School Notes: School of the Environment
July/August 2017

Professor elected to National Academy of Sciences

F&ES professor Karen C. Seto, whose research explores how urbanization will affect the planet, has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. A geographer by training, she integrates remote sensing, field interviews, and modeling methods to study urbanization and land change, forecast urban growth, and examine the environmental consequences of urban expansion. An expert in satellite remote sensing analysis, she has pioneered methods to reconstruct historical land use and to develop empirical models to explain and forecast the expansion of urban areas. Earlier this year she received the inaugural Research Excellence Award in Human Dimensions of Global Change from the American Association of Geographers and was awarded the Ecological Society of America’s 2017 Sustainability Science Award for original research. Seto joined the Yale faculty in 2008 and was named a full professor of geography and urbanization science in 2013. She was recently named the Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science. 

Global project will promote green chemistry in developing countries

The F&ES-based Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale has entered into a three-year global collaboration that will promote the principles and implementation of green chemistry in low- and middle-income countries. The Global Project on Green Chemistry, a public-private initiative led by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, will increase global awareness and deploy green chemistry approaches and technologies. Green chemistry is defined as the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Drawing on a large research consortium led by experts at the Yale center and other international partners, the new collaboration will develop curricula and training on green chemistry practices.