Sustainability at Harvard

People

  1. Katharina Zuellig

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    Swiss-born Katharina Zuellig became interested in environmental issues in her late teens. She remembers reading about land erosions and glacial retreat. Said Katharina, “In the 1980s there was a strong sentiment against building more (nuclear) power plants and a budding awareness of a new threat of rising sea levels.

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  2. Judy Fan

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    I've had the pleasure of working in four quite different lab settings at Harvard, but I've finally settled down in the Vision Lab in the Department of Psychology to write my senior thesis. There, I work on topics related to visual cognition; I'm particularly interested in understanding the way our mind represents its uncertainty about [low-level object features in] the world.

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  3. Victoria (Viki) Chernow

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    I work in a biomimetic nanomaterials lab, focusing on templating self-assembled monolayers and creating nanoparticles with potential implications for increasing hydrogen fuel cell efficiency.

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  4. Alexandra Courtis

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    I am involved in research in the fields of nanotechnology and medicinal chemistry. My current project explores new methods to screen small molecule drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases, such as malaria.

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  5. Su Gao

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    I work in a geochemistry lab, running samples on the ICPMS [mass spectrometer]. For my thesis, I'm looking at trace elements in igneous rocks from all around the world.

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  6. Ariel Shaker

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    On Oct. 5th, 2009, Ariel Shaker passed away after a horse riding accident. However, her memory and her dedication to a sustainable future live on, and nowhere is this more tangible than in the bio she wrote for our website. She is and will always be missed.

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  7. Kurt Tsuo

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    Kurt Tsuo didn’t come to Harvard planning to be active in the environmental movement, it just sort of happened - yet it’s been at the core of his Harvard experience. He started out as a Freshman REP trying to green Harvard Yard back in 2007. The following year, he took what he had learned with him into Eliot, where he became the House REP. In June 2009, Kurt was named Freshman REP Captain.

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  8. Cheryl Burley

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    Cheryl Burley is the Administrative Assistant for Harvard Real Estate Services’ Project Management group and a fierce recycler. “I started recycling before there were even recycling trucks,” says Cheryl proudly.

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  9. Alyssa Lary

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    I’ve always been interested in the environment/green issues/green living. My great grandmother, grandmother, and mother all had the depression era reuse/repair mindset that filtered down to me. I grew up with many animals, so humane treatment of animals has always been a huge concern in my life. I grew up in the city, but I never ate a store bought egg until I left for college.

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  10. Allison Rogers

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    Five reasons to know Allison Rogers...

    1. She missed seeing An Inconvenient Truth win the Oscar for best documentary and had to watch it on YouTube, but she’s helping to spread Al Gore’s message about global warming. In September, she went to Nashville to be trained by Gore and a team of scientists to become a “climate change messenger.” Messengers go out into the community and give the lecture that Gore gives in the documentary.

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  11. Martin Weitzman

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    If you knew that our world was likely to destruct, you would do anything to prevent that from happening. But what if there is only a remote chance it will destruct? How much would you do to try to block that possibility?

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  12. Allen Aloise

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    Allen Aloise, Science Safety Officer for the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, and co-chair of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) program in the lab sector, has worked to make the labs at FAS safer and more sustainable.

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  13. Tracy Collins and Jillian Nitray

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    Tracy Collins and Jillian Nitray work in the FAS Human Resources (HR) Department. Passionate about taking responsibility for the environment, they are looking forward to pushing their office further along in recycling and energy use. Their biggest concern is paper recycling, since their office uses lots of paper. Read more

  14. Claire Reardon

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    Claire Reardon has been working as Lab Manager for the Center of Genomics Research for over six years. After attending a meeting for staff members who had signed the Sustainability Pledge, she has been meeting once a month with Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Eco Citizens, working to bring sustainability to her lab and building.

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  15. Matt Stec

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    Upgrading buildings is not the challenging part for Matt Stec, who oversees close to 30 buildings at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and co-chairs the Academic & administrative sector in the FAS Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Program. It's getting building occupants to buy into these changes.

