Students

This year’s projects will spotlight key topics, including green tech and artificial intelligence, sustainable food systems, Indigenous connections to land, the intersection of climate with the humanities and the social sciences, and socially just climate solutions.

As part of the Harvard-China Project, Emily Xing ’27 was one of three engineering students who traveled to Beijing to learn how the country is developing and deploying renewable energy.

Melissa Mai didn’t expect to work with plants when she came to Harvard. However, she was drawn to the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences by the ability to rotate through different labs before choosing a final research topic. And once she started learning about the physical problems faced by plants and their relationship to the environment, she knew she had found her place at the intersection between biophysics and plant physiology.

Sambuddha Chattopadhyay ’21 believes small conversations build and grow into a culture of intellectual vitality. 

During the inaugural Harvard Amazon Rainforest Immersion, a 10-day teaching and research intensive organized by the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies Brazil Office and the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, students and academics from Harvard and local institutions explored the region’s intricate ecosystems and threats to its environment, economic security, and public health.

Harvard engineering students partnered with NASA to design a low-cost, low-altitude blimp capable of tracking emissions from factories, traffic, and wildfires and transmitting the data in real time.

Three rising seniors share their summer plans, all with an eye toward their futures.

For his dissertation, Thomas Lee AB ’19, PhD ’24 examined how historical microseisms—faint earth tremors recorded when storm waves crash onshore—might help predict future hurricanes.

Harvard Graduate School of Design students traveled to Monterrey, Mexico, to help devise design strategies along the Santa Catarina watershed to increase water security and to reduce flood risk. 

As co-presidents of the Harvard Undergraduate Urban Sustainability Lab, Kayla Springer ’26 and Clyve Lawrence ’27 are working to advance sustainability at Harvard and in Boston.