University at Buffalo
AC-10: Support for Research

The Center for Undergraduate Research & Creative Activities (CURCA) serves as a hub for undergraduate students interested in finding challenging research and creative opportunities that match their academic interests and career goals. CURCA is open to students from all majors: from the sciences, to the social sciences, to the arts and humanities.This year for the first time, sustainability-related student research was recognized with "sustainability badges" at CURCA's annual Celebration of Academic Excellence event. Off the 200 + research projects, around 45 were selected as sustainability research by a panel which included faculty and team members from the UB Sustainability office. Creating such a recognition further encourages students to pursue sustainability research.

Building on a long history of environmental research, UB recently launched RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water)—an ambitious, university-wide, interdisciplinary research institute that focuses on the most difficult and complex environmental issues, as well as the social and economic issues with which they are intertwined. One of the most expansive initiatives launched in recent years by the university, RENEW will harness the expertise of more than 100 faculty across the university, with the goal of hiring 20 more outstanding faculty with expertise in such areas as aquatic ecology, pollution law, behavioral economics, environmental planning, community health and energy/environmental systems. The institute’s interdisciplinary focus has already seen the launch of four diverse “seed” projects that explore the development of cost-effective desalination processes, the potential for great lakes offshore wind energy, tracking emerging sources of water pollution, and examining how the demand for renewable energy is affecting farmland.

UB does not have any formal policies with respect to interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary research as it relates to tenure and promotion. However, there is a general understanding, certainly within the PRB, that such research has become increasingly common and is highly valued within our institution. --Robert Granfield, PhD, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

The University Libraries have appointed a librarian, Fred Stoss, as our liaison librarian to the Office of Sustainability. He is active in the area of sustainability and has published and presented on sustainability information topics in the past. His major contribution is drafting an information resources webpage on sustainability. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of sustainability research, other information resources webpages used to assist researchers, educators, and students are: • Architecture • Chemistry • Ecology and Environment • Energy • Engineering—Environmental • Geography—Human • Geography--Physical • Geology • Planning The University Libraries subscribe to several databases and e-book aggregation services that address the topic of sustainability. They are: • GreenFile • E&E Publications • Environment Complete • ETDE World Energy Database • Academic Search Complete • Web of Science Core Collection • ebrary Academic Complete • BIOSIS Previews • Compendex*Plus (Engineering Index) • GEOBASE • GeoRef • SciFinder