Living Learning Campus
Georgia Tech has long had a commitment to campus sustainability which is exemplified by flagship projects such as the EcoCommons and the Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. Georgia Tech has recently launched a suite of ambitious and co-coordinated plans to guide campus development squarely in the direction of sustainability. The Climate Action Plan calls on us to curb campus greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The Strategic Plan calls for accelerating the use of our campus as a Living Learning Lab for research and education. The Comprehensive Campus Plan, still under development, builds on decades of sustainability projects and incorporates sustainability into its guiding principles.
BBISS has a long history of supporting this type of activity and will continue to do so. We work in close collaboration with on- and off-campus partners to execute the Climate Action Plan and the Living Learning Lab concept by strategically leveraging funds, resources, and talent where they can have the greatest impact. One recent example of this is our funding to equip the Bio-Inspired Makerspace housed in the Kendeda Building.
BBISS Graduate Fellows - Class II
The second class of Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Graduate Fellows has been selected. The BBISS Graduate Fellows Program provides graduate students with enhanced training in sustainability, team science, and leadership in addition to their usual programs of study. Each 2-year fellowship is funded by a generous gift from Brook and Shawn Byers and is additionally guided by a Faculty Advisory Board. The students apply their skills and talents, working directly with their peers, faculty, and external partners on long-term, large team, sustainability relevant projects. They are also afforded opportunities to organize and host seminar series, develop their professional networks, publish papers, draft proposals, and develop additional skills critical to their professional success and future careers leading research teams.
BBISS Graduate Fellows - Class I
The inaugural class of seven Brook Byers Institute for Sustainable Systems (BBISS) Graduate Fellows was selected in the Fall of 2021.
Micro-Grants Research Program
Devised by the BBISS and sponsored by the Kendeda Building Advisory Board, the Micro-Grants Research Program solicits proposals for very small scale ($50 to $500), short term, sustainability related, research studies to be conducted by members of the Georgia Tech community. Community investigators are encouraged to explore ways in which the Georgia Tech campus can continue to innovate, demonstrate, prove, and promote the adoption of best and next practices in regenerative design and operations. Researchers were also encouraged to use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for research design. All members of the Georgia Tech community are encouraged to apply. The program especially sought proposals from students and staff that had little or no prior research experience.
