August 31, 2011

Dear Board Member,

This month we present a video interview featuring Professor Kristin Mayes, an energy policy expert and the driving force behind Arizona’s renewable energy standards. This interview follows our brief listing of recent ASU sustainability news and activities.

Highlights of ASU sustainability activities

• ASU has been selected to lead an $18.5 million Engineering Research Center (ERC) funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate advances in solar energy technology. For the project, ASU researchers will collaborate with colleagues at the California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Delaware, and the University of New Mexico and will create partnerships with industry.
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• The Sustainability Consortium widened its scope with the opening of a new European office and an expansion of its board to include two international NGOs. The new Consortium office will operate in the Netherlands in partnership with Wageningen University, a top European agricultural university. The first-ever NGOs represented on the board are World Wildlife Fund, the world’s leading conservation organization, and CARE, a humanitarian organization focused on global poverty.
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• Daniel Nzengya, a graduate researcher in the Biodesign Institute’s Center for Sustainable Health and doctoral student in the School of Sustainability, is bridging the gap between ASU and Africa to improve water safety and promote sustainability education. While Nzengya is researching health issues from water pollution in Lake Victoria, he is also meeting with faculty of Kenya’s Kenyatta University to promote the Sustainable Science for Teachers Initiative – a program developed by Nobel Laureate Lee Hartwell. Kenyatta is the regional leader in teacher education.
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• Three ASU student startup companies have been selected to be among the five finalists in Entrepreneur magazine’s “College Entrepreneur of the Year” contest, including one company focused on creating sustainable medical clinics for developing countries. All three startup companies launched with the help of ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, which provides office space, coaching, and funding. The winner will be announced in January 2012.
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• ASU’s Green Labs program is working to advance sustainable practices for the university’s laboratories, which collectively occupy nearly 1.5 million square feet of space and consume three to eight times the energy of comparable-sized office buildings. The program, led by ASU’s Environmental Health and Safety department in partnership with the office of University Sustainability Practices, helps lab employees adopt proven practices that cut energy use, avert waste, and reduce biohazard materials.
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Please feel free to email or call us with any questions or comments about this briefing.

Best regards,

Kristin Mayes is a Senior Sustainability Scholar in the Global Institute of Sustainability and a professor of practice in the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law where she is director of the Program on Law and Sustainability. From 2003 to 2010 she served on the Arizona Corporation Commission – the state’s utility regulatory agency. As chair of the commission she coauthored Arizona’s ambitious renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. In this interview, Professor Mayes discusses her energy policy background and describes how the Program on Law and Sustainability will help governments, businesses, and homeowners navigate a path to renewable energy sources. She also explains how the program will educate next-generation sustainability leaders and help address future energy challenges.

Kris Mayes, J.D.

Watch interview/read transcript