Susan E. Powers, ‘83, ‘85

I am the Spence Professor of Sustainable Environmental Systems and the Director of the Institute for a Sustainable Environment at Clarkson University. I received my Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1992 and have two years of experience as a project engineer with Engineering Science (now Parsons) in Syracuse, New York. I have served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, the EPA Science Advisory Board - Environmental Engineering committee (2003-2009, 2015-present), and on the board of the Engineering Research Council of the American Society of Engineering Education.

The technical research that I and my students complete includes lifecycle assessment to provide perspectives on energy systems and their overall environmental impact. My research focuses on defining and quantifying metrics that can be used to assess the energy and environmental benefits and liabilities associated with energy systems. Specific recent interdisciplinary work includes anaerobic digestion for food waste management and energy production and smart housing to motivate energy conservation behavior.

My education and scholarly work are integrated through research on aspects of engineering and broader STEM education. I have had several education oriented research grants, including the NSF Director’s Award as a Distinguished Teaching Scholar. Among these efforts, I have promoted and assessed the value of utilizing relevant project-based experiences to improve energy and climate change literacy of middle school, high school and college students. I am using my current academic position to promote project-based learning experiences to promote sustainability for college students. I am teaching classes and working with several student groups to analyze and improve existing campus operations and design and innovate new facilities to reduce our campus’ impact on the environment and society. The goal in all of these projects is to provide real-world, messy and open ended projects to students to enhance their education both in technical aspects as well as team work, communication and integrating sustainability as a critical project criterion.