Director’s Cut

Carol Barford Director, Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment

Getting to Zero: Strategies for Deep Decarbonization of Electricity Generation, by Jesse Jenkins (Princeton University)

Learn about the challenges and workable strategies for >50 percent reduction in GHG emissions from the electricity sector. Watch this lecture and you’ll be on firmer footing when discussing the topic!

First We Must Consider Manoomin: Tribally Directed Collaborative Research on Wild Rice, by Crystal Ng (University of Minnesota) This lecture gives an impressive and inspirational example of cross-cultural research and the long-term commitment needed to share in traditional ecological knowledge.

Taking Action to Protect the Health of All: Science and Conservation at Zoonotic Spillover Interfaces, by Sarah Olson (Wildlife Conservation Society)

In the post-COVID world, it’s good to understand how economic demand and land use reduce wildlife habitat, which in turn creates opportunities for zoonotic infection. Watch Sarah (UW alumna) as she assesses the health of a bat!

Understanding How Policy Shapes Inequality in Risk Is Crucial to Foster Climate Justice, by Paty Romero-Lankao (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)

Climate adaptation plans often overlook people who are homeless, who don’t speak English, or other vulnerable groups. Learn how we can ensure that policy “umbrellas” cover everyone.

Wild Engineering: Conservation Technology. Conservify, FieldKit and Open Hardware, by Shah Selbe (National Geographic)

See how a former aerospace engineer created gizmos, apps, open data, citizen science and breathtaking images from eco-adventures all over the world!

Recovery of Cities After Disasters and Pandemics via Mobility Data Analytics, by Satish Ukkusuri (Purdue University)

A tour-de-force of big data. See how cell phone locations and timestamps are used to redesign infrastructure and model the recovery of day-to-day urban life.

If you search the internet for “rainforest sounds,” you’ll find thousands of relaxation videos with millions of followers. For most people, the tropical ambiance is a relaxing soundtrack. But for Nelson Institute professor Zuzana Buřivalová, the sounds of the rainforest are a critical research topic. As the principal investigator for UW–Madison’s Sound Forest Lab, Buřivalová’s work analyzes soundscapes to investigate how human behavior impacts the biodiversity in tropical rainforests.

A researcher in the Nelson Institute’s Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, much of Buřivalová’s work has been done with an eye toward public engagement — particularly engaging children with science (she even published a children’s book , What does the rainforest sound like? A Sound Forest Lab Story). In March 2023, Buřivalová’s outreach efforts were recognized by UW–Madison as she was named an inaugural recipient of the Bassam Z. Shakhashiri Public Science Engagement Award. The award recognizes two UW–Madison faculty and academic staff who lead the way in engag-