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  16. Steve Robichaud

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    Steve Robichaud, Manager of Building Systems, has felt a strong connection to the outdoors since he was a young boy helping his mom in the family garden. He grew up in a farming community and has always maintained an appreciation for what nature provides. Steve composts at home and is careful to conserve energy and natural resources. Read more

  17. Greg Morrow

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    On several occasions while leaving work, Greg Morrow, the Assistant Manager for Multimedia Projects, has seen an eerie blue light emanating from the windows of a lecture hall. The light is a sign that one of the 200 LCD projectors currently being used at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) has been left on at the end of a class.

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  18. Philip Alvarado

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    Philip Alvarado knows a lot about green cleaning. Before joining Facilities Maintenance Operations (FMO) six months ago as a custodial supervisor, he managed custodial services at the JFK Federal Building. When the government began "pushing hard on green," he trained staff there to utilize green cleaning supplies and paper products.

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  19. Clare Putnam

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    Clare Putnam is the Student Programs Coordinator at the Weatherhead Center at the Center for Government and International Studies (CGIS). As an active Eco Citizen, she has implemented many sustainability projects at CGIS.

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  20. Carole Landisman

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    Carole Landisman works in Center for Brain Science studying gap junction synapses in the brain.

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  21. Paul Bellenoit

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    As Director of Operations for Harvard College Libraries, Paul Bellenoit's decisions have a big impact on the amount of waste produced and energy used at Harvard. In fact, 52% of all paper that is recycled at Harvard comes from the college libraries. For Paul, energy conservation and waste reduction are "huge issues" that drive his efforts in these areas.

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  22. Jay Phillips

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    As Director of Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure at Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and member of the Energy Management Team, Jay Phillips has demonstrated his tireless commitment to sustainability through many important environmental initiatives on campus.

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  23. Marla King

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    As Building Manager for the Harvard Yard classroom buildings, Marla King oversees many water and energy use reduction measures and recycling infrastructure upgrades. Low-flow toilets and automatic on/off sinks have been installed, which has resulted in a significant drop in water usage.

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  24. Gracie Brown

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    Meet Gracie Brown–Environmental Action Committee (EAC) board member, Leverett House Co-Eco Rep, and all-around Environmental superstar.

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  25. James Iannone

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    James Iannone knows Harkness Café inside and out. As Restaurant Associates Director of Operations at Harvard Law School’s dining hall, James has his eye on all aspects of daily operations, overseeing staff, tracking finances, sales, and café supply usage.

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  26. Scott Sandberg

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    Scott Sandberg would not just walk into an office, said a friend. He would run in, full of energy.

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  27. Kate Loosian

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    Kate Loosian is a senior project manager with Harvard Real Estate Services (HRES), where she keeps an educated eye on building renovations at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. (She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Notre Dame.)

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  28. Joe Pendergast

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    Current role

    With regard to sustainability, my job is to provide research and analysis to support Engineering and Utilities' (E&U), and the University's, efforts to improve the environment.

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  29. Lisa Valela

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    Lisa Valela is the Program Coordinator for the Graduate Commons Program at two Harvard University Housing properties–10 Akron Street and 5 Cowperthwaite Street. The program provides opportunities for cross-discipline collaboration and social interaction outside of the classroom, fostering a greater sense of community for the Harvard graduate student population.

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  30. Vidya Sivan

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    How did you get interested in environmental issues?

    My mother raised me with a "do not waste" mentality. She had grown up in a large family in India and resources were limited. I always felt bad about wasting anything, so when I received an Earth Day magazine about recycling as an 8 year-old, I was hooked.

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  31. Roy Lauridsen

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    How did you get interested in environmental issues?

    Tim Weiskel had a nearby office when I first started at Harvard Divinity School (HDS).

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  32. John Aiken

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    What are your current and past jobs at Harvard?

    I am currently the Senior Buyer at Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) and have held this position for 7 years. I started at Harvard as a Customer Service Manager at the Quad undergraduate dining halls, and then was promoted to General Manager a year later and held that position for 8 years.

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  33. Paul Kelley

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    Paul Kelley, Lab Director for Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS), was instrumental in helping to turn a grassroots effort into a formal partnership with the Office for Sustainability (OFS), thus creating the EPS Green Team. The group meets regularly to plan green events and explore opportunities in green catering, lighting improvements, wind energy, and other initiatives.

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