Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

It was a great week of new insights and connections 🌟 #ClimateWeekNYC

Charlotte Pera speaks on a panel in front of an audience

Bill Barnett, Jen Burney, and other panelists listen to a speaker

Wide view of Charlotte Pera speaking with a microphone to a room of people

Group photo of Sustainability Accelerator leaders smiling together

A few highlights from our scholars at #ClimateWeekNYC:

🚀 Sharing about the Climate Tech Atlas, a new resource developed with Breakthrough Energy + other collaborators
🌎 Discussing climate innovation and food security research opportunities
🎤 Showcasing expertise at the Sustainability Accelerator

The conference was organized by @lavainspace.bsky.social along with leaders at @setiinstitute.bsky.social, NASA Ames Research Center, @ucsantacruz.bsky.social, @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social, @ucdavis.bsky.social, & Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

View from the back of a large room with a person presenting slides at the front

Two people smiling holding lunar meteorites

A person presents their research during a poster session

A speaker at a podium presents slides

Over 100 planetary scientists from around the Bay Area recently gathered at Stanford to connect and discuss their research. Highlights:

📸 Laura Schaefer and Michelle Hill

Paula Welander, a microbiologist and professor at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, joined @scifri.bsky.social last week to talk about how studying ancient evidence of tiny organisms can help us understand the origins of life on Earth. ⬇️
bit.ly/480aDg1

Shaping planetary sciences at Stanford Eva Scheller designs and plans spacecraft instruments, including Mars rovers and satellites, and analyzes the data to understand the formation, evolution, and habitability of planetary bodies.

“I’m doing something that’s merging geology and geochemistry with spacecraft. This is something I’ve been interested in since I was a kid. A lot of people in my field are obsessed with aliens, but I always was obsessed with rocks and planetary bodies.”
Meet Eva L. Scheller, new assistant professor:

Learn about the Climate Tech Atlas (climatetechatlas.com), a new, free-to-use platform to identify opportunities for building a clean, affordable, and energy-abundant future.

Scientists uncover extreme life inside the Arctic ice For the first time, researchers report that Arctic algae can hustle along in -15 C – the lowest-temperature movement ever recorded in complex, living cells.

In a record-breaking discovery, scientists found that algae living in the Arctic ice are active in -15 C – the lowest-temperature movement ever recorded in complex, living cells.

Studying their activity could help us better understand the ecology of the Arctic.

A new study shows that companies disclose little about their impacts on the ocean. Identifying these gaps could help improve corporate reporting in the future. stanford.io/4mSxyOX

Study finds extreme weather changes who migrates, not just how many A new global study finds that extreme weather may trap many populations in place even as it increases migrations of other groups. The analysis shows that age and education strongly shape who migrates ...

A new study explains how extreme weather can push some groups to move across borders while trapping many others in place.

When weather-related disasters strike, age and education strongly shape who migrates, the analysis shows.

AI model reveals hidden earthquake swarms and faults in Italy’s Campi Flegrei A new AI model detects thousands of previously unseen earthquakes in near real time, helping scientists understand changes in an Italian volcanic area where earthquakes have been intensifying since 20...

Using a new tool, researchers were able to detect thousands of previously unseen earthquakes in a volcanic area in Italy. Their approach could be adapted to improve understanding of earthquake risk in other areas with seismic monitoring systems.

Read about the study: stanford.io/3JPrIPO

4 key facts about extreme weather and disaster relief How do extreme weather events and disasters affect communities long term? Solomon Hsiang explains the consequences for economic growth and human health, and how research can inform better emergency ma...

Solomon Hsiang, a professor of environmental social sciences, applies data science methods to reveal the long-term economic and health impacts of extreme weather events and inform decisions about how to mitigate them. Here are four essential facts from his research.

The rise of plant life changed how rivers move, study shows Research reveals that unvegetated meandering rivers can geologically masquerade as braided rivers, suggesting they were much more common in the first 90 percent of Earth’s history than previously thou...

Findings from a recent study could upend the conventional view of how rivers have shaped continents over time.

It’s “a significant revision to our understanding of the history of the Earth,” said lead author Michael Hasson.
@marslogander.bsky.social

Study reveals benefits of traditional Himalayan crops Stanford researchers discovered that a nearly forgotten variety of black peas from the northwest Himalayas in India is genetically distinct from other peas and outperforms them.

With support from the Sustainability Accelerator at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, researchers have shown that, compared to green peas, a variety of black peas with a 3,000-year legacy in the Trans-Himalayas is more nutritious and climate resilient.

“We developed ways of finding corals that are going to survive the next heat wave. And started using them to rebuild reefs.”

Read about the impact of research by @spalumbi.bsky.social, professor of oceans:

Home batteries are saving America from blackouts Home battery storage systems are keeping lights on during summer energy crunches in Puerto Rico and elsewhere across the United States.

Read more about the findings in The Washington Post: wapo.st/4mAdBfL

Most U.S. households can save money and weather blackouts with solar plus storage For most American families, installing solar panels and battery packs can lower electricity costs and manage local and regional power outages affordably, a new Stanford study finds.

