Research & Thought Leadership
In its Impact 2030 Strategic Plan, Santa Clara University has committed to increase our expertise and reputation in high-impact areas where we have strong foundations and where the societal need is great, including sustainability. The university is increasing research and thought leadership that examines the causes of environmental injustice and vulnerability, and puts forward potential solutions for the public and policy makers.
Faculty Sustainability Research
Faculty are conducting research related to sustainability that ranges across a variety of topics, such as coastal conservation, food security, environmental justice, energy management, K-12 climate education, ESG investing, the water and energy impacts of AI, and many more areas.
In addition to the University’s research grants, multiple campus centers provide support for sustainability research, including the Environmental Justice & the Common Good Initiative, Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Miller Center for Global Impact, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and the Sustainable Business Institute.
Sustainability Thought Leaders
SCU's growing “think tank” of interdisciplinary faculty, staff, and alumni advocating for environmental justice while bringing awareness to global justice and sustainability issues/solutions.
Check out the interests and publications of our thought leaders below.
Environmental Studies and Sciences
Food Security, Climate Resilience and Agricultural Change in Mexico and Central America
Anthropology
Archaeology and archaeobotany, food systems and agricultural heritage, adaptations to climate change, colonialism and imperialism, environmental justice
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering
Sustainable water resources, managing and planning for rainstorms of increased intensity and periods of very dry conditions; estuary management
English
Contemporary literature from the American West; water development and conservation in California; U.S. land management; human relationship with nature
Environmental Studies and Sciences
Urban planning, including land use, transportation, and housing
Environmental Studies and Sciences
Air and water quality, pollutant source characterization, and regulatory permit compliance
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Power systems stability, integration of renewable energy to the electric grid, scholastic control, process control, manufacturing optimization
Education
Integrating environmental justice and sustainability into (K-12) science education, research practice partnerships (RPPs) with teachers and students
Sociology
Climate justice and disability; implications of policies and social structures for disabled people in climate-related disaster response, emergency preparedness, and climate resilience
Environmental Studies and Sciences
Restoration ecology, species conservation, wildland management, and natural history
Administration
Sustainability advocacy, business responses to environmental and social change, connecting communities through food and farming
Anthropology
Relationships of indigenous communities (including the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe) to ancestral homelands, impacts of colonialism
Communication
Environmental justice, community-based research, e-waste and electronics production, faculty development to teach sustainability across the curriculum
Finance
Behavioral finance, and the political, psychological, and economic dimensions of global warming
Environmental Studies and Sciences
Water resources, water security, spatial analysis, and earth systems
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Control of complex dynamic systems, graph theoretic algorithms, electric power systems, quantum computing, science and religion, interdisciplinary aesthetics