Wake Forest University
AC-10: Support for Research

Students are encouraged to pursue independent research for sustainability through various academic programs. The faculty affiliated with the Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES) currently support undergraduate research for sustainability in Environmental Studies, History, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, and Entrepreneurship. The Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Center (URECA) provides funding, fellowships, and travel grants. Undergraduate funding for sustainability research is supported through Richter Fellowships and the Biology Department Sullivan Award, among others. URECA promotes undergraduate research and creative activity across Wake Forest. The center facilitates collaboration between undergraduates and faculty, provides venues for publicizing research results, and maintains a record of undergraduate scholarly activity. Undergraduate research is promoted through the annual undergraduate research fair: http://ureca.wfu.edu/research-day.

Faculty in the Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES) set the following research and scholarship goals that capitalize on the group's current expertise and also create the changes on campus necessary to achieve the vision articulated by the center affiliates: (1) Build teams of scholars and research groups in areas of high importance and impact for effecting change related to issues of local-to-global importance in sustainability, (2) Highlight existing research on environment, energy, and sustainability at Wake Forest, (3) Create opportunities for new research and scholarly activities that focus on multidisciplinary research groups, (4) Use research as a tool for change to realign faculty and student interests, engage the public, and build new academic courses of study. In order to achieve these goals, center leaders and affiliates are creating new opportunities for research and scholarly activities at Wake Forest, with the end goal of creating a vibrant community of scholars that both identifies new technologies and environmental challenges and creatively solves them. The center aims to take the following steps to transform Wake Forest from a campus with myriad isolated activities to one that sees the interdisciplinary nature of environmental problems and brings the tools of multiple disciplines to bear on them. While the center began with three core groups, the hope is that CEES will grow to have additional focal groups, particularly with greater representation in the humanities. Moreover, center activities and objectives are designed in ways that foster collaborations and increase multidisciplinary activities in ways that are beneficial to individual research programs, rather than requiring root-and-branch restructuring of research programs. Scientific discovery can happen in a silo, but center affiliates believe that effecting change requires a multidisciplinary community that can think in interdisciplinary ways. CEES offers grants to faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates for sustainability-related research. The competitive grant process takes place once in each of the fall and spring semesters. Grants are awarded for research and forming research teams, with particular attention to less-served constituencies.

Wake Forest gives "positive" recognition to interdisciplinary teaching and research during faculty promotion and tenure decisions. Though inter-, trans-, and multi-disciplinarity are clearly valued by the institution, they are not considered more valuable than single-disciplinary research efforts.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Library offers resources and personalized guidance for students researching sustainability and environmental issues. The Environmental Science and Environmental Studies funds support the purchase of relevant Environmental Science, Studies, and Sustainability texts selected by Sustainability faculty.