💡 According to a new study, installing solar panels with battery storage could reduce electricity costs and help manage power outages for the majority of U.S. households.

Researchers emphasize the need for equitable access to these solar-battery benefits.

@stanfordenergy.bsky.social

Beaver dams create ponds that foster biodiversity, improve water quality, and even limit the spread of wildfires. Here’s how researchers are helping watershed managers understand the best areas to support beaver populations and restore wetlands: stanford.io/3HvTHD2

The Blue Food Assessment Indonesia highlights the potential of aquatic food sources to improve nutrition, food security, and livelihoods across the country. Launched last week, it's the first assessment of its kind at the national level. See contributions from @oceansolutions.stanford.edu scholars ⬇️

For city dwellers, even 15 minutes in nature can improve mental health A new study clarifies the importance of nature for mental health in urban settings and provides low-cost recommendations for improving public health in cities.

Nature as a mental health solution 🌳

A new study from @natcapproject.bsky.social, part of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, shows that spending even a little time in nature can provide significant mental health benefits in urban settings.

What’s the deal with microplastics, the material that ‘never goes away’? Whether we know it, or like it, our bodies are polluted by tiny fragments of plastic that fail to break down in our earthly environment. What does that mean for our long-term health, and what can we d...

Tiny fragments of plastic that fail to break down have pervaded our water, food, ecosystems, and the human body.

Stanford researchers working to measure and reduce plastic waste discuss the impacts of plastic pollution and what can be done:

Hidden microbes protect coastal waters. Will they do their job as sea levels rise? A study conducted at Stinson Beach illustrates how microbes in the sand filter chemicals from groundwater before they reach the ocean – and what might happen in the face of climate change.

🏖️ Beneath sandy beaches, tiny organisms maintain coastal water quality and safeguard ocean health.

Understanding and preserving these microbial communities may be critical for coastal resilience and the mitigation of climate impacts.

Here’s what the research says:

Searching for the structure of Earth’s subsurface Ettore Biondi uses fiber sensing technologies and dense seismic sensor networks to understand the underlying mechanisms and subsurface structures driving geophysical processes such as volcanic system ...

“In Earth science, you have to put together a lot of different things. You have to know a little bit of math, physics, chemistry. That's one thing I really like about Earth science, and that's the reason why I keep on doing what I do.”

Meet Ettore Biondi, new assistant professor of geophysics:

Read about the impact of global climate change on agriculture and food security in a Q&A with David Lobell, professor of Earth system science ⬇️

One surprising fact about greener cement Centuries ago, Pliny the Elder marveled at the transformation of volcanic ash. Today, researchers are reinventing cement by harnessing volcanic chemistry to create more sustainable building materials.

Cement production is one of the largest industrial contributors to global warming. Tiziana Vanorio, associate professor of Earth and planetary sciences, is reinventing cement with a radically lower carbon footprint – inspired by volcanic chemistry. Here’s how: stanford.io/4o41BUy

Sustainability Accelerator selects 41 new projects with potential for rapid scale-up The latest awards enable development and implementation of cross-disciplinary projects tackling real-world sustainability challenges in food and agriculture, industry, water, electricity, and biology.

Spanning topics in biology, agriculture, electricity, industry, and water, 41 new projects will receive support from the Sustainability Accelerator at @stanforddoerr.bsky.social to translate research into impact and address real-world sustainability challenges.

What does it mean to do ‘community-based research’? From affordable housing in the Bay Area to Indigenous land rights in the Klamath River watershed, environmental scientist Sibyl Diver’s work depends on building lasting relationships.

“The community impact work and the research go hand in hand and shape one another.”

Earth Systems Program lecturer Sibyl Diver describes the importance of building lasting relationships to support & learn from communities, and how this approach to research can lead to positive societal impacts.

Four new projects funded to advance ocean health and sustainability This year’s Big Ideas for Oceans seed grants support research on seagrass ecosystems, carbon dioxide in seawater, kelp for climate mitigation, and women’s experiences working in fisheries and aquacult...

Seagrass ecosystems, gender equity in fisheries and aquaculture, and more: Here are four new projects supported by the Oceans Department & @woods.stanford.edu at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability advancing ocean health and sustainability.

5 key facts about wildfires and clean air policies How can air quality policies adapt to the new world of pollution trends shaped by wildfire smoke? Learn about the growing problem of air polluted by wildfire smoke, and what the data show about polici...

@marshallburke.bsky.social, an associate professor of environmental social sciences, works to quantify how wildfire smoke affects air quality and public health, using data-driven analysis to inform potential solutions. Here are five essential facts based on Burke’s research:

Oceanic humanities project envisions new wave in education Stanford researchers are working to create a unique, interdisciplinary curriculum to help students better understand both the physical and biological ocean syst

An English professor and an oceans professor have teamed up to explore the human relationship with the oceans, often overlooked in ocean studies.

They envision an interdisciplinary curriculum that incorporates science & technology with literature, history, geography, philosophy, and the arts.