Creating a Sustainable Future
Lisa R. Shaffer
Rady School of Management and
Sustainability Solutions Institute
April 16, 2010
Universities create the future
Education
Discovery
Example
3
UC San Diego students are learning to create a more sustainable future
Political Science • Materials Science and Engineering Physics • Bioengineering • Economics • Communication Chemical Engineering • Ethnic Studies • Anthropology Environmental Studies • Chemistry and Biochemistry Urban Studies and Planning • Sociology • History Electrical and Computer Engineering • Visual Arts Structural Engineering • Literature • Management
Many courses; many teachers
28,200 students
188 undergraduate &72 graduate sustainability courses offered
Student Learn Through Doing
• Practicum Projects
– Financing Photovolatic Systems
– Condenser Water Capture
• Academic Internship Program
• Research Opportunities
– Decision Making using Real-time Observations for Environmental Sustainability (DEMROES)
– Using campus shuttle to evaluate biodiesel combustion and emissions
• Rady: Lab-to-Market projects in clean tech
Undergraduates Can Choose Traditional or Interdisciplinary Majors
• Environmental Systems
• Environmental Studies
• Urban Studies and Planning
• Environmental Engineering
• Biology - Ecology, Behavior and Evolution
• Environmental Chemistry
• Earth Sciences
• Marine Studies
Innovative Graduate Programs
• Master of Advanced Studies and Interdisciplinary PhD in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
– Science, Economics, Communications, History
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography-Rady School of Management MBA/PhD Program
– Science and Management
Sustainability research is happening across UC San Diego
Arts & Humanities • Biological Sciences • Engineering International Relations and Pacific Studies • Physical Sciences
Social Sciences • Scripps Institution of Oceanography Rady School of Management
“UCSD scholars in the humanities and the arts are pioneers in new research leading to deeper and more
profound understanding of civilization and humankind’s role in the world”
History of Science, Naomi Oreskes
Visual Arts, Teddy Cruz: mixed-use developments that reuse and adapt existing structures and recycled materials
Biological Sciences change the world through our research into the causes and cures
for the major health, environmental, and economic challenges facing us
How are human developments, including engineered structures, affecting coastal ecosystems? Kaustuv Roy
Algae BiofuelsSD Center for Algae Biotechnology
The Jacobs School of Engineering mission is to educate tomorrow's technology leaders and to seek
discoveries that fuel economic prosperity of the nation, and enhance the quality of life for people everywhere
California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology
International Relations and Pacific Studies
Economics of health, the environment, and international development
Josh Graff Zivin
Physical SciencesWe are working on new frontiers of science that not only
impact the present but will also solve highly complex problems for future generations
Atmospheric chemistryAerosols
The Rady School of Management is at the nexus of research, development and innovation — it underlies our curriculum and our academic
model. The Rady School has a special interest in the life sciences and technology sectors, which are revolutionizing business and the world.
Innovation and commercialization processes
Behavioral economics
Supply chain optimization
“Cutting-edge research in the Social Sciences links science and technology to society and policy
in San Diego and beyond”
Environmental SociologyIvan Evans
Urban Studies and Planning,Regional EcologyKeith Pezzoli
“The Center for Environmental Economics promotes research in environmental economics and provides a
community for scholars, faculty, graduate students, and others interested in various topics on environmental economics”
Mark JacobsenTheodore Groves
Richard Carson
Scripps Institution of Oceanography“To seek, teach, and communicate scientific understanding of the
oceans, atmosphere, Earth, and other planets for the benefit of society and the environment”
Roger Revelle
Charles David Keeling
Established in January 2009, building on campus initiatives over past few years
Initial focus on:
• integrated water management,• built environment, • sustainability innovation
at local, regional, national, and global scales. Opportunities for student involvement in research, learning, and community service
The campus as a living laboratory – student engagement in research; data used for more
sustainable operations
DEMROES ProjectUCSD Student and Faculty collaborators
Climate Data from Rooftop SensorsProf. Jan Kleissl
Campus InnovationGreen cyberinfrastructure, clean energy
The renewable methane fuel for UC San Diego’s 2.8-megawatt fuel cell will be collected at the city of San Diego’s Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Campus Quick Facts
ElectricityPeak demands (MW)
50
40
30
20
10
0
City of San Diego
UC San Diego
QualcommSDSU
13 15
45 48
As a research and medical institution, we have a higher consumption of energy than comparable communities.
With a daily population of over 45,000, UC San Diego is the size and complexity of a small city.
Square Feet of Facility Space(in millions)
City of San Diego
UC San Diego
SDSU
Qualcomm6
8
13
5
13 million sq. ft . of facility space, if we were a landlord, we would be one of the largest in San Diego
Included in the daily population of 45,000, we have over 8,000 student residents living on campus
Campus Quick Facts
Carbon Footprintmetric tons/yr CO2 (in thousands)
200
0
150
100
50
197
160
6158
City of San Diego
UC San Diego
Qualcomm
SDSU
UC San Diego produces 197,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year
UC San Diego is a charter member of, and first university in the California Climate Action Registry
….and one of 7 university members of the Chicago Climate Exchange
Campus Quick Facts