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The Nicholas School of the Environment figures prominently in the  report. The annual review charts the university’s progress toward achieving its 2030 goal “to be recognized globally as a leader in innovative, sustainable solutions that help the world to be safe, secure, resilient and abundant.”

The report features Nicholas School students, researchers and initiatives across five of six focus areas, including education, research, sustainable operations, external engagement and community partnerships.

Education

Seven undergraduate students joined the Nicholas School’s Climate Scholars cohort. The group joined eight inaugural scholars in a program designed to foster interdisciplinary research on climate-related challenges.

In March 2025, MEM students conducted field research in Barbados to assess potential sites for microgrid and battery storage systems as part of their master’s project. Microgrids are self-contained electrical grids, usually powered by renewable energy, that can provide backup electricity during emergencies.

Nicholas School student Aaron Siegle, T’26/MEM’27, was named a 2025 recipient of the nationally competitive Udall Scholarship, which honors students committed to careers in environmental issues, Native American public policy or Native American health care.

51����’s Design Climate program, led by Judy Ledlee, an executive in residence at the Nicholas School, is empowering interdisciplinary student teams to tackle urgent environmental challenges through hands-on, community-driven innovation.

This year, 51���� engineering students moved their ocean engineering design course from campus to the 51���� Marine Lab. The class gained real-world experience building and testing low-cost hydrophones, underwater devices that detect and record sound.

51���� alumni and their families gathered in October 2024 at the 51���� Marine Lab for the biannual Forever Learning Weekend, hosted by the 51���� Alumni Engagement and Development Lifelong Learning team.

Students can find numerous opportunities to explore climate and sustainability themes woven into courses spanning across disciplines, including at the Nicholas School.

To meet the growing demand for climate and sustainability education among alumni and working professionals, 51���� developed new Coursera courses. Offerings included a class called Climate Science for Everyone, taught by Prasad Kasibhatla, senior associate dean of research and doctoral programs at the Nicholas School.

As part of the 2024-2025 Bass Connections program, multiple interdisciplinary teams tackled an array of complex research challenges, including a project on the effects of climate change on farmed and wild oysters that includes Nicholas School faculty and students.

51���� unveiled a joint-degree program — the 10-month Master in Business, Climate, and Sustainability — developed by the Nicholas School and the Fuqua School of Business.

The 51���� Marine Lab supports Oceans@51����, which has catalyzed interdisciplinary connections among 51���� students and scholars since 2020.

Research Innovation

Electricity demand in the United States is surging. A first-of-its-kind analysis led by Tyler Norris, J.B. 51���� Fellow at the Nicholas School, suggests that taking advantage of load flexibility could enable the U.S. power system to adapt.

51���� researchers, including Nishad Jayasundara, the Nicholas School’s Juli Plant Grainger Assistant Professor of Global Environmental Health, are uncovering a troubling connection between climate change and a global surge in chronic kidney disease of unknown origin, particularly among agricultural workers.

William Pan, the Nicholas School’s Elizabeth Brooks Reid and Whitelaw Reid Professor of Population Studies and Global Environmental Health, led development of a groundbreaking malaria forecasting system that uses artificial intelligence and climate data to predict outbreaks up to nine months in advance.

Small-scale fisheries play a vital role in food security, nutrition and livelihoods, according to a study published in Nature by an international team including the Nicholas School’s associate professor of the practice John Virdin and adjunct professor Xavier Basurto.

A study published in Science in June 2025 by Haipeng Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher working with Nicolas Cassar, the Lee Hill Snowdon Bass Chair at the Nicholas School, reveals a striking transformation in ocean color: Waters are becoming greener near the poles and bluer toward the equator. This shift reflects changing concentrations of the green pigment chlorophyll.

51���� has a new effort addressing the growing demand for critical minerals essential to clean energy technologies and national security: the Critical Minerals Hub, co-led by Avner Vengosh, Distinguished Professor and Nicholas Chair of Environmental Quality at the Nicholas School.

