The Institute for Sustainable Communities

Mission

The mission of the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) is to focus and integrate research efforts across Northwestern university and with external partners to make energy and resource use sustainable. The ISC is an incubator for new ideas and discoveries in the areas of science, technology and policy, as well at the interface of these domains. ISC research seeks to identify and overcome the obstacles to bringing sustainable strategies, technologies and policies to the marketplace. The ISC educates students, faculty, and industry/corporate partners about new sustainable approaches and practices.

Research

There are three interdisciplinary foci for the highly collaborative research that is conducted by ISC faculty and partners: Natural Systems, Energy Systems and Human Systems. Some examples of current research projects and faculty are listed below.

Natural Systems

Network Modeling of Food-Webs (Luis Amaral)
Understanding the Impact of Chemical and Biological Stress on the Food Webs of the Great Lakes (Luis Amaral and Kimberly Gray - ISC Director)
Ecological Restoration of Rivesr, Lakse and Wetlands - Jean-Francois Gaillard, Aaron Packman, Kimberly Gray
A Microbial Observatory for Microbial Communities in Metal Stressed Sediments - Jean-Francois Gaillard, Aaron Packman, Martina Hausner

Energy Systems

Fuel Cell Technologies - Scott Barnett
Environmental Catalysis - Linda Broadbelt, Randy Snurr, Harold Kung, Mayfair Kung, Peter Stair, Laurence Marks
Photoactive Catalysts - Franz Geiger, Michael Graham, Kimberly Gray, Mark Hersam, Richard Lueptow, Peter Stair, Eric Weitz
Green Synthesis - Linda Broadbelt, John Torkelson

Human Systems

Transporation and Land Use Planning - Joseph Schofer, Mark Daskin, Karen Smilowitz
Brownfield and Urban Redevelopment - Keith Harley, Kimberly Gray, Aaron Packman
Environmental Policy - David Dana, Lawrence Rothenberg