Environment

Award for Distinguished Innovation goes to Peter Jaffé and Shan Huang for bacteria that break down persistent environmental contaminants
Oct. 12, 2023
Author
Written by Alaina O'Regan, Office of the Dean for Research

In recognition of the importance to society of innovative research and scholarship, the 2023 Dean for Research Award for Distinguished Innovation will be awarded to Peter Jaffé, William L. Knapp Professor of Civil Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Shan Huang, professional specialist in civil and environmental engineering, for the development of bacterial approaches to eliminating harmful contaminants that are persistent in the environment.

Princeton researchers revolutionize lithium production
Sept. 18, 2023
Author
Written by Colton Poore, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

Researchers at Princeton have developed an extraction technique that slashes the amount of land and time needed for the production of lithium, a vital component of the batteries at the heart of electric vehicles and energy storage for the grid. The researchers say their system can improve production at existing lithium facilities and unlock…

Getting to net-zero, in the U.S. and the world
Aug. 25, 2023
Author
Written by Molly Seltzer, Office of Communications; Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

Princeton University’s Jesse Jenkins, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, has been a leader of both the national and the global charge to net-zero, along with his…

Exploratory Energy Research Fund fuels explorations into urban solar panels and batteries for electrical grid storage
Aug. 21, 2023
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Written by Catherine Zandonella, Office of the Dean for Research

Two new projects that propel investigations in sustainable energy generation and storage have been awarded funding via the Dean for Research Innovation Fund for Exploratory Energy Research.

The fund…

Project that reimagines roofs in a warming world selected to receive Dean for Research Sustainability of Our Planet funding
Aug. 16, 2023
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Written by Siya Arora for the Office of the Dean for Research

A new project has been awarded a grant from the Dean for Research Innovation Fund for the Sustainability of Our Planet to develop an energy-efficient method for cooling indoor spaces.

Switching to hydrogen fuel could prolong the methane problem
March 20, 2023
Author
Written by Colton Poore, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

Hydrogen’s potential as a clean fuel could be limited by a chemical reaction in the lower atmosphere, according to research from Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

This is because hydrogen gas easily reacts in the atmosphere with the same molecule primarily responsible for breaking down methane,…

The Pacific Ocean’s oxygen-starved 'OMZ' is growing, Princeton research finds
Jan. 6, 2023
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Written by Liz Fuller-Wright, Office of Communications

Areas of low-oxygen water stretch for thousands of miles through the world’s oceans. The largest of these “oxygen minimum zones” (OMZs) is found along the Pacific coast of North and South America, centered off the coast of Mexico.

Until recently, climate models have been unable to say whether OMZs will grow or shrink from climate…

Climate change and the ocean: Oxygen-poor zones shrank under past warm periods, scientists discover
Aug. 31, 2022
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Written by The Office of Communications

In the last 50 years, oxygen-deficient zones in the open ocean have increased. Scientists have attributed this development to rising global temperatures: Less oxygen dissolves in warmer water, and the tropical ocean’s layers can become more stratified.

But now, contrary to widespread expectations, an international team of scientists led…

Can the humanities help solve climate change?
Aug. 29, 2022
Author
Written by Denise Valenti, Office of Communications

Princeton’s leadership in environmental studies had a seminal meeting of the minds in 1992, when President Harold T. Shapiro saw the opportunity to leverage the University’s strengths in environmental sciences and engineering. His goal was to…

Fighting climate change is wildly popular, but most Americans don’t know that other people feel the same way
Aug. 24, 2022
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Written by Molly Seltzer, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment

Just after the U.S. Congress passed the nation's most substantial legislation aimed at battling climate change, a new study shows that the average American dramatically underestimates how much their fellow citizens…