As we begin a new year in 2024, we reflect on the many accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students and partners. Our newly launched website features even more of the inspiring stories of our people, programs and projects. Please scroll down to enjoy a few highlights from 2023, then visit our website for more!
A home near campus
The UNC Institute for the Environment moved its headquarters Nov. 13 from the Europa Center, an off-campus office building, to Carolina Square on UNC’s iconic Franklin Street. The move puts the Institute adjacent to campus and in closer proximity to students, research partners and the town of Chapel Hill, allowing us to better serve our mission and connect ideas, people and programs.
“Since I arrived at the Institute more than five years ago, one of our key priorities has been to relocate to campus,” said Mike Piehler, professor, director of the UNC Institute for the Environment and chief sustainability officer at Carolina. “Carolina Square is an amazing location and puts us right among Carolina’s amazing students and our collaborators. We are grateful to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research for making this move possible and look forward to continuing to thrive in this new location.
UNC research team awarded $1.5 million NASA grant to explore disparities and solutions to urban heat stress and climate justice in U.S.
A new $1.5 million grant from NASA will allow an interdisciplinary team of researchers, led by Angel Hsu an assistant professor of public policy and director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab (DDL) at the UNC Institute for the Environment, to harness the power of satellite remote sensing data, community-collected temperature data and machine learning to evaluate disparities in heat stress from environmental and climate injustices across the U.S.
Creating Climate-Resilient Communities
The Institute's Center for the Public Engagement with Science partnered with Juntos to empower Latino youth in educating their communities about climate change through the Youth Engaging in the Science of Resilience: Sensing the Environment and Envisioning Solutions (YES Resilience: SEE Solutions) program.
UNC hosts ITM, a prominent international air quality modeling forum to advance global air quality
The 39th annual International Technical Meeting on Air Pollution Modelling and its Applications (ITM) hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment (IE) brought more than 100 scientists and stakeholders from across the world to the Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from May 22 through May 26.
ITM, a prominent international forum for discussing developments in air pollution modeling, began in 1969 under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Committee on Challenges of Modern Society and became independent of NATO in 2013. The 39th annual conference was the first ITM conference held in Chapel Hill.
Carolina celebrates sustainability with Champion Sustainability Game
The Champion Sustainability Game celebrated the University of North Carolina’s many sustainability accomplishments and educated fans about Carolina’s sustainability goals.
The game was sponsored by Sustainable Carolina and Champion, a partnership facilitated by LEARFIELD’s Tar Heel Sports Properties, the University’s athletic multimedia rights holder. It featured multiple on-site interactive displays with sustainability activities and in-game content featuring the Champion Fund and its commitment to UNC’s sustainability efforts. Before kickoff, the Sustainable Carolina team was in Tar Heel Town at Polk Place handing out “Green in Kenan” buttons and t-shirts. Additional campus sustainability organizations were also present with information about renewable energy, recycling and composting and climate action.
Students immersed in urban planning, clean energy on six-week European Burch Seminar
This summer, Greg Gangi, associate director for clean technology and innovation and teaching professor, and 20 students enrolled in the Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K.: Sustainability Burch Field Research Seminar spent six weeks in Europe studying urban planning and the clean energy transition.
Europe boasts some of the most sustainably innovative nations in the world, according to Gangi. Students traveled to Freiburg, Germany, Amsterdam, Netherlands and London, England with a few days spent in the Lumbar region of England. The program was co-led by Adam Lovelady, professor of public law and government, and Ivara Goulden, the teaching assistant.
UNC students turn downed trees into art
Since the fall of 2021, the Carolina Tree Heritage (CTH) and Jim Hirschfield’s wood sculpture class have given downed trees on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus new life. CTH provides students in the introductory wood sculpting course with wood from trees that are taken down on campus, preventing the wood from ending up in landfills.
“These old big, beautiful trees have been around on campus since before there was a campus in many cases, so we’re really excited to do things with those trees when they come down,” said Susan Cohen, associate director at the UNC Institute for the Environment. Cohen and her colleague Tom Bythell, the university arborist, manage CTH.
New UNC study identifies disparities in testing and treating well water among low-income, BIPOC households in N.C.
North Carolina leads the nation for most households relying on private wells as a primary source of drinking water, with one in four households on private wells. These wells are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act, and most are not tested for contaminants, especially in low-income areas.
A new study published in Environmental Justice by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that private well testing and treatment levels were significantly predicted by race and income, even though high levels of contamination were equally distributed across the research areas.
Carolina global leader in oyster reef research, study finds
A new study published in the journal Water analyzed global oyster reef research and identified authoritative experts and institutions in the field. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranked second in the world for oyster reef research and several scientists at, and with connections to, Carolina were identified as leading oyster researchers.
Tar Heels in the field (sites)
At field sites in North Carolina's mountains, coastline, cities and even the tropical rain forests of Thailand, undergraduates have a semester-long opportunity to explore real-world issues through a combination of coursework, field trips, research projects and internships with local organizations.
Challenges facing these host communities shape the curriculum at each site, and the results of research by Carolina faculty and students are shared with community partners.
Joint study from UNC and Boston University finds air pollution from oil and gas production responsible for $77 billion in annual U.S. health damages including thousands of early deaths, childhood asthma cases nationwide
Despite global efforts to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy, oil and gas (O&G) production is nearing record levels in the United States, posing concern among health experts about what this O&G growth means for air quality and human health. While there is extensive research on the climate effects of O&G-produced methane—a key contributor to air pollution—few studies have measured the health effects of the air pollution that O&G activity generates.
A new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute for the Environment (UNC-IE), PSE Healthy Energy, and Environmental Defense Fund fills this gap.
UNC study quantifies $562M in financial risk from Hurricane Florence using novel modeling approach evaluating risk of mortgage default and property abandonment
A new study published in Earth’s Future by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill estimates $562 million in previously unquantified financial risks arising from property value changes and uninsured flood damages in eastern North Carolina as a result of Hurricane Florence. The research team developed a new modeling framework using data on homes sales, mortgage loans and insurance claims to predict risk of mortgage default and abandonment. These predictions can be used by policy makers and stakeholders to create more effective and equitable strategies for community resilience after a disaster.
Ninth annual UNC Cleantech Summit featured leaders in business, public sector for keynotes, panels and networking
The 2023 UNC Cleantech Summit took place on Mar. 27 and 28 at UNC’s Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill, N.C. The two-day summit was the ninth such event co-hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment and Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School since the inaugural summit in 2014.
The Southeast’s largest event of its kind, the Summit seeks to explore and innovate developments in environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient technology and highlights North Carolina’s role in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This year’s event included keynote speakers, panels, workshops, a career fair, the presentation of the Cleantech Pioneer Award and Cleantech Trailblazer Award, and more.
Save the date for the 10th annual UNC Cleantech Summit Mar. 21-22, 2024!
Urban habitats mitigate coastal flooding impacts, UNC study finds
A new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assessed water quality regulation by flooded landscapes in the upper Neuse River Estuary along the North Carolina coast and found urban estuarine habitats to be effective at permanently removing nitrogen through denitrification—a natural process that improves water quality.
Ecological restoration industry generated $9.6 billion and supported more than 53,000 jobs, according to new UNC study
A new study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently found that the wetland and stream restoration market has a significant impact on the U.S. economy. The study, published in PLOS ONE, estimates the industry annually generates $9.6 billion in economic impact and supports more than 53,000 jobs nationally.
For more exciting news, visit our newly launched website!