Environment & Energy

Approach tackles most commonly used synthetic plastic

Millions of tons of plastic bottles, bags and other trash littering the oceans and clogging landfills could be turned into reusable fuel, thanks to research by the University of California, Irvine and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry. UCI chemist Zhibin Guan is among those who have figured out how to dissolve the strong bonds of polyethylene […]

Kia Motors of America is providing six electric cars to University of California, Irvine’s Advanced Power and Energy Program as part of an initiative to study the role of auto batteries in advanced electrical grids. “The rapidly evolving coupling of vehicles and the electric grid requires planning based on informed decisions supported by the market-based, systems analyses […]

Kathleen Treseder, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, has been elected a fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2016 in recognition of advancing the science of ecology. Specifically, the ESA cited her leadership in evaluating and communicating the importance of fungi in ecosystems, including in mediating ecosystem responses to global climate change. “This […]

EVENT:  Global Food Summit: Sustainable Solutions is the second of a two-part Global Food Security conference held at University of California, Irvine. Internationally renowned food security leaders, practitioners and academics will address critical topics, ranging from global efforts to improve agriculture to the promise of technological advances. For full list of events, go to: http://blumcenter.uci.edu/gfs/ WHEN/WHERE: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. […]

Eye-popping Earth Week exhibit shows how far campus is from zero-waste goal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded UCI $701,304 to study the impact of climate change on air quality. “This grant offers an exciting opportunity to learn about air pollution in the future from both state-of-the-art experiments and computer modeling techniques,” said Donald Dabdub, UCI professor of mechanical & aerospace engineering. “We know that both ammonia […]

Ecologically rich mountain cloud forests impacted by drying climate

Oladele Ogunseitan, chair of UCI’s Program in Public Health, has been appointed to a nine-member state advisory committee on hazardous waste. Ogunseitan, who studies pollution prevention, will help the Department of Toxic Substances Control evaluate and select three pilot projects to reduce hazardous waste as part of the agency’s Community Protection & Hazardous Waste Reduction Initiative.

UCI chemist and partners also discover elevated levels of harmful pollutants