As a doctoral student, Greg Larsen, Ph.D.’22, joined the Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab, led by Dave Johnston, a professor of the practice of marine conservation ecology at the Nicholas School. Larsen went on to develop drone piloting skills that proved essential during Antarctic research expeditions.

In partnership with Dan Richter, the Theodore S. Coile Distinguished Professor of Soils and Forest Ecology, and his lab, the 51���� Campus Farm launched the Soil Fertility Fellowship in 2024.

The annual 51���� Forest Research Tour — an annual tour of the 7,000-acre 51���� Forest — highlighted a study led by Tong Qiu, an assistant professor of ecology at the Nicholas School, that focused on forest regeneration and biodiversity in the face of climate change. 

Microplastics — tiny plastic particles formed when larger plastics break down — are both an environmental and health threat. 51����’s Plastic Pollution Working Group, which includes Nicholas School experts, is a central hub for 51���� students, staff and faculty to meet, collaborate and share their work related to plastic pollution.

Heather Stapleton, the Ronie-Richele Garcia-Johnson Distinguished Professor at the Nicholas School, is among 51���� scientists investigating the health risks of exposure to recalcitrant “forever” chemicals called PFAS.

A 51���� Today series explored the disaster management cycle — from emergency response to long-term recovery and future preparedness — through stories from North Carolina and beyond, and included research examples from the Nicholas School.

Sustainable Operations

Dalia Patiño-Echeverri, the Nicholas School’s Gendell Family Associate Professor, joined forces with Jesko von Windheim, the Lynn Gorguze-Scott Peters Professor of the Practice of Environmental Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Nicholas School, to launch GridSeer, an AI-driven software and analytics platform designed to improve energy system management through smarter forecasting and robust risk analysis.

External Engagement

More than 100 leaders, advocates and researchers — including Nicholas School experts —convened at the SALA & 51���� Climate and Sustainability Summit in May 2025 to explore bold climate solutions and institutional commitments.

The Nature Activation Hub — hosted by the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability and supported by experts including Lydia Olander, an adjunct associate professor at the Nicholas School — is working with other 51���� faculty and external partners to identify opportunities for and overcome barriers to scaling up nature-based solutions.

51���� experts are creating new resources and developing partnerships aimed at building stronger and safer communities by reducing and managing risks from increasingly frequent natural disasters. Lydia Olander, an adjunct associate professor at the Nicholas School, is an issue expert in this arena.

The Climate Leaders in Residence program brought three top thought leaders in 2024-2025 to 51���� to help advance climate solutions. The Nicholas School and the Nicholas Institute for Environment, Energy & Sustainability are hosting one of these leaders: Victoria Salinas, who recently served as Deputy Administrator for Resilience at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Community Partnerships

For several years, Nicholas School faculty, staff and students have been working with colleagues at North Carolina State University, public school teachers and resilience practitioners to develop, implement and expand a middle school program called Ready, Set, Resilience. Led by Liz DeMattia, director of the 51���� Marine Lab’s Community Science Initiative, the program is intended to help kids navigate personal and communal hardships.

In July, high school students from the North Carolina School of Science and Math participated in HackBio, a week-long program hosted by the Nicholas School and the School of Medicine. Founded in 2019 by Meagan Dunphy-Daly, associate dean for experiential education and undergraduate research, and the School of Medicine’s Jason Somarelli, HackBio helps students to develop skills essential to careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Durham high school students visited the 51���� Forest in spring 2025 for experiential learning as part of the Health and Environment Scholars Program (HESP). Led by the Nicholas School’s Meagan Dunphy-Daly, associate dean for experiential education and undergraduate research, along with Nicholas School experiential education program coordinator Emma Schmaltz and School of Medicine assistant professor Jason Somarelli, HESP provides year-round programming for Durham public high school students interested in fields in STEM.

Last summer, Torry Bend, a professor of the practice in the 51���� Department of Theater Studies, led a six-week initiative with the 51���� Marine Lab to blend puppetry with environmental education.

Studying climate change can be emotionally taxing, but former Nicholas School Climate Scholar Kendra Rentz, T’25, found hope and purpose through community-engaged