Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

10/29/2026

See you tomorrow for "Climate Culture" with Rare's Anirudh Tiwathia, in person and online! https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/341391-seminar-and-reception-climate-culture-film-tv-and

Join IBES on Friday, October 30, for "Climate Culture: Film, TV and the Possibilities for Climate Action" with Rare's Anirudh Tiwathia!

During this installment of the Brown Seminar Series on Environment and Society, Tiwathia will discuss how, as Hollywood and screen industries worldwide increasingly engage with the climate crisis, film and TV offer an unprecedented opportunity to shift cultural norms toward a more climate-positive future.

3:30pm seminar | 5pm reception | List Art Building & online

Learn more and register to attend: https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/341391-seminar-and-reception-climate-culture-film-tv-and

10/28/2026

Congratulations to this year's IBES Catalyst Research Award winners! Across seven projects, Brown University faculty are training students to conduct underwater research in Curaçao, working with Providence communities to address air and water quality, bringing student climate-policy research to Washington, D.C., and partnering with communities from Sierra Leone to the Yukon River watershed.

Learn more:

Across seven projects, IBES faculty researchers are taking environmental research beyond campus and into the field, working alongside communities while opening new doors for undergraduates to participate.

10/27/2026

In cities like Providence that have a long industrial history, heavy metals often end up in the waterways. We talk to Dan Ibarra at the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society to learn how this happens, and what it means for the city’s residents. Watch today's episode on our feed, or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

In cities like Providence that have a long industrial history, heavy metals often end up in the waterways. Today’s episode looks at how this happens, and what it means for the city’s residents

10/27/2026

How do metals get in our rivers? In today's episode we look to Providence, Rhode Island to see how the city's industrial history might play a role.

10/26/2026

Calling all employers 📣 Enhance your team and inspire the next generation of environmental changemakers by hosting an IBES-funded intern next summer!

As IBES’ student professional development program continues to expand, the Institute seeks a new cohort of mission-driven companies and organizations to host Brown University students interested in climate, sustainability and the environment during summer 2027.

Learn more and apply by NOVEMBER 19: https://ibes.brown.edu/education/STEP/internship/employers

10/23/2026

One week away! Join us on October 30 to learn about film and TV's role in addressing climate change: https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/341391-seminar-and-reception-climate-culture-film-tv-and

Join IBES on Friday, October 30, for "Climate Culture: Film, TV and the Possibilities for Climate Action" with Rare's Anirudh Tiwathia!

During this installment of the Brown Seminar Series on Environment and Society, Tiwathia will discuss how, as Hollywood and screen industries worldwide increasingly engage with the climate crisis, film and TV offer an unprecedented opportunity to shift cultural norms toward a more climate-positive future.

3:30pm seminar | 5pm reception | List Art Building & online

Learn more and register to attend: https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/341391-seminar-and-reception-climate-culture-film-tv-and

10/22/2026

Coming up! Join us on Saturday morning for IBES' Family Weekend panel discussion on AI and the environment. https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/339644-ai-climate-and-sustainability-a-path-forward-for

Can the development of AI be compatible with environmental sustainability and healthy communities? This Family Weekend, hear from four panelists as they explore AI’s growing environmental footprint, who bears its impacts, and how it might offer promise for new climate solutions.

Featured speakers:
- Laura Stark, Visiting Scholar in Science, Technology, and Society
- Stephen Porder, Acacia Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology & Environment and Society
- Marianthi Kioumourtzoglou, Professor of Epidemiology & Environment and Society
- Moderated by Daniel Ibarra, George H. Billings Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences & Environment and Society
- With a lightning talk by Christopher Horvat, Assistant Professor, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

🗓️ Saturday, October 24
⏰ 10–11 a.m.
📍 85 Waterman St, Room 130 & livestream

Registration encouraged: https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/339644-ai-climate-and-sustainability-a-path-forward-for

Brown University Department of Epidemiology Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

10/20/2026

Can a battery run on rust?

In today's Possibly episode, we look into iron-air batteries. They store energy using rust, and we find out how they work, and why they might be able to help us use more renewable energy on the grid.

10/16/2026

Just over a week away! See you on October 24 for IBES' Family Weekend panel discussion, "AI, Climate, and Sustainability," featuring professors Laura Stark, Stephen Porder, Marianthi Kioumourtzoglou, Daniel Ibarra, and a lightning talk from Christopher Horvat.

Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences Brown University Department of Epidemiology Brown University School of Public Health

Can the development of AI be compatible with environmental sustainability and healthy communities? This Family Weekend, hear from four panelists as they explore AI’s growing environmental footprint, who bears its impacts, and how it might offer promise for new climate solutions.

Featured speakers:
- Laura Stark, Visiting Scholar in Science, Technology, and Society
- Stephen Porder, Acacia Professor of Ecology, Evolutionary and Organismal Biology & Environment and Society
- Marianthi Kioumourtzoglou, Professor of Epidemiology & Environment and Society
- Moderated by Daniel Ibarra, George H. Billings Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences & Environment and Society
- With a lightning talk by Christopher Horvat, Assistant Professor, Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences

🗓️ Saturday, October 24
⏰ 10–11 a.m.
📍 85 Waterman St, Room 130 & livestream

Registration encouraged: https://events.brown.edu/ibes/event/339644-ai-climate-and-sustainability-a-path-forward-for

Brown University Department of Epidemiology Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences

10/16/2026

Congratulations to Meredith Hastings — a professor in IBES and the Brown University Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, and leader of the community-engaged Breathe Providence project — who was recently named a Faculty Fellow at The Swearer Center at Brown University!

Learn more:

The Brown professor and community-engaged researcher will help advance university-wide efforts to strengthen support for community-engaged scholarship.