School Notes: School of the Environment
March/April 2017

Getting more students into the field

Marlyse Duguid ’10MF, ’16PhD, has been named the first Thomas G. Siccama Lecturer in Environmental Field Studies, a new position that emphasizes the teaching of field studies and ecology. The endowed position, which was funded by more than $1.5 million in private contributions from F&ES alumni and friends, will ensure that future students benefit from hands-on instruction in environmental and field studies, natural history, soils, and local flora and fauna.

Duguid, who completed her PhD in forest ecology last year, is a former research coordinator for the Yale School Forests. In addition to teaching field-based courses, she will develop and lead a summer field ecology program for undergraduate and master’s students and oversee a research fellowship program intended to support student research at the school forests. “Nothing inspires students quite like getting them out in the field, and this position will really strengthen our ability to offer that opportunity to all of our students,” said F&ES dean Indy Burke. “And in Marlyse, someone who likes to get her hands dirty, we have found the perfect person to fill this important role.”

Institute focuses on industrial energy efficiency

Researchers from F&ES will play a lead role in a new US-funded consortium that will aim to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s industrial manufacturing processes. The Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute, based at the Rochester Institute of Technology, will explore strategies to reduce the costs of technologies needed to reuse, recycle, and remanufacture materials such as metals, polymers, fibers, and electronic waste.

The project will be supported by a $70 million US Department of Energy grant in addition to $70 million in private cost-share commitments from the institute’s 85 partners. Its goal is to improve energy efficiency in US manufacturing 50 percent by 2027, which would save billions of dollars in energy costs and reduce overall environmental impacts. For Yale researchers, it will present an opportunity to build upon years of previous research into the life cycles of metals and other resources and to work with a wide range of partners from academia, industry, and government.