New grad student program seeks to study sustainability in urban areas
UCLA is creating a new program for graduate students to research urban resources and create experiments for high school students at the California NanoSystems Institute. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Emi Nakahara
Aug. 7, 2017 12:23 a.m.
UCLA is creating a program for graduate students to research how to sustainably use food, water and energy in urban areas.
The interdisciplinary program, which UCLA will develop for the next five years with a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation, will teach graduate students in research, education and communication how to obtain and transport food, water and energy resources for growing urban populations. The program aims to create a workforce to address the increasing difficulty of obtaining sufficient resources for large urban populations, according to NSF.
Students will also research how waste reduction, urban systems and resource management can be applied to Los Angeles.
Students in the program will also work with other campus units. At the California NanoSystems Institute, a research facility, students will create experimental procedures regarding urban resources for high school students to use in CNSI’s outreach program.
Aside from research, students will learn how to communicate scientific issues to government officials and attend a new business and entrepreneurship seminar series.
Three graduate courses from the program will also be available for students pursuing the new PhD program in environmental sustainability.
