Curriculum & Research

At Boston University, our campus community collaborates to solve important sustainability problems through practical coursework, funded research, and interdisciplinary endeavors.

A MacArthur Fellow at BU

Often referred to as the “Genius Grant,” Lucy Hutyra, a professor in the Department of Earth & Environment, received the prestigious honor from the MacArthur Foundation for her work on the study of carbon cycles in urban settings. Lucy’s work uses the city of Boston as her laboratory, studying the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem surrounding our university community.

Record Proposals for Campus Climate Lab

In 2023, the Campus Climate Lab program has continued to grow. The research projects funded through the Campus Climate Lab are designed to make Boston University’s campus and operations more sustainable while helping to advance the Climate Action Plan. In 2023, Campus Climate Lab received a record level of proposals over the three funding cycles, with 24 projects approved for funding. Students, faculty, and staff from twelve of the University’s colleges are represented in the funding pool, along with seven different operations partners. Among the funded projects are:

  • BU Wind Data Analysis and Curriculum Development – This project is creating a database using the data collected from the BU Wind Project in South Dakota to develop a curriculum that can teach the BU community about the wind farm and BU’s efforts to address climate change.
  • Native Plant Garden as Community Classroom—This project with the College of Fine Arts aims to transform underutilized green spaces in the campus arts district into nodes where students across disciplines can learn more about plants, cultural plant use, indigenous culture, and sustainability.

Janetos Prize Winner Takes on Lab Plastics

Professor Anthony Janetos (1954-2019) served not only as Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future and Professor of Earth and Environment, but he also served as Chair of BU’s Climate Action Task Force, which developed the University’s Climate Action Plan. In honor of his legacy and leadership, each Spring, the Janetos Climate Action Prize goes to a student or group of students who develop a Campus Climate Lab project that is judged to have the most substantial potential impact on advancing the goals of BU’s Climate Action Plan and shifting toward more sustainable University operations. In 2023, Carly Golden’s (CAMED ’27) research, in conjunction with the Serrano Lab and the Center for Regenerative Medicine, provides a framework for recycling in medical laboratory settings. This research will advance the University’s Zero Waste Plan by providing operational guidelines to manage waste sustainably in biomedical laboratories.

Climate Disinformation Initiative

Researchers and students from the Institute for Global Sustainability, Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering, College of Communication, College of Engineering, and Metropolitan College developed a cross-departmental research initiative focused on climate disinformation. Funded by the Hariri Institute’s Focused Research Program in partnership with the Institute for Global Sustainability, this research studies the critical role of communications in influencing and shaping opinions on climate change in the United States. Launched during the 2022-23 academic year, this program concluded with a day-long symposium in May 2023 on the research team’s findings. The symposium explored:

  • The impact climate disinformation has on platforms such as X (formerly known as Twitter) and Reddit.
  • How native advertising, a deceptive form of paid content that looks similar to news articles, has allowed the fossil fuel industry to promote a more climate-friendly message in mainstream news outlets.
  • How disinformation influences public attitudes, including which intervention strategies effectively dispel misperceptions about climate change

Sustainability Curriculum

Advancing and integrating climate change and sustainability into the curriculum is a central theme of the Climate Action Plan and an important element of the University’s Strategic Plan. In 2023, the University added additional and unique course offerings that allow BU students to investigate and learn more about how we can make our planet a more just and sustainable place.

  • “Coastal Environments of Massachusetts” is an undergraduate-level Metropolitan College and Environmental Sciences course focusing on the geology and natural history of the North and South Shores, including the Cape and the Islands. The lecture portion of the course is complimented by two field trips to the North Shore and South Shore/Cape Cod.
  • “Arts Engagement: Cultivating a Deeper Relationship with the Natural Environment to Foster Sustainable Life-Ways” is an undergraduate-level course at the College of Fine Arts open to any Junior or Senior at BU that utilizes the arts to contemplate nature, identify unsustainable practices, and propose viable alternatives. Students then share results with the community via a multimedia art exhibit.
  • “Sustainability Reporting” is a graduate-level course at Questrom that examines the evolving protocols for such disclosure: Integrated Reporting, Sustainability Accounting Standards, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Carbon Disclosure Project, and the Global Reporting Initiative.

Turning Our Waste Into Art

Students and Faculty from the School of Visual Arts are now taking waste managed by Facilities Management & Operations at Boston University and turning it into sculpture art as part of their portfolios. Classes have utilized cardboard, wood shipping pallets, and other items from the University’s waste stream for their artwork. See below for examples of this artwork.