Callie Babbit

Home Department: Sustainability

Interests (Teaching/Research): I study and teach on the environmental impacts of emerging and evolving technologies, including consumer electronics, lithium-ion batteries, nanotechnology, and food waste solutions. My research group develops novel methods for analyzing sustainability risks and creating proactive solutions to ensure that these technologies can reach their full potential for improving quality of life without creating unintended consequences to environmental systems.

Year Started at RIT: 2009

Favorite place(s) on campus: The Eco-Design Lab in Sustainability Hall; walking down the Quarter Mile in late spring

Mentorship areas: Grant writing; working with the National Science Foundation; interdisciplinary research; graduate advising; science communication

1. Proud Professional Moment: Receiving the NSF CAREER Award in 2013; Serving as  a U.S. Delegate to the 2017 G7 Environmental Ministers Meeting; Mentoring and graduating multiple female Ph.D. grads and seeing them go on to successful careers

2. Trials and Foils: Knowing when to speak up and when to listen; Learning how to effectively advise graduate students; Struggling to prioritize important goals over daily calamities and distractions

3. Words of Wisdom: Find good collaborators, celebrate successes small and large; don’t skimp on sleep; be a lifelong learner; get to know and thank the many staff at RIT who keep the university running.

4. Future Aspirations:  Continue to find exciting research problems to study over the course of my career; Travel globally to study food waste systems and solutions around the world.