Columbia Engineering researchers are at the forefront of pioneering solutions to address pressing environmental challenges and protect our planet. Working together with colleagues across the University, including the Climate School, they collaborate on a broad range of projects, from renewable energy and sustainable urban infrastructure to climate resilience and clean water and air.
They lead centers dedicated to achieving a sustainable global society, including Learning the Earth with Artificial Intelligence and Physics (LEAP) Center, which is harnessing data to revolutionize climate projections; Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center (CEEC), which explores the properties of batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers to create a sustainable energy future; and the Center for Smart Streetscapes (CS3), which is working to build more sustainable, safe, and inclusive cities.
Their work includes developing carbon capture technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, creating biodegradable materials that offer an alternative to harmful plastics, and engineering filtration systems that remove toxins from water sources. They are also leaders in climate modeling, providing critical data that help predict weather patterns and the impact of climate change on various ecosystems.
Join us in celebrating our researchers on Earth Day 2024. Their work is the bedrock of our broad commitment to developing technologies that not only mitigate environmental damage but also promote a sustainable and resilient future for all of us here on Earth.
Lorenzo Polvani is the Maurice Ewing and J. Lamar Worzel Professor of Geophysics in the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics at Columbia Engineering. He is particularly interested in quantifying and distinguishing the effects of anthropogenic forcings from natural climate variability.
LEAP’s primary research strategy is to improve near-term climate projections by merging physical modeling with machine learning across a continuum from expertise in climate science and climate modeling to cutting-edge machine learning algorithms.
Renewable energy sources offer a sustainable solution to meet the energy needs of the future. To overcome the intermittency of solar and wind we are focusing on strategies to address energy storage and conversion using batteries, fuel cells, and electrolyzers in transformative ways.
