Campus Climate Lab research projects span many disciplines and varied themes, including buildings and operations, reducing waste, curriculum development, climate and health, and advocacy and activism. Get inspired — learn more about current and past projects!
Project Spotlight: Indigenous Curricular and Cultural Exchange Gaps at BU
Research: Students Elizabeth Kostina (Sociology and Architectural Studies, CAS), Delaney Foster (Marine Program, Earth & Environment, CAS), and Selby Vaughn (Biology, CAS) — working with Dr. Nathan Phillips (Earth and Environment) andParren Fountain (BU Sustainability) — conducted a comprehensive survey of Indigenous curricular offerings and cultural spaces at Boston University, and then compared them to peer institutions. They surveyed students, faculty, and staff at BU and 10 other schools, and interviewed two members of local Indigenous communities involved in higher education to identify gaps in BU’s offerings.
Results: The survey yielded 79 unique responses, 87 percent of which came from BU, to gauge the range of laypeople’s perspectives regarding Indigenous offerings on campuses, especially at BU. About half of the respondents said that Indigenous knowledge was integrated “not well at all” into their school’s curriculum.
Yet, our universities, the very institutions tasked with shaping future leaders and innovators, are failing to adequately incorporate Indigenous perspectives and knowledge into their curricula.
Implementation: The team used their survey results to develop a roadmap with specific next steps for filling the gaps in Indigenous curriculum, cultural activities, and spaces at BU. The students share their findings in a perspective piece for BU Today.
Study demand/grid implications of all electric building for heating system and potential solution of thermal/electric storage
Research team:
James Roberts (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Michael Gevelber (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024
This project will continue our research in analyzing thermal and electric storage options for all electric buildings such as the Center for Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) and the associated impact on building demand and demand charges. Thermal loads will be investigated by comparing loads due to airflow and surface heat loss, and how these factors determine building heating/cooling loads. Thermal load analysis will guide investigations of energy efficiency opportunities for large buildings drawing from the technology deployed in CDS to build a practical understanding of highly efficient systems. The potential for implementing ground source heat pumps and their cost will also be investigated as part of implementing electric heating systems.
Continuous indoor air quality assessment for BU buildings
Research team:
Celine Chen (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Primah Muwanga (Computing and Data Science, ENG)
Ellen Zheng (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Zack Robey (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Maribel Boujaoude (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Yangyang Zhang (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Thomas Little (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024.
Figure 1: Systems Architecture
Figure 2: Pilot Device
Figure 3: Classroom Installation
Last year we demonstrated the capability of using wireless air quality sensors in eight classrooms to provide real-time feedback on the environmental conditions including a means for harvesting occupant feedback. In this follow-on project we are changing our focus from single rooms to full buildings. Data from each measured space will be sampled and analyzed in aggregate for the purpose of supporting recommendations for air quality and energy-efficiency improvements. To meet the scale of this effort we will construct 20 new low-cost sensor devices based on a new design. These are intended to be deployed, and reused in target buildings, for whole building air quality and energy efficiency assessment.
Student-generated solution for environmental justice at Boston University
Research team:
Alexia Nastasia (Kilchand Honors College, CAS, Pardee)
Abby Dandrow (Anthropology, CAS)
Cole Wilkins (Anthropology, CAS) Mentor: Eric Michael Kelley (Visting Lecturer, Anthropology, CAS) Mentor: Caterina Scaramelli (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Previous Team Members:
Isabella Bremer (Film and Television, COM)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024.
