Annual Report

The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University recently published its 2016-17 annual report, which details faculty news and awards, research funded, educational initiatives, and public outreach. View it here. 

People Spotlight: Mark Zondlo – probing air pollution with laser sensors and drones

For the latest feature highlighting people at the center, we interviewed Mark Zondlo, the center’s associate director for external partnerships and associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, about his research analyzing air pollution with laser sensors and his role in forging links between the University and industry for the center’s Princeton E-ffiliates Partnership. He also discussed his latest project, an electric vehicle to help map greenhouse gases and air pollutants at the neighborhood scale. The car is fully electric, so there are no self-emissions that complicate measurements when stuck in city traffic. Read the Q/A here and watch a video featurette on the car here.

The Andlinger Center Speaks: the impact of large companies getting serious about green concrete research 

A group of major oil and gas companies, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), recently announced they would fund Solidia Technologies, a cement and concrete technology company claiming production methods that slash the carbon footprint of concrete by up to 70 percent and water consumption by 60 to 80 percent. To comment on this big news in green concrete advancement and explain the science behind green cement, we turn to Claire White, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, for the latest, “The Andlinger Center Speaks,” a Q/A series on timely energy and environmental topics with Princeton faculty and researchers. Read more here.

Time Capsules for Climate Change

Robert Socolow, professor emeritus and senior research scholar in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and lead author on the Andlinger Center’s Energy Technology Distillates, led a fall freshman seminar, “Time Capsules for Climate Change,” that asked students to write about the future of humanity in the context of a changing climate. They wrote four essays that will be placed in time capsules to be opened at the students’ graduation in 2021 and at their 10th, 25th and 50th reunions.
Read more here.

Center co-sponsors symposium “Earth in 2050: Boundaries, Obstacles, and Opportunities”

Princeton welcomed researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC) of Stockholm University from Nov.12-14 to collaborate on key areas related to the environment in the global context. The meeting, “Earth in 2050: Boundaries, Obstacles, and Opportunities,” was sponsored by the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, Princeton International Fund, and the Princeton Environmental Institute. Presentations covered feeding the world, urban infrastructure, biodiversity and conservation biology, human behavior, and water quality. Read more here.

Call for proposals for innovative research in energy and the environment

The Andlinger Center is pleased to announce a call for proposals. The goal of this call is to encourage research that will develop solutions for our energy and environmental future. The deadline for written proposals is Friday, March 16, 2018. Selected proposals can start as early as Summer 2018.

This call is being issued five months in advance of the deadline to allow time for team assembly and thoughtful proposal development. The Andlinger Center staff is available to help coordinate bringing your team together with assistance in scheduling meetings and facilitating communication.
For more information and to apply, read more here.

Highlight Seminar Series and other events

February 22, 2018
Robbie Diamond, Securing America’s Future Energy
Autonomous vehicles

March 15, 2018
Matthew Posewitz, Colorado School of Mines
Micro-algae cultivation for bioenergy technologies

April 19, 2018
Paul Langan, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Role of neutrons in energy technologies and sustainability

May 10, 2018
Princeton Research Day

May 17, 2018
Steven Koonin, New York University
Smart cities and urban resilience