Research

Beginning with its founding in 2009, GW’s Sustainability Institute supports the development of interdisciplinary research teams to address complex sustainability problems. The institute brings together faculty in social sciences, natural sciences, law, communications, business, public health, engineering and policy to ensure that future generations will enjoy the same abundance of resources and opportunities currently available.

Teams working with the Sustainability Institute are developing solutions to promote urban sustainability, integrate the Arctic into our understanding of planetary processes, improve the equitable distribution of energy technologies, and advance the acceptance of evidence-defined policies through digital storytelling and exposure to authentic science practices. 

The Sustainability Institute welcomes new faculty, staff, and students who are interested in the broad range of sustainability topics. We seek to promote greater research efforts in our classrooms, in solving operational problems on campus, and in communicating our successes to a variety of audiences in academia and beyond. Some new initiatives include the Sustainability Scholars Program, which provides increased opportunities for students to collaborate with faculty and staff on results-oriented projects.