Tufts University
ER-15: Sustainability Research Identification

Definition developed by the 2010/11 Tufts Faculty Roundtable on Sustainability The idea of sustainability, as we understand it, was developed to describe human practices that actively protect and do not negatively affect the earth natural ecosystem’s ability to support healthy biological systems and human well-being now and in the future. Human practices have environmental, economic, and social dimensions that need to be considered in the context of sustainability. Any research project that looks at the impact of human interactions with the environment, directly or indirectly, is considered sustainability research.

Although many departments and faculty conduct research concerning sustainability, only a few departments have actively compiled this information. The first is the Tufts School of Engineering, which lists information about the engineering school's "Sustainability Faculty" and their research at http://engineering.tufts.edu/research/engsustainability/faculty.htm. The Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE) has compiled a link of faculty currently pursuing environmental and sustainability research. TIE has also compiled a list of institutions affiliated with Tufts that publish environmental and sustainability research, available at http://environment.tufts.edu/?pid=32&c=40. Links to all of these lists can now be found on the Tufts Office of Sustainability website at http://sustainability.tufts.edu/?pid=192&c=53.