Calendar of K-State Sustainability Events
Points of Pride
A Kansas State University grassland holds the potential to to help scientists better understand the effects of global climate change on the earth's ecosystems. K-State's Koza Prairie Biological Station has been selected as a candidate core site for the proposed National Ecological Observatory Network, also known as NEON.
Read more about the Konza Prairie Biological Station
K-State receives national USDA award for bioenergy initiatives
Kansas State University is one of 16 universities nationwide recognized for bioenergy initiatives by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. K-State won a Grand Challenge award for a vision paper, "Food, Feed, Energy and Ecosystem Services: A Role for American Agriculture."
K-State professor helped write Nobel Peace Prize-winning United Nations report on climate change
Chuck Rice, Kansas State University professor of agronomy, served with more than 100 other climate change experts from across the world to prepare the full report on mitigation.The Nobel Prize Committee recognized the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate change and lay the foundations for counteracting it.
Read more about soil carbon research
K-State rain garden earns landscape architecture professor design awards
A perennial garden at Kansas State University designed to absorb runoff from storms has earned recognition from two landscape architecture organizations. The Prairie Gateway Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects presented Lee R. Skabelund, assistant professor of landscape architecture at K-State's College of Architecture, Planning and Design, with a 2008 award of excellence for his work on the project.
Watch a video about the rain garden
K-State architecture student's sustainable design wins Heintzelman Prize
A proposal for an ecologically sustainable retreat center at Chase County's Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve won its student designer the Heintzelman Prize, awarded annually by Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning and Design.
Ben Champion to direct K-State's multiple initiatives in sustainablity
The K-State administration has recognized the need for university-wide leadership of these initiatives, so Ben Champion, a 2002 K-State graduate and Rhodes scholar, is returning to campus to coordinate these efforts.
Student involvement
Recent K-State graduate featured in magazine article about sustainable home decor
Adrienne Stolwyk, a 2008 K-State graduate, is featured in the summer issue of U.25 magazine. The article highlighted creative home decor ideas that use recycled items. Stolwyk and other members of K-State's Students for Environmental Action came up with the projects.
Read the article in U.25
Read more about Students for Environmental Action
K-State architecture students build water-saving 'cube' for Greensburg
Students at Kansas State University's College of Architecture, Planning and Design have added a fourth demonstration of low-impact rebuilding techniques to Greensburg Cubed, a project designed to show residents of the tornado-ravaged town ways to meet basic needs in a sustainable fashion.
Read more about what K-State students are doing with the Greensburg Cubed project
K-State students, faculty and staff volunteer to make recycling happen at Wakarusa Music Festival
Kansas State University students, faculty and staff are chipping in to make the Wakarusa Music Festival a little greener. The K-Staters are volunteering with the festival's recycling program, Recycalusa.
Read more about Students for Environmental Action
K-State students partner with watershed restoration project in a water management campaign
Kansas State University students involved with a communications campaign for the Delaware River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy program will present their contributions to the campaign at a community event Thursday, May 1.
Read about other water quality and conservation research at K-State
K-State students building house that relies solely on solar power for national contest
A group of Kansas State University students have shown that an environmentally friendly house can feel like home. The special house the K-State group built was for the 2007 Solar Decathlon, an international competition that challenged university-based teams to design and construct a two-person home powered exclusively by the sun.
Read more about Project Solar House
Up on the roof: K-State landscape architecture students plan for greener prospects
Although leaves, twigs and even seedlings are usually cleared from roofs and gutters, landscape architecture students at Kansas State University have drawn up plans to plant entire landscapes up there.
K-State student government names Prairie Village senior director of sustainability
Michael Bell, senior in architectural engineering, Prairie Village, has several goals planned for his new job as director of sustainability for the Kansas State University Sudent Governing Association. As director of sustainability, Bell will study and recommend ways to use resources and development opportunities to ensure a more sustainable future for K-State.
Students for Environmental Action
A K-State student organization. See what SEA is doing to help recycling efforts at the Wakarusa Music Festival
K-State Greeks get grant to go green
The Kansas State University Greek community was selected as one of 10 communities of fraternities and sororities nationwide to receive a $500 grant to promote environmental awareness on campus through a "Greeks Go Green" campaign.
Research
See what grants K-Staters are getting for research related to sustainability
To meet a goal of replacing one-third of the nation's petrolium consumption with biofuels by 2030, the biomass research and development technical advisory committee of the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Energy estimates it will require growing 1 billion dry tons annually of collectable biomass and converting it to biofuels. Using a grant, Kansas State University researchers will address the logistics hurdles of such a change.
Read more about a K-Stater's research on sorghum ethanol
Read more about eco-friendly ethanol research at K-State
Ecologist returns to K-State as new director of the Konza Prairie Biological Station
In addition to balancing research and conservation, Briggs is interesting in maintaining a strong educational component at the Konza. "Tallgrass prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America," Briggs said. "People come from other places and they are just amazed by it. We have the responsibility to maintain that."
