Institute Research

Student & Faculty Collaborative Research

• Dyer, A.; Miller, A.C.; Chandra, B.; Galindo, J.; Tran, C.; Bates, J.; Olivier, V.; Tuininga, A.R. The Feasibility of Renewable Natural Gas in New Jersey. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1618.

Faculty Grants

Development and web-based dissemination of high-resolution distributed hydrological information for promoting sustainable water management.

Dr. Clement Alo (Earth and Environmental Sciences) and Dr. Aparna Varde (Computer Science)

• Research sought to develop high-resolution (10 km) climate projections for the next ~5 decades to facilitate regional and watershed scale impact assessments in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The aim of these projections is to inform sustainable climate-related resource development in the region.

Connecting New Jersey farmers and consumers through direct-to-consumer marketing channels: A transdisciplinary approach.

Dr. Renata Blumberg (Nutrition and Food Studies) and Dr. Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies)

• Research sought to analyze how farmers’ markets in urban communities could play a role in improving both farmer livelihoods and the nutrition of low-income consumers with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
• The goal of this research is to bridge the gap between New Jersey’s agricultural producers/farmers and consumers, advancing sustainable development in New Jersey.

Towards a sustainable direct potable reuse (DPR) approach with stormwater.

Dr. Yang Deng (Earth and Environmental Studies) and Dr. Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies)

• Research sought to develop a new direct potable reuse (DPR) approach using storm water as an alternative water source to support sustainable development.
• The research also focused on developing an innovative storm water management strategy to alleviate the runoff induced pollution to natural water bodies for safeguarding healthy ecosystems and recovering the productivity and cost-loss related to the environmental pollution.

Increasing contaminated soil enzymatic function with targeted microbial inocula.

Dr. Jennifer Krummins (Biology) and Dr. Nina Goodey (Chemistry and Biochemistry)

• Research sought to elucidate the factors driving soil enzymatic activity in contaminated soil at Liberty State Park (LSP).
• Research also explored how the microbial community functions in the restoration and management of degraded and post-industrial soils, which are necessary to sustainably support the increasing environmental pressure associated with growing population density.
• As a result of this funding, three conference presentations and one invited seminar were given.

A quick, sensitive, and economical genomic diagnostic for the surveillance of pharmaceuticals and heavy metals contamination.

Dr. Carlos Molina (Biology)

Research sought to use an economical and sensitive tool to detect pharmaceutical contamination that may lead to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and drug resistant (DR) infections in developing countries.

Climate change and housing relocation in three global cities: New York, Manila and Ho-Chi Minh City.

Dr. Robert Taylor (Earth and Environmental Studies)

• Research sought to provide practical models that can aid planners, decision-makers and policy makers in global cities most vulnerable to climate change.
• Research was presented at four conferences:
  1. Passaic River Institute Symposium VIII, on October 13, 2016
  2. The Third International Conference on Sustainable Development, Columbia University, Sep. 21–22, 2016
  3. Annual Conference of the Association of American Geographers , April 8, 2017
  4. Workshop at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Resources and Environment.

• An integrated geological, economic, and biological beach dune model
  Dr. Jorge Lorenzo Trueba (Earth and Environmental Studies) and Dr. Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies)
• Lead hazard in the urban areas of New Jersey: A multidimensional approach to sustainable risk management
  Dr. Neeraj Vedwan (Anthropology), Dr. Yang Deng (Earth and Environmental Studies), and Dr. Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies)
• Advancing predictive understanding of hydrologic variability for sustainable management of water resource in the Passaic River Basin, New Jersey
  Dr. Clement Alo (Earth and Environmental Studies), Dr. Menberu Bitew (USDA), and Dr. Ming-Liang Liu (Washington State University)
• Closing the Urban Water Cycle: Sewage Sludge-Derived Biochar (SSDB) for Urban Stormwater Management
  Dr. Yang Deng (Earth and Environmental Studies), Dr. Pankaj Lal (Earth and Environmental Studies), and Dr. Jinshan Gao (Chemistry and Biochemistry)
• The Norman Sicily Project, transdisciplinary sustainability research and grant proposal development for a digital humanities effort, an evolving website that promotes the appreciation and dissemination of the monuments that survive from Sicily’s Norman period (ca. 1060 – 1194)
  Dr. Dawn Hayes (History) and Dr. Greg Pope (Earth and Environmental Studies)
• Development of a field-usable rapid detection test for Ranavirus, an emerging disease of ectothermic vertebrates
  Dr. Kirsten Monsen (Biology), Dr. Nina Goodey (Chemistry and Biochemistry), and Dr. Lisa Hazard (Biology)