| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.90 |
| Liaison | Paul Mathisen |
| Submission Date | April 16, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AC-9: Academic Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
12.00 / 12.00 |
John
Orr Professor Liberal Arts & Computer Engineering |
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Number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:
54
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Total number of the institution’s faculty and/or staff engaged in research:
243
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Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that include at least one faculty or staff member that conducts sustainability research:
12
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The total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that conduct research:
15
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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:
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Names and department affiliations of faculty and staff engaged in sustainability research:
See inventory.
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A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the research inventory:
To identify faculty who are engaged in sustainability research, we reviewed the online faculty profiles of: faculty associated with sustainability-focused academic programs; faculty who listed relevant research interests in the graduate course catalog; faculty who taught a sustainability-related course; faculty associated with a sustainability-related academic center; and other faculty members known to be engaged in sustainability research. In addition, we distributed a survey to faculty through which they were asked to describe any sustainability-related research in which they are currently engaged or were engaged within the last three years. For scoring purposes, we counted only on tenured and tenure-track faculty since conducting research is one of their job responsibilities. However, some teaching professors and other non-tenure track individuals also do substantial sustainability research. We have listed them in a separate worksheet of the inventory to recognize their work but make clear that it is not part of the scoring calculation.
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A brief description of notable accomplishments during the previous three years by faculty and/or staff engaged in sustainability research:
Here are a few highlights from the past three years:
In fall 2013, the National Science Foundation awarded Mechanical Engineering Professor David Olinger $303,201 for his research on harvesting energy from ocean currents using undersea kites.
In May 2013, the National Science Foundation awarded a planning grant to WPI and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to support the creation of the Center for Advanced Research in Drying (CARD), the first center in the United States dedicated to developing energy-efficient technologies for drying moist, porous materials, a problem affecting the competitiveness of U.S manufacturers across a wide range of industries.
Professor Yan Wang received a Catalyst Award from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center in June 2012 for his work on a new design for flow batteries - rechargeable energy system that can be used to store electric energy produced by wind and solar power installations.
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The website URL where information about sustainability research is available:
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.