Read more about the Konza Prairie Biological Station
Research by two Kansas State University scientists could help with the large-scale cultivation and manufacturing of oil-rich algae in oceans for biofuel. The researchers have received a grant to study solid carriers for manufacturing algae biofuels in the ocean.
K-State engineer researching how sorgum can meet the need for ethanol
Donghai Wang, associate professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Kansas State University, is researching how sorghum might solve the problem of corn-based ethanol not being able to meet the country's energy needs. He is investigating sorghum as a viable resource for biofuels while also exploring how sorghum stover and forage sorghum can be used to produce ethanol.
Read more about ethanol research at K-State
Read more about how K-State is pooling its resources with the Center for Sustainable Energy
K-State sustainability research Web site to address issues for scholars, students and the public
Kansas State University's Melody LeHew envisions a Web site where scholars collaborate and read the latest research in sustainability, where students investigate how to make sustainable decisions in the workplace, and where the public go to understand how to practice sustainability in their lives.
Published in Nature: K-State biologist, research team find that microorganisms filter nitrogen from small streams, keeping larger waterways cleaner
With a grant from the National Science Foundation, Walter Dodds, a professor of biology at Kansas State University, and 30 colleagues from across the United States and Puerto Rico studied nitrogen removal in streams in their own geographical areas. Their research appears in the March 13 issue of the journal Nature.
Read the paper in NatureRead about Dodds' new book, "Humanity's Footprint: Momentum, Impact and Our Global Environment"
See what else K-State is doing to improve water quality
K-State researchers finding ways to make ethanol even more eco-friendly
Praveen Vadlani, an assistant professor of grain science and industry, is taking ethanol to the next level. He's investigating how to best use one of ethanol's key co-products, distillers grains. Vadlani is a researcher with K-State's Center for Sustainable Energy, whose work also falls under the university's Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Program.
Read more about how K-State is pooling its resources with the Center for Sustainable Energy
Read about K-State researchers studying the sociological side of ethanol production
K-State researchers work to make beef industry aware of the costs, considerations of switching to natural or organic methods
When Kansas State University graduate student Ben Wileman was a practicing veterinarian in Belle Fourche, S.D., natural and organic labels were a big focus for the beef producers he saw.
K-State researchers create biodegradable container to hold cattle nutritional supplements
Kansas State University professor Xiuzhi Susan Sun and her colleagues have developed a biodegradable container that is being used to hold nutritional supplements for cattle.
K-State entomologist part of effort to find a more healthful, earth-friendly method to keep insect pests out of cured ham and aged cheese
Try enjoying a sandwich knowing that something else already has been nibbling on your ham and cheese. That's why for years food producers have made sure that insect pests don't take a bite out of cured ham or aged cheese before consumers do. Now food producers are looking for more healthful, environmentally friendly ways to keep these pests from getting a taste.
Read more about K-State research on earth-friendly insect control
K-State forestry expert says research shows that planting trees in riparian buffer strips mitigates flooding
A study conducted by Kansas State University Research and Extension after the floods of 1993 clearly showed that farmland with shrubs and trees planted along its waterways suffered far less impact than those with no riparian strip.
Read more about the conservation tree planting program
Research on air quality from cattle feedlots
K-State researchers are working on a system that will help monitor nitrogen-compound emissions from cattle feedlots and other sources.
Read about what K-State is doing for air quality in northeast Kansas
Application
At home
Motiv Engines, LLC signed an exclusive license agreement for an engine that is six times smaller and as much as 32 percent more fuel efficient than traditional engines of the same power. The agreement for the Compact Compression Ignition Engine was signed with NISTAC, an affiliate of Kansas State University
New book by K-State ecology professor helps simplify environmental issues
Walter Dodds, professor of ecology at Kansas State University, depicts Earth's current health and future using nontechnical terms in his new book, "Humanity's Footprint: Momentum, Impact and Our Global Environment," published by Columbia University Press. Using his background in ecology, along with pictures and simple tables, Dodds said he provides supportive evidence for the debate on human environmental impacts while remaining realistic about sociological controls and limits.
Read more about "Humanity's Footprint: Momentum, Impact and Our Global Environment"
Kansas Wind for Schools program seeking proposals from rural schools interested in having wind turbine for education, outreach
It's an opportunity that schools in rural Kansas may not want to let blow by. The Kansas Wind for Schools program, which works with the Wind Applications Center at Kansas State University, is seeking proposals from elementary and secondary schools in rural parts of the state interested in having a small wind turbine for educational and outreach purposes.
Related: Read about research on wind farms' place in communities
K-State program provides training for local organic farmers
Established in response to requests by area organic growers for a training program to increase numbers of local organic producers, the Growing Growers Training Program facilitates on-farm apprenticeships complemented by workshops on critical skills to train new growers and improve the skills of existing growers to meet large demand for local and organically grown produce in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
And abroad
K-State alumnus becomes ag minister of Jordan; tackles spread of desert
Jordan's scarce water resources and the spread of desert arid land pose mounting agricultural challenges to this Middle Eastern kingdom. Yet, a K-Stater is there at the helm taking on the challenges. Mostafa Qrunfleh '82 is the Jordanian minister of agriculture.
