Dunbar Birnie, Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Curiosity Cultivates Solar Solutions: Innovating Agrivoltaics for a Sustainable Future

Shriya Golugula2025

RCEI Affiliate Focus on Dunbar Birnie, Professor & Corning/Saint Gobain/Malcom G. McLaren Chair, Department of Materials Science and Engineering By Aleen Mirza Curiosity may have killed the cat, but for RCEI Affiliate Dunbar Birnie, it sparked a decades-long passion for solar energy and innovation. From collecting geodes and shiny rocks as a child to creating one of Rutgers’ first courses …

Rutgers alumnus and renowned conservationist Peter Seligmann AG’72.

Global Conservation Leader, Peter Seligmann (AG’72), Credits Rutgers for Giving Him his Start

Shriya Golugula2025

Rutgers alumnus Peter Seligmann (AG’72), who earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife ecology from the College of Agriculture (now School of Environmental and Biological Sciences), credits Rutgers with setting him on the path to almost 40 years of global environmental conservation. He went on to earn a master’s degree in forestry and environmental science from Yale University in 1974. Seligmann founded Conservation …

Professor Falzon at the recent COP29 climate negotiations meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Who Decides the Future of a Warming Planet? On the Frontlines of Climate Justice

Shriya Golugula2025

RCEI Affiliate Focus on Danielle Falzon, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology By Aleen Mirza Who decides the future of a warming planet? More importantly, who is excluded from those critical discussions? As climate change is an increasingly undeniable reality, these questions expose an uncomfortable truth, as explained by RCEI affiliate Danielle Falzon, Assistant Professor of Sociology. The truth is that …

RCEI affiliate Onur Bilgen

RCEI affiliate Onur Bilgen awarded a 2024-25 Provost Award for Faculty Excellence

Shriya Golugula2025

Congratulations to RCEI affiliate Onur Bilgen, an associate professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering, for being awarded ​​The Provost Award for Excellence in Cross-Disciplinary Research. Onur Bilgen is also a co-leader in the Wind Energy Test (W.E.T.) Center Project, an RCEI Signature Initiative.

Brian Schilling, Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension, addresses attendees at the 2025 RCE Annual Conference. Credit: Chris Gutierrez, OPOC.

Rutgers Cooperative Extension 2025 Conference Focuses on “Building a Culture of Communication”

Shriya Golugula2025

Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) convened its annual conference on January 14 at the Busch Student Center. Focused on the theme, “Cultivating Connection: Building a Culture of Communication,” the 2025 conference attracted more than 230 attendees from all NJAES units. RCE Director Brian Schilling welcomed conference participants and outlined the day’s goals for professional development, information sharing, networking, and collegiality. “Being …

RCEI affiliate David Robinson.

As Musk’s Team Sweeps Through Federal Agencies, Fears for Future of NOAA

Shriya Golugula2025

Representatives from Elon Musk’s task force accessed NOAA’s headquarters in Maryland this week, as part of the Trump administration’s removal of climate and weather data from the internet. The shutdown of NOAA, which plays a crucial role in climate science and weather forecasting, could have dire consequences, including increased risks to public safety. The agency operates satellites, ocean buoys and …

Image of Whale leaping in the ocean.

Scientists Harness AI to Help Protect Whales, Advancing Ocean Conservation and Planning

Shriya Golugula2025

Using machine learning, Rutgers researchers develop a “probability map” from databases that combines whale monitoring and environmental data  Researchers at Rutgers University-New Brunswick have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that will help predict endangered whale habitat, guiding ships along the Atlantic coast to avoid them. The tool is designed to prevent deadly accidents and inform conservation strategies and responsible …

Image of Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society

RCEI affiliates contribute to new volume of the Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society

Shriya Golugula2025

A big congratulations to RCEI affiliates Steve Brechin (co-editor and author), Melissa Aronczyk (author), Robin Leichenko (author), and Tom Rudel (author) for their contributions to this exciting new volume of the Routledge Handbook of Climate Change and Society. Several current and former Rutgers graduate students have contributed their expertise to this remarkable work! Affiliates Steve Brechin and Robin Leichenko were …

Diane Raver and Dr. Jim Simon watch the short science film, “Biting Back: The Life Saving Potential of Catnip,” directed by SAS student Or Doni and SOE student Emily Schneider, in the Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab.

Immersive Learning Through Science Storytelling Lab Wins “2025 Broader Vision Award” by the Garden State Film Festival

Shriya Golugula2025

The Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab, developed by SEBS scientists, science storytellers, STEM learning researchers and youth educators, has been awarded the Broader Vision Award by the Garden State Film Festival. In early January, Diane Raver, founder of the Garden State Film Festival and Executive Director of the New Jersey Film Academy, came to the Rutgers School of Environmental …

RCEI affiliate Kay Bidle

Recent Study Reveals How Marine Snow Impacts Carbon Sequestration in theOcean

Shriya Golugula2025

By Aleen Mirza A study by a team of researchers from Stanford University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Rutgers, including Rutgers professor and RCEI Affiliate Kay Bidle, has uncovered new insights regarding the properties of “marine snow” (aggregated marine organic matter) that rapidly descends from surface waters into the deep ocean and is a critical component of carbon sequestration.  In …