Janetos Climate Action Prize
Professor Anthony Janetos chaired the 2017 Climate Action Plan Task Force, which led to the creation of the Plan and the Campus Climate Lab. To both honor and continue Tony’s legacy, we are pleased to announce that Boston University has established a student award called the Anthony Janetos Climate Action Prize.
Prize Recipients
2023
Carly Golden (Molecular & Translational Medicine, CAMED ’27)
Establishing sustainable laboratory practices and standard operating procedures that offset waste production in biomedical research
Golden’s research contributions, in collaboration with Dr. Angie Serrano, Saylor Williams (Serrano Lab Manger), and Greg Miller (CReM Lab Manager), aim to reduce plastic waste and energy consumption in biomedical research. To date, the team has diverted 556 pounds of plastic over a 5-month period that would have otherwise been sent to the landfill; 418 pounds of plastic were remanufactured into research materials; and 138 pounds were recycled through different means. They have also recycled 100 Styrofoam boxes and counting in 2023 through BU facilities. In the process, the team provided BU with valuable knowledge about waste production in its research labs and helped establish clear standard operating procedures to sustainably manage biomedical waste. Read the full story in The Brink.
2022
Olivia Henning (Environmental Analysis and Policy, CAS ‘22)
Lucia Vilallonga (Statistics and Computer Science, CAS ‘22)
Quantifying Scope 3 Emissions Associated with Employee Travel at Boston University
Henning and Vilallonga’s research, which they conducted with Dr. Jacqueline Ashmore, aims to address Scope 3 emissions at Boston University. This research advances University accounting for air travel emissions and addresses a key gap in the implementation of the Climate Action Plan. The research team collaborated with Questrom students, and the results from this project will touch the lives of many on campus.
2021
Gayatri Sundar Rajan (Mechanical Engineering, ENG ’22)
Keeley Bombard (Earth & Environment, CAS ’22)
Developing Heating Electrification Strategies to Decarbonize Boston University’s Charles River Campus
Sundar Rajan and Bombard’s research, conducted with Professors Michael Gevelber and Nathan Phillips, aims to significantly reduce BU greenhouse gas emissions by developing strategies to electrify the Charles River Campus. Their project developed a preliminary strategy to electrify 52% of BU’s fossil-based heating energy use, identified system design requirements, compared electrification system configurations, and developed an initial electrification plan.
About the Award
This recognition will be awarded annually each spring to the student or team of students involved in a project through BU’s Campus Climate Lab that is judged to have the most substantial potential impact on advancing the goals of BU’s Climate Action Plan and generally shifting toward more sustainable University operations. Tony’s leadership for the development and early implementation of the University-wide Climate Action Plan inspired this award as a way to memorialize him and those important efforts.
Students who participate in the Campus Climate Lab and successfully complete the requirements will be eligible for the Janetos Prize.
Support Tony’s Legacy
This annual award will include a financial gift to the student winner. BU is launching a fundraising campaign to ensure the award will continue for many years to come. The amount of the annual award will be dependent on the amount of funds raised. We have set a goal of raising $100,000, which would allow for an endowed fund, so interest generated can cover the Prize funding.
Tony’s family and some friends have generously seeded the fund, helping us approach almost one-third of our goal, so we are off to a strong start. Contributions to the Prize fund are now being accepted.
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