The University of Texas at Austin: Helping to Understand

Your Changing World

The Environmental Science Institute (ESI) is a multidisciplinary unit dedicated to addressing environmental and sustainability issues through research, education, and community outreach. Its popular “Hot Science – Cool Talks Series” helps leading scientists communicate innovative research results to the K-12 community. ESI also promotes science education by partnering UT students and K-12 teachers in classroom activities and field projects. ESI enables interdisciplinary research that explores critical environmental challenges from contamination and depletion of water supplies to the encroachment of non-native species. ESI also prepares UT students for the future with an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate program that recruits undergraduates for faculty-mentored research. (www.esi.utexas.edu)

Environmental Science Institute

Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental LawThe University of Texas School of Law has long been a leader in the field of oil and gas law, and it is now determined to be the leader in the evolving world of energy law with the launch of the interdisciplinary Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law. The center will train a new generation of lawyers and legal scholars to contribute constructive ideas to the debate about solutions to the world’s energy and environmental problems. Additionally, the center will host and sponsor workshops, conferences, and speakers that bring together distinguished academics, advocates, and policymakers in the field. (www.utexas.edu/law/academics/centers/energy)

Energy Management and Innovation CenterThe Energy Management and Innovation Center at the McCombs School of Business seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the economic, commercial, and policy issues involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy. The center supports and promotes interdisciplinary scholarly research and student development in the broad area of energy at the McCombs School and UT Austin. The center also produces an energy finance blog, Energy Insights, which serves as an online conversation surrounding pertinent energy topics.(blogs.mccombs.utexas.edu/energy)

Located on 82 acres of land along Lady Bird Lake, Brackenridge Field Lab (BFL) is an urban ecological research station offering students and faculty an ideal setting to study environmental change. BFL’s distinct habitats on the edge of the Balcones escarpment and history of protection help account for its remarkable diversity. Such biological riches combined with proximity to the main campus make BFL a unique asset for hands-on teaching and independent research by both graduate and undergraduate students within UT’s regular class day. BFL houses UT’s Fire Ant Research Project, where the idea of using tiny phorid flies to control the red imported fire ant grew from a foundation of student research. (www.utexas.edu/research/bfl)

Brackenridge Field Lab

All of these world-class components of UT Austin rely partially on private funds to maintain their current level of excellence.

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Center for Sustainable Development

The Center for Sustainable Development addresses the challenges facing the planning, construction, and preservation of buildings, neighborhoods, and regions. Through a wide range of research, education, and outreach projects such as the Alley Flat Initiative and the Thermal Lab, the center contributes to the larger goals of climate-change research, economic development, and social and environmental justice, on which the notion of sustainable development is built. Students and faculty affiliated with the center partner with local residents and organizations to develop projects that help revitalize and empower communities. (www.soa.utexas.edu/csd)

• Brackenridge Field Lab• Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and

Environmental Law• Center for Sustainable Development

• Energy Management and Innovation Center• Environmental Science Institute• The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a don’t-miss destination known worldwide for its Texas native plant gardens. The center is also a leader in sustainability and conservation, using native plants to address today’s environmental challenges. It is developing a native turf grass that will perform well in water-short climates without fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides. Its landscape-restoration program heals damaged, degraded, and destroyed ecosystems. Its green-roof initiatives use regionally appropriate native plants to improve both the air quality and the energy efficiency of the building beneath them. And its sustainable landscape projects — such as the wildflower meadow at NASA’s Johnson Space Center — improve biological diversity and wildlife habitat. (www.wildflower.org)

Photo courtesy of NASA/Johnson Space Center

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTINAnnual Giving Programs

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