Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy at UMass Lowell

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Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy at UMass Lowell

The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy is the UMass Lowell's center for hands-on research

08/20/2026

📢 Municipalities & Organizations - Host a CELT Municipal Fellow! Applications for our Fourth Municipal Fellowship Cohort are open.

Through the CELT Municipal Fellowship, municipalities and organizations receive six months of no-cost support from a current college student in Massachusetts to advance local clean energy and sustainability initiatives. The fellowship is open to students of all academic levels, from undergraduate through PhD, and across all majors. Fellows are matched with hosts based on their specific needs and project goals.

Fellows can support a wide range of projects, including:

⚡ Clean energy and sustainability research
📊 Data collection and analysis
📣 Community outreach and education
💻 Marketing and communications
📝 Grant research and writing
🏙️ And more!

The fellowship is designed to provide municipalities and organizations with additional capacity while giving fellows hands-on experience supporting Massachusetts’ clean energy and net-zero goals.

📅 Apply today and learn more at the link in our bio.

Questions? Contact [email protected]

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙀𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙀𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙇𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙘𝙮 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 (𝘾𝙀𝙇𝙏) 𝙄𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙐𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙇𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣 𝙐𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨-𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙚𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙨. 𝘾𝙀𝙇𝙏 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.

08/17/2026

Join us next Friday, August 28, from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. at the Campus Recreation Center mini turf for Sustainable Move-In. 🛋️📚

Shop gently used room essentials and browse our pop-up thrift featuring curated clothing.

Give items a second life, find something new-to-you, and start the semester sustainably.

08/13/2026

This summer, we brought together experts and community voices for the Massachusetts Advanced Nuclear & Fusion Energy Roadmap Discussion Series. ⚛️

The third panel brought thoughtful discussion around safety, spent fuel, public trust and community engagement as Massachusetts considers the future of advanced nuclear and fusion energy.

With additional panels held throughout the summer, the series created space for thoughtful conversations about the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of energy in Massachusetts.

08/11/2026

Move-in prep is underway! 🛋️📚

Through the GradBag program, gently used items collected during move-out get a second life instead of going to waste. Our team is busy sorting and collecting items to put to use for this year’s move-in, but we can’t show you everything just yet. 😉

And this is just the beginning! Keep an eye out for our upcoming Sustainable Move-In this month, where you’ll have the chance to find more secondhand essentials for your space.

08/05/2026

How’s your summer going? 🌞🌿

Our sustainability team spent the day at TreeTop Adventures in Canton, taking some time to recharge and enjoy the outdoors. A good reminder that making time for nature, connection, and a little leisure is part of a sustainable summer, too.

07/30/2026

Ph.D. student Alana Griggs and Sustainability Director Dai Kim recently donated 15 compost bins to the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA) to help jumpstart composting efforts within the community.

Made possible through support from the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Grant, this effort expands access to composting resources while advancing the shared goal of building healthier soils across Massachusetts.

The compost bins are made from 100% recycled plastic and designed to make composting simple and accessible. Each 128-gallon bin can hold approximately six to eight 30-gallon bags of yard material and features a heat-absorbing black design, a secure ventilated lid to support decomposition while keeping pests out, and a bottom access door for easy removal of finished compost.

We’re excited to see these bins support more sustainable waste practices across our community.

07/28/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Juliette Rooney-Varga on receiving the Jay Wright Forrester Award, recognizing the best contribution to the field of system dynamics over the past five years. 👏

Presented by the System Dynamics Society at the 2026 International System Dynamics Conference in Delft, Netherlands, the award recognizes the 2024 Nature Sustainability paper, "Community-Based Propagation to Scale Up Educational Innovations in Sustainability."

The research demonstrates how community-based "ambassadors" can help scale sustainability education, using system dynamics modeling to show how committed adopters who mentor and recruit others can accelerate the spread of impactful innovations. 🌍

As director of UMass Lowell's Climate Change Initiative and co-director of the Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy, Dr. Rooney-Varga continues to advance research that connects systems thinking, climate science and community engagement to support evidence-based climate action.

Congratulations on this well-deserved international recognition!

🔗 Link to read more: https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2026/rooney-varga-forrester-award.aspx

07/21/2026

♻️ Ever wonder what happens to your recycling after it’s collected? 👀

Our Eco-Rep team visited Casella’s Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Charlestown, MA, for a behind-the-scenes look at how single-stream recyclables are sorted, processed and prepared for their next life. Since Casella manages UMass Lowell’s campus recycling program, students had the opportunity to see firsthand what happens to the materials they recycle every day.

From advanced optical sorters and conveyor systems to the baling of recovered materials for manufacturing, the tour highlighted the technology and teamwork that help keep valuable resources in circulation and why recycling right matters.

A huge thank you to the team at Casella Waste Systems for welcoming us, sharing your expertise and giving our Eco-Reps such an informative tour! 💚

07/15/2026

🌎 Happy World Youth Skills Day! 💚

Today, we're celebrating the next generation of sustainability leaders. At UMass Lowell, students are building the skills to drive real-world solutions through research, innovation and community engagement. Their ideas, passion and action are helping create a more sustainable future.

07/08/2026

Congratulations to Dai Kim on completing Lowell Plan Public Matters®! 🎉 We’re proud to celebrate our Sustainability Director and this accomplishment.

Lowell Plan Public Matters®: A Program in Civic Engagement is a leadership initiative of The Lowell Plan, conducted in partnership with Lowell National Historical Park. The program brings together professionals from across Lowell to learn more about the city, connect with local leaders, and explore opportunities to make a positive impact.

We’re proud to see Dai among this year’s participants in the program, continuing a connection that has included past Rist Institute team members who have also taken part in this program.

📸 Photo Credits: Megpix Photography

Address

UMass Lowell
Lowell, MA
01854

Website

https://www.uml.edu/Sustainability/

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