SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities - Faculty Activities and Centers

RUTGERS–NEW BRUNSWICK

Clinton Andrews
Professor and Interim Associate Dean for the Faculty in Urban Planning and Policy Development
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

Clinton Andrews’ expertise is in the substance and processes of energy and environmental planning and policy. He is part of “Sustainable Cities - People and Infrastructures at the Water-Energy-Climate Nexus,” an NSF RCN grant which seeks to develop an interdisciplinary network of researchers and practitioners from 20+ US universities, national labs, nonprofit organizations, and private institutions who will coordinate their work on the overarching theme of sustainable cities.

Jie Gong
Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
School of Engineering

Jie Gong’s research interests include coastal community resilience, remote sensing, geospatial big data, artificial intelligence for disaster science, and multi-hazard vulnerability assessment.  Among his key projects includes a modeling and disaster assessment of New Jersey shore communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy using a mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system. The three-dimensional scans of damaged communities create a “virtual community” and can be used by engineers to assess damage by comparing them to existing surveys. Officials can use these outputs to develop better response strategies and prepare critical infrastructure.  

Jill Lipoti
Part-time Lecturer, Department of Human Ecology
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences

Jill Lipoti is a retired agent of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Lipoti’s national leadership is recognized in the areas of nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness, environmental radiation and radioactive waste issues, risk communication, outreach and policy. At Rutgers, she teaches an introduction to sustainability, and she recently hosted a large conference, RU Sustainable, to unite students and faculty working on projects related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  

Narayan Mandayam
Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
School of Engineering

Narayan Mandayam wants to make city life run smoother by making it more connected. That’s the underlying idea behind Mandayam’s work around “smart cities,” a program that aims to give large cities a technological upgrade, specifically integrating key infrastructures a city needs to function such as internet connectivity, mass transportation, and energy and power grids.

Jennifer Senick
Executive Director, Center for Green Building
Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy

Jennifer Senick is an experienced urban planner, with expertise in the areas of sustainable development, green building, environmental behavior, trends in technology adoption/use and multi-method approaches to field inquiry and building performance evaluation. Senick has been collaborating with colleagues at Tarumanagara University (UNTAR) on resiliency and green building research.

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable

Research Centers

Newark Environmental Sustainability Institute, colorful model of connected city

Newark Environmental Sustainability Institute

The mission of the Newark Environmental Sustainability Institute is to advance urban sustainability in the greater Newark region, through research, education and community outreach using an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates social, political and natural sciences, together with the reporting capabilities of documentary media.

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Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability, urban vegetable garden

Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability

The mission of the Center for Urban Environmental Sustainability in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences is to bring the knowledge available through Rutgers out into the "real-world" to address environmental challenges New Jersey faces. The center provides expertise and research related to environmental and natural resources, human and ecosystem health, and community development. Through collaborations with faculty and students, it also provides educational opportunities for Rutgers students interested in environmental sustainability.

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