Princeton’s vital research across the spectrum of environmental issues is today and will continue to be pivotal to solving some of humanity’s toughest problems. Our impact is built on a long, deep, broad legacy of personal commitment, intellectual leadership, perseverance and innovation. This article is the first in a series to present the sweep of Princeton’s environmental excellence over the past half-century.
As civic leaders and urban planners work to make cities more sustainable and livable by investing in outdoor spaces and recreational activities such as biking and walking, Princeton researchers have identified the benefit of an activity largely overlooked by policymakers — home gardening.
In the images Lauren von Berg created, the ebb and flow of life in one of Earth’s most inhospitable places undulates across the screen.
Princeton University researchers may have solved a long-standing mystery in conservation that could influence how natural lands are designated for the preservation of endangered species.
Around the world, the migratory shorebirds that are a conspicuous feature of coastal habitats are losing access to the tidal flats — the areas between dry land and the sea — they rely on for food as they travel and prepare to breed. But a major puzzle has been that species’ populations are plummeting several times faster than the rate at which coastal ecosystems are lost to development.
Princeton senior Cole Morokhovich still marvels at the possibility that his academic path may have come down to one five-minute window. Having come to Princeton with a focus on pre-medicine, he had taken most of the required courses and declared his major in chemical and biological engineering.
Local variations in climate are not likely to dominate the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Princeton University study published May 18 in the journal Science.
The researchers found that the vast number of people still vulnerable to the strain of coronavirus causing the pandemic — SARS-CoV-2 — and the speed at which the pathogen spreads means that climate conditions are only likely to make a dent in the current rate of infection.
Like an undulating seesaw, weather in some regions swings from drought to heavy rain under the weight of climate-induced changes, according to an analysis published in Geophysical Research Letters. The study finds a link between droughts followed by heavy rain events, along with an increased rate of these extreme weather occurrences.
Three research endeavors aimed at fundamental challenges in health, information technology and water conservation have been selected for funding through the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Transformative Technology Fund.
The amount of farmland around the world that will need to be irrigated in order to feed an estimated global population of 9 billion people by 2050 could be up to several billion acres, far higher than scientists currently project, according to new research. The result would be a far greater strain on aquifers, as well as the likely expansion of agriculture into natural ecosystems as farmers search for water.
Hurricanes moving slowly over an area can cause more damage than faster-moving storms, because the longer a storm lingers, the more time it has to pound an area with storm winds and drop huge volumes of rain, leading to flooding. The extraordinary damage caused by storms like Dorian (2019), Florence (2018) and Harvey (2017) prompted Princeton’s Gan Zhang to wonder whether global climate change will make these slow-moving storms more common.
