Landscape of city with power lines sending a grid of interconnecting lines

Energy & Sustainability

Greener, Leaner, Cleaner — and Smarter

Global carbon emissions continue rising, warming oceans and the atmosphere. Weather is becoming more extreme. Cities and coastlines are flooding like never before. New environmental threats to human health, such as PFAS or forever chemicals, also continue to emerge.

At this critical moment for the planet, Stevens is advancing research and innovations in climate change, energy technologies, grid optimization, materials science, toxics reduction, sustainability planning and other fields — while also addressing environmental justice.

Research for the Planet

Stevens creates new sustainability center, continues advancing leading-edge energy research

Solar panels on rooftop on Stevens campus, with NYC skyline behind

RESEARCH: The Stevens Center for Sustainability (SCS)

New center consolidates research on toxics, climate change, forever chemicals, biofuels, environmental justice and more

Stevens center director Dibs Sarkar at desk

LEADERSHIP: SCS Director Dibs Sarkar

The SCS director is also an accomplished environmental chemist working to remove toxic chemicals and remediate landscapes

Ralph LaRossa of PSEG with Stevens President Nariman Farvardin

ENGAGEMENT: How PSEG Supports Stevens’ Energy and Sustainability Research

$1.45 million gift is latest effort in legacy of supporting renewable energy, environmental justice research, academic programs, diversity

Energy & Sustainability by the Numbers

4 days
Advance flood prediction by Stevens’ systems
75%
College applicants who consider sustainability
1 to 6 feet
Rise in NYC-area sea level by 2100
40 billion
Tons of global CO2 emissions per year
1,000
Years for PFAS chemicals to break down
4 days
Advance flood prediction by Stevens’ systems
75%
College applicants who consider sustainability
1 to 6 feet
Rise in NYC-area sea level by 2100
40 billion
Tons of global CO2 emissions per year
1,000
Years for PFAS chemicals to break down
4 days
Advance flood prediction by Stevens’ systems
Video

Research in: Energy & Sustainability

Power lines in the sunset

Greening the Grid

Stevens researchers are rethinking the future of the power grid, from smart buildings to algorithmic methods of tweaking power delivery and storage

Melting iceberg, symbolizing global warming

Preparing for An Era of Climate Change

Stevens researchers work to assess climate change and sea-level rise, create systems to warn vulnerable communities and assist planning agencies and municipalities as they prepare new defenses and policies for a new era

PSEG’s longtime association with Stevens is an example of a partnership that works to benefit New Jersey and its communities, especially when it comes to promoting clean, sustainable energy
Ralph Izzo ‘90Former CEO, PSEG

Rethinking Renewables

Stevens researchers work on sustainable-energy projects to improve batteries, wind power, solar panels, wave power and biofuels.

electric car connected to a charger

Better (and Safer) Batteries

Stevens researcher Jae Kim investigates safer, longer-lasting solid- and liquid-state battery technologies

Wave energy converter being tested at the Davidson Lab

New Wave: Power From the Sea

Stevens lab director Muhammad Hajj designs and tests oscillators that float in the sea and generate emission-free energy .

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Transforming Industrial Waste into Energy

A long-term Stevens partnership with the U.S. government works to cleanse wastewater streams from industrial and military facilities — then turn them into energy

Sustainability Starts with a Green Campus

Stevens walks the sustainability walk, powering its campus with renewables and greening the university in a number of other ways — from HVAC and materials to transit options and coursework

Green earth on a leaf

A Campus With a Lighter Footprint

Stevens' hilltop campus is striding forward with sweeping sustainability measures

LEEDS Gold

LEED Gold Certification for Green Buildings

Stevens’ two most recent major construction projects, the Gateway Academic Complex and the University Center Complex, each attain coveted green designations

Wind and solar energy

Powered by 100% Renewable Electricity

Since 2021, all of Stevens’ electricity comes to campus from renewable sources, including regional wind, solar and hydropower

Turtle in Galapagos islands

Greener Transit for the Galápagos

Stevens students and faculty lend the government of Ecuador a hand as the nation rethinks its fossil fuel-powered ferries

Partners in Energy and Sustainability Research

Hugo Neu
DoD
U.S. Geological Survey
Dept. of Energy
NASA
PSEG
NOAA
NSF
NJ DOT
UMich
Hugo Neu
DoD
U.S. Geological Survey
Dept. of Energy
NASA
PSEG
Aerial photo of New York's Central Park and skyscrapers

These Buildings Cleanse the Air Around Them

Exciting new materials research from two Stevens faculty proposes building materials that lock up carbon — and remove air pollutants

Stevens' expertise and dedication in assisting us in the development of innovative green, climate-friendly technologies have been pivotal to our mission of protecting the environment and human health to enable equitable community resilience and sustainability.
Dominique Lueckenhoff EVP - Corporate Affairs, Hugo Neu
Student holding beaker of algae in purple-lit lab

Building Biofuels — from Algae

This Stevens graduate student dreams of cars and buildings that run on plants

Removing Toxics from Water and Soil

Stevens researchers work to remove harmful pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and other chemicals — before we drink them or plant crops among them

Glass of water with drops going in

Filtering Out 'Forever Chemicals'

Stevens center director Dibs Sarkar develops natural green filters to portably remove dangerous PFAS and PFOS substances from drinking water supplies

Stevens student researchers plant vetiver grass around Jersey City houses

Getting the Lead Out: Using Plants to Capture Toxics

An Asian plant may hold the key to naturally removing lead and other threats to human health from food and water

Using fracking to access water from aquifers

Clean Fracking Offers Promise for Remediating Landscapes

Stevens engineer Cheng Chen proposes a positive new application of hydraulic fracturing techniques: to undo some of the toxic damage done by petrochemical fracking

View of New York City from the water

Ensuring Climate Equity

Stevens researchers Philip Orton and Kaijian Liu work to prepare communities in the Big Apple equitably for the inevitabilities of floods, extreme weather and climate change.