Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Name	Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Established	1998
Type	Research institute
Parent institution	University of California, Los Angeles
Location	Los Angeles, California

Institute of the Environment and Sustainability is a multidisciplinary research and educational center based at a major public research university in Southern California, engaging scholars from environmental science, urban planning, and public policy. The institute connects faculty from departments such as University of California, Los Angeles, Biosphere 2, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley to address regional issues like coastal resilience, air quality, and wildfire management while interacting with agencies including National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United States Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

History

The institute was founded in the late 20th century amid rising attention to transdisciplinary environmental challenges involving ensembles of researchers from University of California, National Science Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Packard Foundation, and Carnegie Institution for Science. Early programs drew collaborations with scholars associated with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Smithsonian Institution, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. During its development the institute aligned with initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, United Nations Environment Programme, and regional efforts like the California Environmental Quality Act implementation, attracting visiting fellows from Columbia University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Yale University, and University of Oxford.

Mission and Objectives

The institute's mission emphasizes cross-cutting scholarship that informs policy and practice at scales linking local jurisdictions like City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles with global frameworks such as the Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals, Convention on Biological Diversity, and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Objectives include producing applied research to support agencies like California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Natural Resources Agency, United States Forest Service, and Federal Emergency Management Agency while training students for roles in organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, Environmental Defense Fund, and Natural Resources Defense Council.

Research Programs

Research programs span thematic clusters connecting work in coral reef mapping with partners like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, urban heat island studies with ties to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, landscape ecology projects referencing The Nature Conservancy, and air quality modeling linked to South Coast Air Quality Management District. Projects involve collaborations with research centers such as California Institute of Technology Seismological Laboratory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, and Pew Charitable Trusts and address topics that intersect with literature from IPCC, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, World Meteorological Organization, UNICEF, and World Bank assessments. Faculty-led laboratories coordinate with initiatives like Chesapeake Bay Program, Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, California Coastal Commission, Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation, and Urban Climate Change Research Network.

Academic and Educational Activities

The institute houses graduate and professional training programs that bridge curricula from departments including Department of Geography, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Public Affairs, School of Law, and Anderson School of Management. Educational offerings include seminars, colloquia, and certificate programs taught by faculty affiliated with National Academy of Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society, National Academy of Engineering, and fellowship programs like Rhodes Scholarship, Fulbright Program, and Marshall Scholarship alumni. Students engage in applied internships with entities such as Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, California State Parks, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, and private firms including AECOM, Arup, Jacobs Engineering Group.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Strategic partnerships link the institute with municipal bodies like City of Los Angeles departments, state organizations such as California Natural Resources Agency, federal partners including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Geological Survey, and international networks like C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, ICLEI, Global Covenant of Mayors, and United Nations University. Academic collaborations involve exchange and joint appointments with University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Imperial College London, Australian National University, and Peking University. Funders and philanthropic partners have included Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Gates Foundation, and corporate research alliances with firms such as Google, IBM, Microsoft, and Siemens.

Facilities and Resources

Core facilities support field, laboratory, and computational work and include access to marine vessels coordinated with Scripps Institution of Oceanography, remote sensing platforms tied to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, environmental sensors networked with NOAA, and greenhouse and mesocosm spaces similar to those at Biosphere 2. Computational resources link to high-performance computing centers like National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and data archives in partnership with Global Biodiversity Information Facility, DataONE, and PANGEA (data repository). On-campus infrastructure connects to campus units such as Henderson Library, Young Research Library, Semel Institute, and urban testbeds in neighborhoods adjacent to Santa Monica Bay, Los Angeles River, and San Gabriel Mountains.

Awards and Impact

Scholars affiliated with the institute have received recognitions including fellowships from MacArthur Fellows Program, awards from National Science Foundation CAREER program, grants from Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and honors presented by American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America, Royal Geographical Society, and American Meteorological Society. Impact is evident through contributions to policy instruments like the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, technical guidance for Los Angeles Sustainable City pLAn, urban planning applications informing Expo Line (Los Angeles Metro), and scientific inputs to assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Health Organization.

Category:Environmental research institutes