February 2025 Newsletter

Toddi Steelman, Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability at Duke, shares updates, including the new 2030 Strategy to guide the initiative's research, education, external engagement, sustainable operations and community partnerships.

She also highlights the focus areas of the Climate Commitment and the connection to Duke’s future.

We are training and empowering the next generation of climate leaders -- students, staff, faculty, and alumni — in their professional capacities and personal lives. 

In this newsletter edition, we invite you to meet some of our most inspirational students in this moment. Know someone making a difference in climate and sustainability at Duke?

Photo above of first cohort of MEng C&SE students featured in this story.

Meet Tyler Ratcliffe, who co-led a house course on energy and investing, was the first undergrad to lead Duke Energy Week, and has plans to bring more energy to "From Billions to Trillions" in April. Tyler is majoring in economics and environmental science with a focus in renewables and energy transition.

This is the first in a series of profiles of student leaders working on climate and sustainability.

The inaugural cohort of students in Duke's Master of Engineering in Climate and Sustainability program are traversing North Carolina to make an impact. Learn more about this pioneering group of students on their experiential journey so far. 

Story from the Pratt School of Engineering.

The Duke University Climate Scholars Program has selected seven undergraduate students for its newest cohort. Established in 2023, the cross-disciplinary program enables students to conduct faculty-mentored research on topics related to the climate crisis, in accordance with the Duke Climate Commitment. The new scholars join the inaugural cohort of eight scholars.

Story from the Nicholas School of the Environment.

A Duke study finds the U.S. power system has untapped potential to quickly add data centers and other large loads without the immediate need for costly infrastructure. That’s as long as those loads can occasionally cut their power use when the grid is most stressed.

DGHI in January awarded funding to launch four regional observatories that will fuel locally grounded research and educational programming on the health impacts of climate change. 

Mark Janko, Ph.D., an assistant professor of global health, teaches “Climate Change and Global Health," which is being offered for the first time this semester. The undergraduate course introduces students to the drivers of climate change and how shifting weather patterns are impacting human health. 

Dr. Andrew West is a co-author on a new study about microplastics and the brain published this month in Nature Medicine.

Duke's Energy Data Analytics Lab is helping strengthen Climate TRACE, which provides the world’s largest inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. Recently, Climate TRACE released the largest and most comprehensive emissions inventory to date. 

Jonathan Wiener and Tyler Felgenhauer, from Duke’s Center on Risk, were recognized for "The Evolving International Climate Change Regime: Mitigation, Adaptation, Reflection." Their article was listed in the Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review's top 20 articles published between August 2023 and July 2024.

Duke University and Duke-NUS Medical School announced the recipients of their latest Research Collaboration Pilot Project grants. These grants underscore the synergy between the institutions and their shared commitment to addressing the climate and health challenges. Each of the five innovative projects brings together top researchers from Duke and Duke-NUS.

A group of Duke students, faculty and alumni attended GreenBiz 25 in Arizona this month to learn about the future of sustainability - and arranged a special Duke meetup. Find more of the details about their adventure on Instagram!