REI Director Paul Falkowski appointed Bennett L. Smith Chair in Business and Natural Resources

Paul FalkowskiThe Rutgers University Board of Governors appointed Paul G. Falkowski, a professor of geological and marine sciences, as the first holder of the Bennett L. Smith Chair in Business and Natural Resources.

The university established the endowed chair – which resides jointly in Rutgers Business School-Newark and New Brunswick and the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences – to support a university faculty member whose research has contributed to understanding the Earth and its climate and who has been instrumental in shaping energy policy internationally. The anonymous gift establishing the endowment is part of the university’s fundraising campaign, Our Rutgers, Our Future: A Campaign of Excellence.

A Rutgers faculty member since 1998, Falkowski, who is the founding Director of the Rutgers Energy Institute, www.rei.rutgers.edu, has been recognized for his contributions to the understanding of the role of the oceans in the co-evolution of life and biogeochemical cycles.  

Rutgers Bike Rental Program

As part of the University's mission to provide cost effective and green transportation alternatives to the University community, the Rutgers Energy Institute, the Rutgers Green Purchasing Program and the Rutgers University Department of Transportation Services  teamed up to launch a bike rental pilot program.

The REI is committed to biking as a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, which will improve the quality of life for all. THINK GLOBAL, BIKE LOCAL

bike_rental

Go to the web site and reserve your bike now!

Sponsored by the Rutgers Energy Institute, 150 bikes for this pilot program are available at central locations throughout the New Brunswick Campus.

TEAM NJ: Rutgers and NJIT compete in Solar Decathlon

Learn more about Team NJ...

Every two years since 2002, the United States Department of Energy hosts one of the most impressive solar competitions in the world—the Solar Decathlon. Students from 20 different university teams submitted plans for the energy efficient solar-powered homes they will build on the mall in Washington, D.C., next October. Team New Jersey, made up of students from Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, aims to win by using an affordable and simple building material never before used in the competition. 

Read more about the Olympics of Green Design:

Governor Christie outlines State's 2011 Energy Master Plan (EMP)

Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2011 

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today released the State’s draft 2011 Energy Master Plan (EMP), a greener and more affordable vision for the use, management, and development of energy in New Jersey over the next decade and beyond. The draft EMP establishes a path for the Administration to manage energy in a way that promotes renewable sources of energy, saves money, stimulates the economy and job creation, and protects the environment.

“This plan represents my Administration’s commitment to changing the way we produce, distribute and use energy as part of a broader emphasis on renewable sources of energy and economic growth,” said Governor Chris Christie. “The EMP supports the development of new energy-related technologies such as fuel cells, off shore wind, and alternatively fueled vehicles while encouraging the developers, providers and support businesses related to these technologies, to locate here in New Jersey.”

Read more...

  • A full copy of the State’s 2011 Draft Energy Master Plan can be found here .
  • Information on Energy Master Plan Hearings (starting July 26th) and Written Comments here

Contest: RU ON TAP?

VIDEO CONTEST: View WINNING VIDEO by Rutgers student Marie Feguson!

New Jersey American Water and Rutgers Athletics  teamed up to make a difference for the environment by helping to reduce the consumption of bottled water.

Water is essential to life, but you have a choice when it comes to where you get your water.  Do your part for the environment. Drink tap water instead of purchasing disposible water bottles.

Rutgers Gets $2 Million to Develop 3-D Offshore Wind Map

The state Board of Public Utilities awarded a $1.87 million contract to Rutgers University’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Science (IMCS) to build a three-dimensional map to detail the offshore wind potential of the Jersey coast.

The grant comes at a time when three developers of offshore wind farms are launching pilot studies to determine whether their projects are feasible based on how much electric capacity offshore wind farms can generate.  

The latest project will complement those efforts and will be provided to other offshore wind developers once completed. The Rutgers’ map could lower the cost of future offshore wind projects, according to Michael Winka, director of the BPU’s Office of Clean Energy. The grant will fund a two-year project by the institute, which has been in the forefront of efforts to assess offshore wind potential.  

2011 RecycleMania - Rutgers Wins

Recycle Mania 2011RecycleMania {supported by the US EPA's WasteWise Program, National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and the College and University Recycling Council (CURC)} is a 10 week recycling competition among colleges and universities across the U.S. to see which school can collect the largest amount of recyclables over the course of the competition.

Rutgers Wins the Gorilla Prize and the Per Capita Classic  in 2011 RecycleMania Tournament!