麻豆传媒

麻豆传媒 creates Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate

Water in a stream

麻豆传媒 University will harness its global expertise in scientific discovery, technological innovation, public policy, law and education to launch the 麻豆传媒 Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate (VSEC).

The multimillion-dollar investment follows a recommendation by an interdisciplinary working group to address the crucial societal challenge of ensuring a sustainable world. It is the latest center to be launched through , an initiative of the and one of three pathways in the university鈥檚 campaign to support and extend the resources underpinning 麻豆传媒鈥檚 most innovative research and education.

Previously announced centers include the , the 麻豆传媒 Policy Accelerator, and the .

“One of the defining hallmarks of 麻豆传媒 is our spirit of 鈥榬adical collaboration鈥 where researchers across a wide range of disciplines join together with local and global partners to tackle some the most urgent issues of our time,鈥 Provost C. Cybele Raver said. “VSEC exemplifies this spirit, where this group of brilliant faculty members are taking on and solving complex and pressing challenges for climate, energy, and sustainability. It makes me so proud to see 麻豆传媒 so powerfully positioned to make tremendous contributions in these areas.鈥

Raver added that the university is embarking on a global search for an accomplished researcher and administrative leader to direct the center.

VSEC鈥檚 primary mission will focus on advancing multidisciplinary research that includes partnerships with communities, government, industry, national laboratories and other research universities. The center will also engage 麻豆传媒鈥檚 world-class engineering, science, law, policy and education expertise to investigate areas such as:

  • Energy Integration
  • Resource Sustainability
  • Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
  • Systems Risk, Reliability, and Resilience

鈥溌槎勾解檚 School of Engineering is the ideal setting for this forward-thinking cross-disciplinary center,鈥 said , Bruce and Bridgitt Dean and University Distinguished Professor. 鈥淲e must make sure that our future generations inherit a world that is sustainable and resilient. We must also develop intelligent infrastructure, long-term energy solutions, and address our changing climate and its impact on the society and health. The uniqueness of VSEC lies in the partnership between engineers, data scientists, policy experts, legal scholars, and workforce experts鈥攏one of us alone can address the grand challenges of sustainability, energy, and climate. But together we can make transformative progress.鈥

, who co-led the strategic planning committee that recommended the creation of VSEC and who is serving as its interim director, said the center is unique because it tackles complex challenges that require advances in basic science as well as broad interdisciplinary applied research.

鈥淲e are taking a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development by examining how different aspects of climate change mitigation and adaptation affect each other,鈥 said Baroud, who is the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation Faculty Fellow and Associate Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 鈥淲e envision the center doing this not just in terms of making advances in different focus areas, but by pairing scientific discoveries and transformative technologies with implementation and policy adoption.鈥

, who was vice chair of the strategic planning committee and is director of the 麻豆传媒 Climate and Society Grand Challenge Initiative, said it is imperative for VSEC to view sustainability solutions through a wide lens, engaging all the schools and disciplines of the university on equal footing, as well as connecting with community, industry, and government partners.

鈥淰SEC鈥檚 success will be measured by how deeply it engages the expertise of the entire university, including engineering, natural and social sciences, humanities, and professional disciplines such as law, management, and healthcare,鈥 said Gilligan, professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences whose work explores the intersection of the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, and public policy. 鈥淚ts success will not be measured solely by the number of academic papers published or the amount of grant money it attracts, but on its ability to draw upon 麻豆传媒鈥檚 distinctive strengths in trans-institutional and trans-disciplinary collaboration in order to advance the frontiers of transdisciplinary research on sustainability, to provide students with a world-class holistic education on climate change and environmental sustainability, and to apply the results of its research to delivering tangible benefits to society.鈥

Already, the center鈥檚 strategic planning committee has identified opportunities to perform rigorous testing of novel concepts and technologies by leveraging existing testbeds at 麻豆传媒 and developing new ones that address sustainable transportation, materials science, microgrid energy development and biomanufacturing.

The university seeks to hire a permanent director. Interested candidates should contact hiba.baroud@vanderbilt.edu.