High Meadows Environmental Institute

High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI, formerly the Princeton Environmental Institute, PEI) at Princeton University in Princeton, NJ is an interdisciplinary center for environmental research that studies effects of and solutions to climate change and other environmental threats.[1][2] The International Center for Climate Governance named the Princeton Environmental Institute the second-highest climate change think tank in the global category for 2012,[1] following the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.[3]

High Meadows Environmental Institute
Founded1994 (1994)
TypeThink tank
FocusEnvironment, Climate change
Location
Area served
Global
Director
Gabriel Vecchi
Parent organization
Princeton University
Websiteenvironment.princeton.edu
Formerly called
Princeton Environmental Institute

The High Meadows Environmental Institute is an interdisciplinary center for environmental research that includes over 120 researchers from 29 departments. Researchers study the causes and impacts of climate change and other key environmental issues involving energy, food, water, and biodiversity. Long-term projects include the Carbon Mitigation Initiative, the Center for Biocomplexity, and the Integrated Ground Water Modeling Center. Grand Challenges and other initiatives focus on climate change and infectious disease, food and the environment, ecohydrology, urban resilience, and sustainable development.[1][4][5]

History

The Princeton Environmental Institute was founded in 1994 as part of a broader initiative led by university president Harold T. Shapiro, to make Princeton a center for addressing global environmental challenges. Shapiro met with Tom Barron, Robert H. Socolow and Henry S. Horn in 1992 to discuss the university's possible direction.[6][7][8][9] Shapiro then formed a faculty committee which recommended the creation of the Princeton Environmental Institute.[10] In December 1995, the Institute moved into the newly-renovated Guyot Hall.[11]

The founding director of the institute in 1994 was Simon Levin.[12][13] François M. M. Morel held the position of Director twice, first between 1998 and 2004.[14] Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe, who served as acting director of the institute in 2002, founded the field of ecohydrology.[15][16] Stephen W. Pacala was Acting Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute from 2005 to 2006, and Director from 2006 to 2014.[17] François M. M. Morel returned for a second time as Director from 2014-2017.[18] The Director of the institute from 2017-2021 was Michael Celia, the Theodora Shelton Pitney Professor of Environmental Studies and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Princeton.[4][19] As of July 2021, the Director became Gabriel Vecchi.[20]

In 2000, the institute established the Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI) in partnership with British Petroleum (BP).[4] The Carbon Mitigation Initiative has identified eight major carbon mitigation strategies or "wedges" for reducing human-based carbon emissions.[21][22]

In 2014, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the institute established the Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling project (SOCCOM), to study the Southern Ocean's role in climate regulation.[4][23][24]

In 2019, the institute received $2.5 million in federal funding to study resilience and sustainability in urban food systems.[25]

In 2020, the Institute received a gift to create the Thomas A. and Currie C. Barron Family Biodiversity Research Challenge Fund to support research on the preservation of species and ecosystems.[26]

The Princeton Environmental Institute was renamed as the High Meadows Environmental Institute, following a gift from Judy and Carl Ferenbach III's High Meadows Foundation in 2020.[1][2][27][28] The High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) is projected to move to a new building at Princeton in early 2025.[29][30]

References
  1. Durkee, Robert K. (5 April 2022). The New Princeton Companion. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-21044-5. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. "Princeton receives naming gift for environmental institute". Philanthropy News Digest. November 3, 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. "First-Ever Ranking of Climate Think Tanks". Think Tank Watch.
  4. Kelly, Morgan (December 13, 2018). "Photo exhibition explores 25 years of Princeton environmental education, research". Princeton University. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  5. Implementing the MIT Global Environment Initiative (PDF). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2012. pp. 22–23.
  6. Valenti, Denise (August 29, 2022). "Can the humanities help solve climate change?". Princeton University. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  7. Seltzer, Molly A. (21 August 2020). "Tough, timely and team-driven: 50 years of energy research". Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment.
  8. Wohlforth, Charles (December 4, 2019). "PEI Celebrates 25 Years: Princeton's Hub of Environmental Studies Surveys the Global Challenges Ahead". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  9. "Currie Barron and Tom Barron '74 establish research fund to preserve biodiversity". Princeton University. November 16, 2020.
  10. Wei, James (7 June 2014). "Plans and Detours". Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. 5 (1): 1–9. doi:10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061312-103325. ISSN 1947-5438. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  11. "PEI finds new home". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. February 7, 1966.
  12. Kelly, Morgan (August 14, 2020). "From muddy boots to mathematics: Advancing the science of ecosystems and biodiversity". High Meadows Environmental Institute.
  13. "National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth . About the Project . Season 1 . Our Advisors | PBS". PBS.
  14. "François M. M. Morel". Office of the Dean of the Faculty. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  15. "Water Wonder". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. July 2, 2002. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  16. "Ignacio Rodríguez-Iturbe, renowned hydrologist who forged a new science linking water to ecosystems, dies at 80". Princeton University. October 31, 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  17. "Stanford Global Carbon Management Workshop #1 - Speakers, Moderators and Panelists | Stanford Strategic Energy Alliance". strategic-energy-alliance.stanford.edu. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  18. Kelly, Morgan (Jul 10, 2017). "New PEI director Michael Celia plans to build on Institute's strengths, expand reach". High Meadows Environmental Institute.
  19. "PE Distinguished Seminar: Large-scale Geological Storage of Carbon Dioxide". Campus Events Calendar. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  20. "Professor Gabriel Vecchi". Eye Towards The Sky. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  21. Kibert, Charles J. (12 April 2022). Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-70645-8.
  22. Arnold, Denis G. (31 March 2011). The Ethics of Global Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50100-2.
  23. Matsumoto, George I. (18 February 2020). "Data for all via the Adopt-A-Float program: Southern Ocean Carbon and Climate Observations and Modeling (SOCCOM)". AGU.
  24. Groeskamp, Sjoerd; Griffies, Stephen M.; Iudicone, Daniele; Marsh, Robert; Nurser, A.J. George; Zika, Jan D. (3 January 2019). "The Water Mass Transformation Framework for Ocean Physics and Biogeochemistry". Annual Review of Marine Science. 11 (1): 271–305. doi:10.1146/annurev-marine-010318-095421. ISSN 1941-1405.
  25. Kelly, Morgan (November 6, 2019). "Princeton researchers receive $2.5 million to advance the science of urban food sustainability". High Meadows Environmental Institute.
  26. "Research fund at Princeton University will preserve biodiversity". centraljersey.com. 16 November 2020.
  27. "Princeton honors Judy and Carl Ferenbach '64 at High Meadows Environmental Institute dedication". High Meadows Environmental Institute. May 11, 2022.
  28. "From High Meadows to higher ground: Carl Ferenbach III '64 is investing in future generations". Princeton Alumni. October 29, 2020.
  29. "Our New Home". High Meadows Environmental Institute. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  30. "Princeton University Environmental Studies and The School of Engineering Applied Science". ennead.
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