Applications Open for UW–Madison’s Corporate Sustainability Internship Program 

Applications are now open for UW–Madison’s Corporate Sustainability Internship Program, a summer-long internship that provides students with real-world sustainability experience in corporate environments.  Rooted in the Wisconsin Idea, the program connects undergraduate and graduate students with Midwest companies seeking support …

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 …

Fourth-annual Sustainability Symposium highlights links between sustainability and health

The fourth-annual Sustainability Symposium opened with Paul Robbins, Dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, crediting students for the strides UW–Madison has made in sustainability, saying it was because they “would not leave this …

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 …

Sustainability Conversations Across the Big Ten: A Look at Student Leadership

The latest episode of The SustainUW Podcast’s new miniseries, Sustainability Conversations across the Big Ten, looks at how student leadership shapes campus sustainability work at UW–Madison and Rutgers Univesity.

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.