Boston University has recognized in its Climate Action Plan that climate change is a seminal issue of our time. Effectively addressing this issue cannot be done without incorporating into climate action an environmental justice agenda, with support from a broad cross-section of university constituents, including students. This research project seeks to analyze how Boston University can better integrate into climate action an environmental justice agenda, with support from its diverse student communities. The research project is an applied anthropological study with a community action focus endeavoring to assess diverse students’ perceptions of environmental justice at Boston University in order to improve the university’s environmental justice efforts based on diverse underrepresented student input and contribution. Grounded in an intersectional approach, the project will engage research participants from diverse communities, including BIPOC students, DACA students, students with recent immigrant backgrounds, students with refugee status, international students, and LGBTQ students from Boston University’s main campus, the Charles River Campus. This research team includes: students Alexia Nastasia (team lead), Isabella (Bella) Bremer, and Abby Dandrow; Anthropology Department Visiting Lecturer Eric Michael Kelley (faculty mentor) and Department of Earth and Environment Senior Lecturer Caterina Scaramelli (faculty co-mentor); and two staff members, James Eddy, Associate Director of the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground, and Alison Parker, Instructional Services Coordinator at Geddes Language Center, as operations partners.
Research team:
Tahsin Tasnim (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
James Roberts (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Andrew Zhang (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Tessa Graebner (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Mentor: Emily Ryan (Mechanical Engineering, ENG) Previous research team members:
Benjamin Pedi (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Lorenzo Barale (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Sofiya Filippova (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Maya Lobel (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Kai Raina Tung (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Luisa DiLorenzo (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Leon Long (Electrical and Computer Engineering, ENG)
Logan Rajah (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Figure 1: Previous Prototype
Figure 2: PCB Addons
Figure 3: Fully Assembled Device and Enclosure
Phase 1: This project aims to design a sensor pack that could be mounted on a bicycle to measure local pollution levels around the city. Air pollution is a general public health issue and also strongly tied to equity and justice issues in Boston and other major cities. Developing a sensor pack that is able to collect data around the city can help in determining public policy connected to transportation, green space, public housing, and more. In this project, a prototype sensor pack will be developed, and the data analyzed to understand the accuracy of the data and how the data varies during different times of the day.
BU climate resiliency: Geospatial analysis of nature-based solutions
Research team:
Jessica Schwarz (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Rori McCutcheon (Earth and Environment, CAS) Mentor: Ian Smith (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Urban areas are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, intensified rainfall, and extreme temperatures. As urbanization and population growth accelerate, urban areas face substantial challenges in building resilience to climate conditions. Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)—which utilize natural processes to tackle environmental issues while providing societal benefits—provide cost-effective opportunities for bolstering urban resilience while simultaneously providing numerous co-benefits. Our research team will tackle the issue of climate resiliency on BU’s campus by using a state-of-the-art geospatial methodology to identify NBS investment opportunities to reduce campus flood risk, while providing co-benefits related to heat, health/recreation, and social cohesion.
Reducing Waste
Quantifying microplastic emissions and investigating filtration methods
Research team:
Lucas Gibbons (Physics, CAS)
Yiyang Jin (Biology, CAS) Mentor: Raymond Nagem (Mechanical Engineering, ENG)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
Microplastics have been shown to threaten environmental and human health, with the washing of synthetic fabrics representing a significant source of emissions. This project aims to evaluate the microplastic output of BU laundry facilities and investigate ways to mitigate emissions, specifically through research and development of high-throughput filtering solutions which would match the needs of the BU community. The goal of this project is to produce an actionable plan for eliminating microplastics from BU laundry wastewater.
Research team:
Melissa Martin (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Miya Peterson (Earth and Environment, CAS) Mentor: Nathan Phillips (Earth and Environment, CAS)
Timing: Awarded Fall 2024, Spring 2025.
This project aims to activate BU campus residents to demonstrate climate benefits of electric demand response. Demand response is the practice of pre-emptively shifting or reducing electricity consumption from projected peak demand periods on the grid, saving money and preserving air quality and the climate. We will engage residential communities and install whole-residence electric service line meters and hot water meters, in selected traditional Boston row houses in South Campus and/or Bay State Road. We will quantify demand response in residences provided with education, monetary incentives and/or community-building activities, compared to a reference house. The results from this study will provide estimates of energy, carbon, pollution, and financial benefits of demand response, particularly when scaled to comparable housing stock or data centers across campus, the City of Boston and beyond.