Â鶹´«Ã½

By Elizabeth Egan

The awards honor exemplary efforts by members of the university community in contributing to a more sustainable institution and recognize outstanding individuals and departments who are committed to transforming UB into a holistically sustainable community through leadership, innovation and collaboration.

Rajan, Miles and Fetzner were recognized at an award ceremony on April 22.

"I am proud to congratulate Krishna, Monica and Ava for their exceptional leadership in sustainability and environmental innovation at UB, in the Buffalo community and beyond,” said Kemper Lewis, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “Their work represents the power of our SEAS community to shape a more resilient future."

Rajan, a SUNY Empire Innovation Professor and SUNY Distinguished Professor, received the SLICE Faculty Award for Sustainability in Higher Education. As the inaugural chair of UB’s Department of Materials Design and Innovation, Rajan is recognized for his work in creating new pathways for his discipline to redefine material discovery and innovation.

While presenting the award, Laura Hubbard, UB’s vice president for finance and administration, noted that Rajan’s “benign by design” approach leverages AI and informatics to accelerate solutions to complex environmental and social problems such as PFAS, a type of long-lasting chemical.

“He is breaking down silos by creating collaborations across once disparate groups of people by leveraging the best of chemistry, environmental sciences, toxicology, materials science, environmental rights, corporate relations and public advocacy to advance solutions to systemic risks like climate change and pollution,” said Hubbard.

In 2017, Rajan collaborated with the JPB Foundation, Clean Production Action and Niagara Share to create the The partnership brings together scientists, manufacturers and community partners with the goal of producing materials needed for renewable energy that not only perform better than existing materials, but that would be safer for the environment and community at every stage of production.

Rajan also directs the UB , a research center that aims to advance manufacturing and strengthen the clean energy economy in New York State, and co-founded materialsIN, a company that uses AI and machine learning to transform materials discovery, streamline production, and drive sustainability.

Miles received the SLICE Climate Justice Award in recognition of her many community programs, including leading a in partnership with the Delavan-Girder Community Center in Buffalo. Through Miles’ work in climate justice and education, she has focused on real-world community minded issues, often for underserved communities in Western New York.

Over the summer, Miles brought her research on environmental justice to the six-week summer camp, hosting 60 youth between kindergarten and sixth grade and offering a wide range of STEM activities that aimed at providing a deeper understanding of local environmental issues and building awareness of green job opportunities.

In addition to the camp, Miles, with support from SEAS, the National Society of Black Engineers and Second Nature, brought the first Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Air Quality Flag Program to Buffalo. The community center raised an air quality flag for the first time on August 16, that is changed to different colors based on air quality. A green flag is raised for good air quality, yellow for moderate, orange for unhealthy for sensitive groups, red to signal unhealthy air for all, and purple to indicate that air quality is very unhealthy and outdoor exposure should be limited for everyone.

Hubbard noted that Miles’ efforts, “Exemplify the environmental stewardship and mentorship that are necessary to make change and progress towards healthy and resilient communities.”

Miles recently received the for her commitment to education, environmental justice and community empowerment.

Fetzner was recognized with the SLICE Student Award for her work on the annual UBReUSE event and in starting an organic collections program.

Her nomination noted that Fetzner’s enthusiasm for spreading awareness about the need to create waste management practices across campus demonstrates high commitment and ability to make change. Hubbard added that Fetzner brings a contagious energy to every project and thanked her for the ways she has inspired others to make change.

Fetzner worked as a member of UB Sustainability’s Student Sustainability Impact Team and served as a zero waste student assistant, where she launched the organic collections program, setting up food scrap collection stations that served 218 students in UB apartments. She is also a part of the UB student club, Engineers for a Sustainable World, where she co-created and led a project turning algae into biodiesel.

Following graduation, Fetzner plans to work for Hazen and Sawyer as a water engineer.

Fetzner is also a recipient of the