sustainability

Polar ice, atmospheric water vapor biggest drivers of variation among climate models

A Florida State University researcher is part of a team that has found varying projections on global warming trends put forth by climate change scientists can be explained by differing models’ predictions regarding ice loss and atmospheric water vapor. The work will help climate scientists reconcile various models to improve their accuracy, said Florida State […]

Florida State University focuses on energy conservation with new partnership

Florida State University has entered into a multiyear contract with Cenergistic LLC to build a customized energy conservation program that is projected to save the university millions in energy costs. The agreement, which began Sept. 1, outlines four specific goals that will focus on organizational and behavioral changes within the university. Those goals include conserving […]

Researchers investigate ways to split water, create hydrogen fuel

A Florida State University researcher played a major role in a new discovery in how to produce pure hydrogen, a green energy fuel, by splitting water. FAMU-FSU College of Engineering Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering Jose Mendoza-Cortes, partnering with a Penn State University research team, has investigated new ways to create clean energy, particularly hydrogen […]

Population only part of tornado casualty story

New research out of Florida State University shows that the strength of a tornado has a significantly larger effect than population on the number of casualties. “It’s somewhat surprising because we’re led to believe it’s just a problem with exposure — the more people in the way the more casualties,” said James Elsner, chair of […]

Engineering student wins prestigious Udall Scholarship

A Florida State University environmental engineering major has been selected as a recipient of a prestigious 2017 Udall Scholarship.  David Perez, a junior from Homestead, Fla., who has established himself as a thoughtful and prodigious researcher at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, will receive a cash stipend of up to $7,000. Udall Scholars are selected […]

Rising carbon dioxide levels, ocean acidity may change crucial marine process

Climate change may be putting cyanobacteria that are crucial to the functioning of the ocean at risk as the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases and the acidity of ocean water changes. In a paper published Thursday in Science, a team of researchers from Florida State University, Xiamen University in China and Princeton […]

Acclaimed climate scientist named 2017-2018 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor

Jeffrey Chanton, an acclaimed climate scientist who has also done extensive work investigating the effects of the BP oil spill, has been named the 2017-2018 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest honor given by the Florida State University faculty to one of its own. “Jeff is a tremendous researcher and an asset to the […]

Sunlight or bacteria? Scientists investigate what breaks down permafrost carbon

A Florida State University researcher is delving into the complexities of exactly how permafrost thawing in the Earth’s most northern regions is cycling back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and further fueling climate change. Answer: It has a lot to do with tiny little bugs called microbes and little to do with sunlight. Assistant […]

Study: Warming global temperatures may not affect carbon stored deep in northern peatlands

Deep stores of carbon in northern peatlands may be safe from rising temperatures, according to a team of researchers from several U.S.-based institutions. And that is good news for now, the researchers said. Florida State University research scientist Rachel Wilson and University of Oregon graduate student Anya Hopple are the first authors on a new […]

Musicology professor receives international book award

Florida State University Professor of Musicology and Director of the Center for Music of the Americas Denise Von Glahn has won the 2015 Pauline Alderman Award from the International Alliance for Women in Music for her book, “Skillful Listener: American Women Compose the Natural World.” The Pauline Alderman Awards were founded in 1985 by the […]