Melissa Barnes
cooling systems company, work to create more energy-efficient systems and products, while graduates like Eric Norman (’08, ’12 M.S.) help make tourism more eco-friendly. Even famous UNT alumni such as musician Don Henley have made their mark. Henley is helping to preserve Caddo Lake. All got their start at UNT, where students can choose many paths to “green” careers, studying areas from energy engineering to sustainable tourism. With an eco-friendly legacy that dates back to water research in the 1930s, UNT combines an earth-friendly philosophy with hands-on experience in Gia Schneider (’95 TAMS) and her brother Abe Schneider (’98 TAMS), founders of sustainable approaches and San Francisco-based Natel Energy, developed a patented low-cost, low-impact technologies. system that can generate electricity from manmade waterways, irrigation canals “Being green” has become a and nonpowered dams. core part of the university’s campus culture. Not only is focuses on applied research, he puts his Functional ecosystems the university constructing LEED-certiknowledge into practice right away. Dodd and Schad both chose UNT for fied buildings, including the environmen“I’m using the skills I’ve learned from its environmental sciences program and tally friendly Life Sciences Complex, my classes in my work now,” he says. say their classroom learning has been Business Leadership Building and Apogee Dodd was so impressed by Schad’s essential in their fieldwork. Stadium, but UNT also has strong expertise and knowledge of GIS and plant They point to biology faculty members recycling programs and gets nearly half of life when they took a course together that — Regents Professor James Kennedy, its energy from renewable sources. she hired him as a research assistant, a Professor Emeritus Ken Dickson and Students also enjoy amenities such as an position that will become full-time when professors Tom La Point and Tom Waller all-vegan cafeteria, electric car charging he graduates in May. — as instrumental in teaching them how stations and human-powered, energyBased at the corps’ Lewisville Aquatic to protect and respect the environment. producing elliptical exercise machines. Ecosystem Research Facility, Dodd and Dodd, who supervises the ecology UNT has earned numerous green Schad help to create and restore natural restoration team, says taking classes on distinctions, including recognition by The ecosystems in urban landscapes. Their such topics as toxicology and conservation Princeton Review as a Green College and a work involves studying the chosen area, opened her eyes to how important ranking among the world’s most sustainwhich can be wetlands, grasslands or wetlands are to mitigating pollution and able universities. forest, and then establishing and managing reducing excess nutrients in an ecosystem. With sustainability a fundamental part native plants to create wildlife habitats. “The UNT program is well-rounded of the university’s programs and practices, “We try to make functional ecosystems and the faculty members are so passionate UNT students and graduates have the with many vegetative growth forms,”Schad about their work,” Dodd says. “They get edge in pursuing green careers and says. “I like seeing plants and animals work you involved and interested.” embracing sustainability as a way of life. how they should ecologically.” Schad says because the program
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No r t h Texa n
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northtexan.unt.edu
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Spring 2013