Engineer in Turkey builds environmentally-friendly wastewater systems for Third World
Rivers in many countries of the world are polluted from runoff of residential waste. Hurriyet Aydogan '84, '86 of Istanbul strives to improve the rural environment of his native Turkey by manufacturing and installing inexpensive residential sewage treatment systems.
On Campus
K-State organizes third annual Dialog on Sustainability
The Consortium for Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability and its partners have planned the third annual Dialog on Sustainability at Kansas State University. The consortium has headquarters at K-State, where administrative leadership is provided by the Center for Hazardous Substance Research in the College of Engineering.
K-State professors envision the role of interior designers in a sustainable future
Kansas State University's interior design professors focus on sustainability in teaching and research so they can influence both the future of the interior design profession and the creation of a sustainable future.
K-Staters help learning center with demonstrations of solar energy's potential
UFM Community Learning Center, 1221 Thurston St., Manhattan, has renovated its solar facility to serve as a regional demonstration of passive and active solar technologies. Many activities associated with solar and wind energy, as well as energy conservation and recycling, are planned to accompany the building renovation. K-Staters from across the campus helped in developing the new design for the facility.
A quick look at recycling and sustainability efforts across the K-State campus
From recycling bins at the residence halls to minimizing the environmental impact of laboratories, see what steps K-Staters are taking across the campus to make K-State a greener university.
Purple goes green - hybrid car available from K-State motor pool
In November 2006, the K-State motor pool bought its first hybrid car for the university's motor pool, and another hybrid car is on its way. The new Toyota Camry Hybrid mid-size sedan is the first hybrid in the pool's fleet of more than 80 vehicles.
K-State Open House helps satisfy curiosity about all things green
The lawn of the quad at Kansas State University grew a little bit greener this spring when it became the site for environmentally conscious displays and events at the All-University Open House Saturday, April 19.
Experts
Air quality
Kenneth J. Klabunde, university distinguished professor of chemistry, has pioneered research on microscopic nanoparticles that can be used to filter water and purify air.
Biodegradable materials
Ron Madl serves as the director of the university's Bioprocessing and Industrial Value-Added Program, which will work with scientists, entrepreneurs and industry to turn the state's grain crops into marketable products.
Biofuels
Mary Rezac, professor and head of the department of chemical engineering, specializes in polymer science and membrane separation processes and their applications to biological systems and environmental control.
Conservation
John M. Blair, university distinguished professor of biology, is a terrestrial ecosystem ecologist, with broad interests that include studies of nutrient cycling and plant productivity in grasslands, the ecological consequences of changes in land-use and climate, grassland restoration ecology, and the ecology of soil invertebrates.
Ted Cable, professor of park management and conservation, specializes in taking facts about the environment and turning them into stories and experiences that help in the understanding of the world's natural resources.
Loretta Johnson, associate professor of biology, researches what effects increased forest cover have on the sustainability of grasslands.
Pollution prevention
Larry Erickson, professor of chemical engineering, directs the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Hazardous Substance Research Center, which provides long and short-term environmental research related to key hazardous substance problems in this geographical area.
Soil carbon sequestration
Charles W. Rice, professor of soil microbiology in the department of agronomy at Kansas State University, has conducted long-term research on soil organic dynamics, nitrogen transformations and microbial ecology.
Jeffery Williams, professor of agricultural economics, studies farm management practices for carbon sequestration in Kansas.
Sustainability
Ben Champion, a 2002 K-State graduate and Rhodes scholar, has been appointed to the newly formed position of director of sustainability for the university, tasked with developing a university-wide approach for addressing sustainability at K-State.
Sustainable design
Gary Coates is nationally and internationally recognized as a leading voice in the movement to create socially, technologically and ecologically sustainable buildings, cities and bioregions.
Dennis L. Law, dean of the College of Architecture, Planning and Design, is an expert in environmental ethics, tropical rain forests and reclamation of disturbed lands.
Stephanie Rolley, professor of landcape architecture/regional and community planning, taught a landscape architecture studio that conceptualized and developed plans for more than 200 miles of greenways and trails in the metropolitan Kansas City area.
Water quality
Walter Dodds, professor of biology, has studied the effects of nitrogen contamination in stream waters and the effects stream drying and flooding have on the habitat and the species that live there.
Kenneth J. Klabunde, university distinguished professor of chemistry, has pioneered research on microscopic nanoparticles that can be used to filter water and purify air.
Multimedia
Videos of K-State greening efforts
Links
K-State Center for Sustainable Energy
Staff
Subscribe
If you would like to be notified when a new issue of K-State Perspectives is posted on the Web, visit the subscription Web page.
Your e-mail address will NEVER be sold or given to anyone else for any purpose. We value your privacy.