Weighting tarp with old tires, Larry Schwarm, May 20212. Farmers passing tires to each other to weigh down a tarp

Center for Environmental Policy

The Center for Environmental Policy (CEP) draws upon interdisciplinary expertise to explore environmental policies, along with related protection efforts, and their impacts on society and nature. Center-sponsored research projects focus on the human decisions behind the formation and implementation of these policies and efforts, and, in turn, their impacts on the environment and related decisions.

Mark Shiflett

University of Kansas awarded $26 million for new Engineering Research Center from National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the University of Kansas $26 million to establish a new Gen-4 Engineering Research Center (ERC) — Environmentally Applied Refrigerant Technology Hub (EARTH) — that will create a sustainable and circular refrigerant economy. Mark Shiflett, KU Foundation Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering and director of the Wonderful Institute for Sustainable Engineering, leads the project. The Center for Environmental Policy will lead the social scientific analysis.

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Field with irrigation system

Improving Water Quality and Equity Through Sensor Data and Machine Learning Models

With funding from U.S. National Science Foundation Convergence Accelerator ($650,000), the Center for Environmental Policy in concert with the Kansas Data Science Consortium and the EPSCoR-funded ARISE project is developing a water management data ecosystem that collects water quality and quantity data, modeling it with machine learning algorithms, and generating insights available on a dashboard for local government officials and state government agencies. 

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