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About Us
The Center was launched in early 2003, with funding from the Shell Oil Foundation and subsequent funding from the Shell Oil Company. We are in the School of Social Sciences and work closely with Rice's Energy & Environmental Systems Institute (EESI) and the Rice Energy Program, jointly sponsored by EESI and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. We give priority to interdisciplinary sustainability research, supporting the efforts of faculty associated with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, the Jones Graduate School of Management, the Brown School of Engineering, the Weiss School of Natural Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Humanities, and the School of Architecture.
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Research
The Center supports faculty research on critical matters such as understanding ozone formation; the impact of invasive species on biodiversity; the formation of methane trapped within ice deposits below the sea floor; the interaction of stakeholders concerned with energy development; the development of new technologies such as membranes for water treatment; and nanotechnology for renewable energy. Sustainability is a broad concept, and we increasingly seek to relate our work to the sustainability of coastal cities as it applies to the Houston-Galveston metropolitan area, and Texas in general.
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Outreach
Externally we work with a wide range of entities including government, industry, academia, healthcare and non-profits. These include the Houston Advanced Research Center, Blueprint Houston, the Center for Houston's Future, the Houston Endowment, the Gulf Coast Institute, Enviromental Defense, the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention and Mothers For Clean Air, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston-Galveston Area Council, Baylor Medical School, University of Houston, University of Texas, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the City of Houston.
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Education
We foster awareness of sustainability issues among our students by providing unusual opportunities to learn about how diverse elements of society may contribute to the sustainability of our planet. In this manner, the Center has supported student research in Pinedale, Wyoming on the impact of energy development and it's impact on conservation, as well as a student study of how a Houston-based chemical company converts chemical waste into a profitable product while also developing new ways to protect their surrounding environment.
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