Stories

Stricter new federal regulations on deadly fine particulate air pollution in the U.S. were announced on February 7, 2024, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health research played a key role in the decision.

The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard announced a third round of seed grants for work on understudied and emerging topics in climate and sustainability—including research into new methods of direct air capture of carbon dioxide, the role animals play in global carbon cycles, new frameworks for climate migration, and more.

Kari Nadeau MD ’92, PhD ’95, chair of the Harvard Chan School’s Department of Environmental Health, says there is strong evidence that climate change is driving a global epidemic of immune health problems.

Quino Energy—co-founded by Eugene Beh AB/AM ’09 and former Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences postdoc Meisam Bahari—has begun production on the startup’s redox flow batteries, which use solutions of molecules called quinones to provide a cheaper, safer way to store surplus electricity from renewable sources.

In an op-ed in the Boston Globe, Steven Wofsy, the Harvard scientist behind MethaneSAT—a satellite-based spectrometer that measures global methane emissions—says that the data from this tool will empower us all to make more informed decisions that can help reduce emissions of this planet-warming gas.

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. 

At a talk hosted by Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, renowned climate scientist Michael Mann, author of Our Fragile Moment, said that while keeping the Earth’s warming below the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold is a tall task, climate “doomism” isn’t justified by the science and could lead us down a path of inaction.

Harvard Business School alumni are using new technologies to transform the apparel industry—responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—into a more circular economy.

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.

With support from a Salata Institute seed grant, electrical engineer Gage Hills is investigating how to reduce the carbon footprint of the production and use of next-generation computer chips.

Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Fernando Reimers EdM ’84, EdD ’88—who helped shape Harvard’s climate change education plan—leads with hope as he prepares students for a green economy.

In the Harvard Thinking podcast, faculty experts in the fields of energy and economics, African studies, and epidemiology outline the challenges of meeting global and local climate priorities.

Can sea level rise be slowed? A new project called Sea Level Investigation and Management (SLIM), made possible by a generous gift from Cornelius “Neil” Prior Jr. LLB ’62, aims to find out.

Pioneering Harvard neuroscientist Jeff Lichtman will begin serving as dean of the Division of Science in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on July 1.

Jeremy M. Weinstein PhD '03, an accomplished scholar of political science, academic leader, and public servant, will become dean of Harvard Kennedy School on July 1.

Harvard Graduate School of Education professor Nonie Lesaux will assume the role at the conclusion of Dean Bridget Terry Long’s tenure at the end of the academic year.

The Harvard Alumni Association has announced that Scott A. Abell ’72, Katherine N. Lapp, and M. Lee Pelton, Ph.D. ’84, will receive the 2024 Harvard Medal.

Sean Kelly, a distinguished scholar of philosophy, will begin serving as dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on July 1.

Vivian Hunt AB '89, MBA '95 and Tyler Jacks AB '83 will serve as president and vice chair, respectively, of the Harvard Board of Overseers for the 2024-25 academic year.

Q&A with Interim Provost John Manning and the chairs of faculty working groups on institutional voice and another on open inquiry.