Sarah P. Duke Gardens had record crowds during the cherry blossom season in mid March. Good news: The Garden Gateway opens April 8! (Photo by Jared Lazarus/Duke University)

The Office of Climate and Sustainability is accepting letters of intent from faculty teams interested in hosting a SCALES Postdoctoral Fellow beginning in summer 2027. Through a cohort-based model, the SCALES Postdoctoral Fellows program brings together early-career scholars to collaborate with faculty across schools and departments at Duke University on pressing climate, environment, and sustainability challenges.  Letters of intent are due by April 10 and selected faculty teams will be invited to submit full proposals.   

Thanks to all who participated time, insights, dedication and perspectives this week during the spring Climate Commitment Town Hall. Staff, faculty and students provided valuable input to help shape Duke’s Sustainable Operations Roadmap, offering input on priorities spanning food, water, waste, transportation, buildings, procurement and natural resources. Community members who were unable to attend, or who wish to share additional feedback, can reach out anytime via email to the Office of Climate and Sustainability: climate-sustainability@duke.edu.

Nicholas Nease plans to graduate in May with a double major in environmental science and policy and computer science. Nease has taken every opportunity to learn and be involved in climate work at Duke, in and out of the classroom. Nease serves as co-president of the Duke Undergraduate Energy and Climate Club and works as a Green Devil intern through the Office of Climate and Sustainability. Through the Department of Energy’s TechUP competition, he was on a team that won the Geothermal Technologies Office bonus prize. Now, he is building a startup for the energy future. 

The Garden Gateway project at Sarah P. Duke Gardens will open to the public on April 8, marking the completion of a major redesign that will transform the Duke Gardens experience. The $30 million project, underway since February 2025, includes renovations to the Doris Duke Center and main entrance as well as the addition of a new welcome center and expanded green spaces. (Photo by Jared Lazarus/Duke University)

The Duke Energy and Climate Club hosted Duke University’s inaugural “Climate and Sustainability Make-a-thon.” Over the course of the Make-A-Thon weekend, Duke students came together in teams to build prototype solutions for pressing climate, energy, and sustainability challenges, contending for more than $5,000 worth of cash prizes to further their ventures. (Photo courtesy of Duke Office of Undergraduate Education)

Duke’s geothermal research is rooted in a long history of experimentation and partnership, strengthened by meaningful partnerships across campus. Bridging pioneering research and experiential learning for students, professors across disciplines, alongside Facilities Management engineering staff, are advancing a geothermal energy study at Duke. An interdisciplinary team of researchers collaborated on a new phase of this project in October 2025.  

At Duke, Sam Stayn intersected his interests and majors: an AAHVS concentration in Architecture with Earth and Climate Sciences. Leveraging Duke’s multidisciplinary flexibility, he has built a specialized technical track. “My scientific training informs my approach to topography, hydrological flow, materials and environmental resilience in design,” he says. “I’m able to envision buildings and public spaces as active participants in ecological cycles, rather than static objects.” (Photo courtesy of Sam Stayn)

A new report from Nicholas Institute experts Martin Ross and Jackson Ewing finds even modest measures to curb data centers' energy use during peak hours could substantially reduce the amount of generation capacity needed to meet growing U.S. electricity demand. Building on previous research, their modeling shows other potential benefits over the next 5–10 years could include saving billions in capital costs, shifting investments from natural gas toward renewables, and reducing electricity prices.

In Fall 2025, the Lifelong Learning team within the Office of Alumni Engagement and Development (AED) partnered with the Center for Teaching and Learning’s (CTL) Learning Experience Design (LXD) team to create an online educational experience for university alumni using one of Duke’s newest Coursera courses: Climate Science for Everyone. What did some of the alumni say about the course?

The Southern Ocean plays an outsize role in global climate, largely thanks to tiny drifting organisms called plankton that soak up carbon. Reporting in Nature Communications in March, researchers have completed the most comprehensive survey to date of DNA associated with these microbes, paving the way for a better understanding of their role in climate change. The study stems from nearly a decade of genetic analysis conducted by biogeochemist Nicolas Cassar, Lee Hill Snowdon Bass Chair at the Nicholas School of the Environment, together with researchers from the European Institute for Marine Studies and other international collaborators.

This month, a fleet of volunteers from Duke Sustainable Athletics Group, and the Office of Climate and Sustainability led a donation drive for two NC-based nonprofit and mutual aide orgs at the conclusion of the K-Ville official tenting season.

NEW! - Resource by Duke author: Profession & Purpose career guide

Tool for the Duke research community - SciSwaps

NEW! - Duke Campus Farm CSA Open

NEW! - Duke Coursera Course: Community-Based Climate Change Solutions

Due April 10 - SCALES Postdoctoral Fellows Program: Call for Faculty Letters of Intent

Due May 15 - Climate and Sustainability Education Innovation Fund: Request for Faculty and Staff Proposals

Registration open! May 29 - Climate and Fungi (CLIF) Symposium II

Celebrate Earth Month at Duke! Submit events and information to climate@duke.edu.