University of Pennsylvania Makes Top 20 in Sierra Club List of ‘America’s 100 Greenest Schools’
PHILADELPHIA –- The University of Pennsylvania came in at No. 19 –- up from No. 45 last year -- in the Sierra Club Magazine’s ranking of colleges it believes are doing the most for the planet.
Penn was cited particularly for its Green Fund program, which awards grants to faculty, staff or students for innovative sustainability proposals. According to the September/October issue of the magazine, “Penn spurs competition to help execute its Climate Action Plan.”
Penn launched its Climate Action Plan this year in an effort to promote a more sustainable University culture and implement environmentally conscious policies. The plan focuses on several key areas, including academics, energy conservation, green design, waste minimization and emissions reduction.
Overall, Penn received a score of 80.7 out of 100 points. No school scored a perfect 100. Green Mountain College in Vermont topped the ranking with a score of 88.6.
Additional information on Penn’s Climate Action Plan is available at the Green Campus Partnership Web site at www.upenn.edu/sustainability.
Griffin Pitt, right, works with two other student researchers to test the conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, and temperature of water below a sand dam in Kenya.
Griffin Pitt’s upbringing made her passionate about water access and pollution, and Penn has given her the opportunity to explore these issues back home in North Carolina and abroad.
Rashi Sabherwal, a doctoral student in political science, explores how women engage politically in society in informal roles through her research in India.
Helping robots work together to explore the Moon and Mars
Penn Engineers, NASA, and five other universities tested robotic systems designed to help unmanned explorers cooperate in the dunes of White Sands, New Mexico, paving the way for Moon and Mars exploration.
