Center for
Energy & Environment

CEE receives $1 million grant for campus solar project

The State of New York has set an ambitious target to supply 50 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2030, with an ultimate goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

A new solar power and energy storage initiative at the University of Rochester will help contribute to that goal.

Carmala Garzione, a professor of earth and environmental sciences at Rochester and the director of the University’s Center for Energy and the Environment (CEE), is spearheading the initiative, which will bring together Rochester researchers, students, and local community members to learn more about solar energy that is integrated with energy storage.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) recently awarded the University a $1 million grant for the project, as part of NYSERDA’s REV Campus Challenge, which recognizes New York universities for their commitments to clean energy. The University of Rochester was one of three NY schools to receive similar NYSERDA grants, announced at a ceremony at RIT.

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Group ‘cleaves’ oxygen from surface of metal oxide, enhancing reactivity

Metal oxides have been shown to be effective catalysts in converting greenhouse gases to useful chemical fuels, for example transforming carbon dioxide into methanol. The lab of Ellen Matson, CEE member and assistant professor of chemistry, has cleaved oxygen atoms from the surface of polyoxovanadate metallic clusters, increasing their ability to react with gaseous substrates such as carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. Pictured here are Matson and PhD student Brittney Petel, lead author of the paper describing the discovery. 

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Hot town, Summer Sustainability Fellows in the city

The University of Rochester’s inaugural Community-Engaged Summer Sustainability Fellows work with CEE member Katrina Smith Korfmacher, associate professor of environmental medicine, to analyze health equity aspects of the City of Rochester’s ongoing Climate Vulnerability Assessment (CVA). Korfmacher also directs the Environmental Health Sciences Center’s Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC), which works to address environmental health problems in the community.

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