a consortium of researchers at UNC, University of Texas at San Antonio, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Arizona, Trinity College Dublin, E.I. Du Pont Central Research and Development, Rutgers University, Chemical Heritage Foundation, University of Colorado at Boulder, National Renewable Energy Lab, and Tulane University. The EFRC currently funds in part 16 faculty members (13 at UNC), 12 Postdoctoral Fellows (9 at UNC) and 17 Graduate Student Research Assistants (15 at UNC). Research conducted at the EFRC focuses on developing and improving methods of collecting, transferring, and converting solar energy into chemical fuels.

Recognition of Inter-, Trans- and Multi-Disciplinary Research 

Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s support for interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
These guidelines are established by deans and department chairs. An example is the Appointments, Promotions and Tenure Manual used by the School of Public Health. http://sph.unc.edu/resource-pages/appointments-promotions-tenure-apt/ Other manuals should also be available online. Examples of positive outcomes are the research conducted by the Solar Fuels Center http://www.efrc.unc.edu/research/index.html by Joe DeSimone's PRINT group http://uncnews.unc.edu/2015/09/30/joseph-desimone-receives-250000-kabiller-prize-in-nanoscience-and-nanomedicine/. The work of the CHANL group http://chanl.unc.edu/ and the work of the Integrative Program for Biological and Genome Sciences http://ibgs.web.unc.edu/.

Library Support

Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research, including any positive outcomes during the previous three years:
The Davis Library on UNC campus supports students and faculty conducting research on land use and transportation planning and on community resilience. Additionally the library provides data services, GIS, government info, and a maps collection. The Health Sciences Library (HSL) serves the instructional, clinical, and research information needs of the School of Public Health, as well as the citizens of North Carolina.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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