Environmental Studies and Sustainability News

Sherralyn Sneezer was named this year’s Outstanding Graduate Woman for her commitment to working with indigenous communities to develop renewable energy systems on tribal land.

RIT is offering a graduate tuition scholarship to recent alumni seeking to expand their career potential through the university’s graduate programs. Alumni can enhance their skill set for the new economy through master’s degrees that build upon collaboration, analytical thinking, complex problem solving, and flexibility.

Researchers at RIT are investigating the combined physical effects of heat, chemical reactions, and seismic activity on concrete lining structures used to dispose of nuclear waste. Results from the work could improve nuclear waste infrastructure designs, better long-term safety management, and refine strategies to meet climate change targets.

While the pressure to publish starts early in an academic’s career, RIT doctoral student Israa Thiab has a strategy to get the work done without the anxiety. Thiab, a student in the Golisano Institute for Sustainability, is working on her first journal article, using techniques she learned at a writing retreat sponsored by RIT’s Graduate School.

RIT is growing its Ph.D. offerings, adding one new program in the fall of 2023 and two in 2024. This fall, Saunders College of Business will offer a Ph.D. in business administration. In 2024, the College of Liberal Arts will introduce a new doctoral degree in cognitive science and the College of Science will launch a Ph.D. in physics.

A partnership agreement between RIT’s Golisano Institute for Sustainability and Wells College will enable students from the Aurora, N.Y., school to enroll in RIT’s sustainable systems MS degree program.

During the 15 weeks between spring and fall semester, RIT students are finding ways to embrace new challenges. Some are taking the stage and performing. Others are winning club championships. For many, summer is a time to get work experience and participate in research projects, traveling abroad, and helping others while pursuing their passions.

The Auburn Citizen features a partnership between Wells College and RIT's Golisano Institute for Sustainability.

The mother and brother of a late NTID faculty member and alumna are paying tribute to her memory by establishing the Skyer Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing students achieve success in STEM-related majors.

The Today Show features Melissa Keomoungkhoun ’15 (advertising and public relations), ’16 MS (hospitality tourism management) and Victor Montiel ’17 (packaging science) and their experience at the restaurant Tatsu Dallas.

A team of researchers from RIT was recently awarded a grant to develop curricular modules on infrastructure improvement and resilience that introduce students to public and private sector standards, including industry standards.

Essay by Eric Hittinger, associate professor of public policy; Eric Williams, professor of sustainability; Qing Miao, associate professor of public policy; and Ph.D. student Tiruwork B. Tibebu, published by The Conversation.