BU URBAN

Congratulations, Dr. Hall!

Impactful and relevant conversation with Boston City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune yesterday as part of our Urban Governance Series.

Thanks to @ruthzee.bsky.social for your time and energy and to Stacy Fox and @buoncities.bsky.social for organizing and framing the discussion.

Loved all the conversations at Light Breakfast with Lucy this morning.

At this point, yes it's in person only. Will let you know if that changes.

This Thursday, join our conversation with City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune and @buoncities.bsky.social Executive Director Stacy Fox about Boston's upcoming policy priorities.

RSVP here: forms.gle/YkgHy19qeYU2...

Highlighting the great work of URBAN Trainee Rachel Mooers, who leveraged her experience analyzing air quality data to collaborate with NASA Langley on their TEMPO satellite data last summer.

Learn more about Rachel's work here: sites.bu.edu/urban/mooers...

Connect with URBAN community members from across departments and campuses over bagels and coffee. RSVP here: forms.gle/oCXBwLJxGLhA...

This is amazing news! Congratulations to both IGS and Dr. Atherton.

Excited to share that I’ve started a new position with @bu-igs.bsky.social where I will be venturing into the fields of climate, energy, and health while building relationships with non-academic partners to ensure BU science makes an impact in MA!

President Melissa Gilliam Outlines Bold “North Star” Vision for Boston University’s Future During her first Presidential Address, the president called for BU to become a “global destination of discovery, education, and human connection”

President Melissa Gilliam Outlines Bold “North Star” Vision for Boston University’s Future

During her first Presidential Address, Gilliam called for BU to become a “global destination of discovery, education, and human connection.”

Apply by Feb. 26 IGS Graduate Student Summer Fellows Program BU’s Institute for Global Sustainability (IGS) seeks proposals from graduate students pursuing independent research projects focused on planetary health and human well-being, the governance and politics of sustainability transitions, and energy systems of the future.

@bostonu.bsky.social graduate students: apply now for the 2026 IGS Graduate Student Summer Fellows program.

Learn more & RSVP for the Feb. 5 information session:
spr.ly/63323CA3wP

Learn more about @worldresources.bsky.social and the work of Environmental Health and Extreme Heat Data Scientist, Ruth Engel.

RSVP: forms.gle/MzDK3Mrh99Va...

Terriers Reflect on Attending This Year’s United Nations Climate Conference Four BU doctoral students traveled to Brazil for COP30

“At this point, we know enough about climate change to know that action must be taken—it’s communicating that urgency and building momentum that’s the more challenging part.”
www.bu.edu/articles/202...

@marydwillis.bsky.social and I published a paper published today in Environmental Research Letters! iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1... We found that about 46.6 million people in the US, or about 14.1% of the US population, live within a mile of a piece of energy infrastructure. Why do we care? 🛟 |💡🔌

It was such a pleasure to hear from change-makers in climate mitigation and resilience, Lindsey Butler, Stephen Decina, and Conor Gately, each working in different sectors to address urban environmental challenges. They provided practical insights into the evolving nature of the work.

Want to make America healthy again? Stop fueling climate change From extreme heat to mosquito-borne illnesses, climate change is making people sicker and more vulnerable to disease. Health scientists explain what individuals and governments can do about it.

The Trump administration wants to rescind a 2009 finding that climate change endangers public health.

Physicians and epidemiologists argue the move ignores mounting evidence linking climate change to heat deaths, epidemics, air pollution and mental health crises.

Half-Day Virtual Event
Wildfires & Health: From Research to Resilience

Explore the latest on wildfire impacts, research, and community resilience. Join us for expert panels, lightning talks, and networking focused on public health.

📅 Nov 19 | 🕐 1:00–5:00 PM ET

🔗 loom.ly/vNHHm_o

URBAN Trainee Alejandra Castillo Cieza leveraged an URBAN Travel Award to present her research at the ESA conference this summer. Her research on the effects of urbanization and wildfire on forest health is both timely and relevant.

Communicating Climate Is the Focus of Inaugural Boston University Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact Summit COM’s November 7 event will feature policy experts, scholars, communicators—and a circus acrobat

@comatbu.bsky.social launched the Center for Media Innovation & Social Impact (MISI) in spring 2025, aiming to restore trust in science, democracy, and community. “This center aims to help society realize its potential through effective communication,” states COM Dean Mariette DiChristina (COM’86).

📣 Interested in #climate and #sustainability #research that makes a real impact at @bostonu.bsky.social & beyond?

BU's Campus Climate Lab offers up to $10,000 for student-mentor teams to use our campuses as a living lab for sustainability research! Apply now: www.bu.edu/igs/research...

A tiny device is identifying invisible health hazards in Boston schools - The Boston Globe Boston Public Schools is using a nation-leading network of air quality sensors to improve classroom air.

BARI Conference 2025 included a panel focused on indoor air quality studies in Greater Boston, so we know it's important! Congrats to our friends at @boston.gov and @patriciafabian.bsky.social for this important work to monitor air quality in every BPS classroom!
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/10/26/s...

Great turnout yesterday of engaged students interested in supporting research-based policy. Thanks to all who participated!

@ucs.org

Another impressive alum sharing their research on our urban environment! Check out @k8eatherton.bsky.social's paper in Nature Cities (www.nature.com/articles/s44...), "Behind the Paper" blog post (communities.springernature.com/posts/the-dy...) , or coverage at WBUR (www.wbur.org/news/2025/10...).

City living isn't good for a tree's microbiome, study shows. Here's what that means A new study from Boston University researchers found that the city's oak trees have more pathogens and plant decomposers. With fewer "good" microbes, experts worry about how that might impact ecosyste...

A new study in Nature Cities delves into what life is like for a Bostonian oak, and how we can help our green neighbors thrive despite the city’s stressors. 🌳https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/10/03/boston-tree-microbes-study

The dysregulated microbiome of city trees Cities are investing in planting trees, but we don’t fully understand how city living affects trees and the other organisms it houses. We found that urban oak trees lose their microbial symbionts whil...

You can also take a look at my "Behind the Paper" blog for Nature to learn more about how we went from soil to this microbial story!
go.nature.com/4nJcP0j

Disruption of the oak tree microbiome with urbanization - Nature Cities Urbanization disrupts oak tree microbiomes by reducing beneficial fungi and increasing plant and human pathogens across leaves, roots and soils, with consequences for tree health, urban climate mitiga...

🌳 Big news! My paper “Disruption of the oak tree microbiome with urbanization” is now out in Nature Cities! 🏙️🌿
Cities are full of life we don’t see, including microbes that live in and on trees.
🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s442...

🗓️ SAVE THE DATE! Join us Friday 11/7 as we host our first MISI summit on "Communicating Climate." Leading voices will explore why what we listen to or read about around #climatechange leads to misinformation and disinformation or trust.

Register now > bit.ly/MISISummit2025

@comatbu.bsky.social

This summer, URBAN Trainee Flannery Black-Ingersoll outlined ways to streamline the process of integrating new climate technologies in the city.

Learn more about Flannery's internship project with the Office of Emerging Technology by visiting our Internship Impacts page sites.bu.edu/urban/black-...

URBAN Trainee Zhenpeng Zuo used his GIS skills to develop a mapping protocol that can aid municipalities as they transition to cleaner energy.

Check out the Internship Impacts page of our website (sites.bu.edu/urban/intern...) to see the impactful projects trainees undertook this spring and summer!

Mayors have arrived at Climate Week NYC to showcase how cities are stepping up on climate.

From cutting fossil fuels and scaling up clean energy to creating good green jobs and protecting communities, local leaders are proving what’s possible when action meets ambition.