In our “Where Are They Now?” series, current student interns interview former students about their experience at the Office of Sustainability (OS), particularly how that experience has helped them since graduation. In the following entry, …
Goals Pages
Sharing a Meal, Reducing Waste: Inside UW’s Food Recovery Network
Twice a week, the UW–Madison community comes together to share a warm meal. At the front of the room sits a buffet with dishes from cornbread to curry, while chatter-filled tables span the remaining space. …
Reducing Food Waste and Fighting Food Insecurity in the Dining Halls: Nutrition Access Program
At UW–Madison’s six dining market locations, staff work hard to feed students by preparing buffet-style meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. To meet the expected demand and decrease food waste, dining market staff use data …
Partnering Towards a Renewable Future
One of UW–Madison’s five institutional sustainability goals, first announced by Chancellor Mnookin in February 2024, is to reach net-zero emissions by 2048. Campus leadership set an interim target of 100% renewable electricity by 2030 as …
What UW–Madison’s AI Recycling Assistant Is Revealing About How We Sort Waste
If you’ve been in Union South or Memorial Union lately, chances are you’ve met Oscar. Oscar Sort is UW–Madison’s new AI waste and recycling assistant, introduced by the Office of Sustainability’s Zero Waste Team to …
Can energy storage and generation be made more efficient? Mark Anderson hopes to find out
Dr. Mark Anderson and the thermal hydraulics laboratory leverage heat transfer and fluid dynamics to develop engineering solutions that make energy production systems more efficient. Systems of energy production primarily rely on first generating heat and subsequently harnessing this heat to drive processes that range from powering an electrical grid to driving a car. Heat generation necessarily consumes natural resources so minimizing waste generated during energy production is essential to making energy accessible, affordable, and enduring.
Do microorganisms hold the key to environmental sustainability? Erica Majumder Aims to Find Out
Dr. Erica Majumder broadly classifies her research as “waste management microbiology.” Her group aims to use microorganisms to develop new strategies capable of removing pollutants from the environment and repurposing industrial and agricultural waste. With 292.4 million tons of solid waste being produced each year, in the US alone, finding new ways to upcycling these resources is crucial for environmental sustainability.
So you wanna study sustainability..?
Looking for a way to incorporate sustainability into your academic journey at UW–Madison? Look no further. No matter your major or department, there are countless ways to connect your studies to sustainability, whether you want …
For Emma Hauser, soil might hold the secret new forest management practices
Dr. Emma Hauser focuses on how human activity and climate change influence root nutrient cycles and different ways to mitigate adverse effects on the ecosystem. Current research from the Hauser Lab examines how the soil and roots respond to human activities and how they recover when old-growth forest strategies are implemented on secondary forests. Since root depth affects carbon cycling, nutrient storage, and water table patterns within the soil this research can give insight into how forest management practices can be improved to promote long-term sustainability.
Forest restoration one soundscape at a time, with Zuzana Burivalova
Dr. Zuzana Burivalova’s Sound Forest laboratory collects soundscapes, images, and videos from forests across the world to comprehensively identify the animal species that are present over time and location. As forest biodiversity is increasingly threatened by habitat loss and human encroachment, understanding the baseline levels of diversity in each environment is crucial for assessing forest declines over time and the impacts of new conservation efforts. Research in the Sound Forest lab helps scientists, government agencies, and local communities make more informed decisions about the study, protection, and restoration of their local forests.