Making Headlines
The following articles reflect our commitment to share sustainability-related accomplishments across the university — representing its colleges, departments, institutes, centers and other units — in the areas of research, student engagement, campus stewardship and collaborations with the public and private sectors.
The Lantern, May 16, 2019
Ohio State University was announced as a founding member of the first-ever Midwestern Collegiate Climate Summit Thursday, in which Midwestern universities will collaborate with local and regional governments as well as private sector leaders to develop innovative climate solutions and focus on moving to a clean-energy economy, according to a press release. ...
Ohio State News, May 16, 2019
Harmful algal blooms pose a unique toxic threat in Lake Erie’s central basin, new research has found. Not only do blooms routinely occur in this area, they can also produce types of cyanobacterial toxins that aren’t typically detected through routine water-safety monitoring, according to a study published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research. "The cyanobacteria we found in the central basin are completely different from what we’ve seen in the Toledo area in the western basin," said lead researcher Justin Chaffin, a senior researcher and research coordinator at The Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory. ...
Columbus Dispatch, May 16, 2019
A new variety of algae bloom has been identified in a region of Lake Erie near Cleveland, according to Ohio State University researchers. The findings are significant not only because they confirm algae blooms are more widespread than previously known, but also because this new variation could create a toxin that is hard for some public water-treatment plants to detect. ...
Hometownstations.com, May 16, 2019
A partnership between two local educational facilities has garnered them recognition in saving energy. The Ohio State University Lima and Rhodes State College have been named an "Energy Efficiency Champion" by American Electric Power Ohio. The two share a campus and have been working together this past year to reduce the amount of electricity being used. ...
Smart Business Dealmakers Columbus, May 15, 2019
For years, the future of The Ohio State University west campus has been up on the air. That’s changing with the first three buildings planned for an eventual innovation district. “A few years ago, the trustees became interested in taking the approximately 280 acres, south of Lane, and developing a plan to create an innovation campus out there,” says Keith Myers, vice president of Planning, Architecture and Real Estate. “That is what we’ve been working on.” ...
The Engineer, May 15, 2019
In a study published in Batteries and Supercaps, researchers from Ohio State University detailed their findings centred around the construction of the battery’s cathode. “If you want to go to an all-renewable option for the power grid, you need economical energy storage devices that can store excess power and give that power back out when you don’t have the source ready or working,” said Vishnu-Baba Sundaresan, co-author of the study and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Ohio State. “Technology like this is key because it is cheap, it doesn’t use any exotic materials, and it can be made anywhere and promote the local economy.” ...
Featured expert(s): Vishnu-Baba Sundaresan
mechanical and aerospace engineering
Gallion Inquirer, May 15, 2019
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) announced Monday that the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) has awarded a $2 million match grant to the Ohio State University at Mansfield to be used for the development of an urban sustainable food system project in Mansfield. "The Ohio State University is home to some of the nation’s leading agricultural researchers, and the Mansfield campus is no exception," Brown said. "This grant will allow OSU researchers to develop and create greater access to fresh fruits and vegetables in Mansfield and across Ohio." ...
Ohio State News, May 14, 2019
Researchers have built a more efficient, more reliable potassium-oxygen battery, a step toward a potential solution for energy storage on the nation’s power grid and longer-lasting batteries in cell phones and laptops. In a study published this month in the journal Batteries and Supercaps, researchers from The Ohio State University detailed their findings centering around the construction of the battery’s cathode, which stores the energy produced by a chemical reaction in a metal-oxygen or metal-air battery. The finding, the researchers say, could make renewable energy sources like solar and wind more viable options for the power grid through cheaper, more efficient energy storage. ...
Featured expert(s): Vishnu-Baba Sundaresan
mechanical and aerospace engineering
Los Angeles Times, May 13, 2019
Agriculture generates 9% of California’s greenhouse gas emissions, which makes it the state’s fourth-largest emitter, after transportation, industry and buildings. But agriculture — often seen as an enemy of the environment — is the only one of these sectors with the potential to also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. ...
Featured expert(s): Rattan Lal
environment and natural resources, SI affiliated faculty
Columbus CEO, May 13, 2019
Ohio State University has recommitted to developing its western reach at Kenny Road and Lane Avenue as a technology-focused center of research and innovation after decades of indecision as to the role it should play in the university’s education mission. The OSU Board of Trustees in late February accepted the Framework 2.0 guide to the broader development of university properties. But the creation of a science and technology research park on 280 vacant acres bounded by Kenny, North Star and Kinnear roads and Lane Avenue dominated the discussion of OSU’s long-term development plans of the west campus as the emerging centerpiece of the university’s mission. ...