This聽 ambitious project is led by a transdisciplinary team that includes co-PIs Amy Tuininga, Professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, Michael Hannon, Associate Professor of Counseling, and Lora Billings, Dean of the College of Science and Mathematics (CSAM). The project was inspired and piloted by the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies (PSEG ISS) Green Teams summer internship program, managed by Tuininga as Director and Goodey as Associate Director. While it was generally accepted that students benefit from internship experiences, Tuininga and Goodey were keenly aware of how internships often lacked the elements required for students with a breadth of identities and life experiences to feel a sense of belonging, particularly in STEM fields.

Mature scientists know that STEM projects often involve setbacks and that embracing these challenges leads to resilience and unexpected scientific breakthroughs. Facing these challenges can exacerbate negative mental states for inexperienced researchers who lack adequate support in adjusting to their STEM identities.

They consulted with Hannon, a counselor educator whose research focuses on mental health and wellbeing, who suggested they fill the gap with the addition of weekly psychoeducational group counseling sessions for the interns. Embracing a unique opportunity, the sessions would be facilitated by PhD students in Counseling, who are professional counselors. The pilot project from 2022-2024, funded by the PSEG Foundation, was well received by interns and it seemed natural to extend the support to other students.

“The PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies is pleased to lead innovation in best practices for inclusive internship experiences, like mental health support for young people that is much needed, particularly after COVID,” says Tuininga.

As a STEM partner, Goodey and Tuininga identified the growing CSAM Summer Undergraduate Research Program, managed by Billings, which similarly studied the benefits of undergraduate research on student outcomes at their HSI institution. This program was piloted in 2022 through a New Jersey Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund II (GEERF II) Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge grant and then was supported by donor funding and a partnership with the NSF Garden State Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. The CSAM program expanded to over 50 mentor-led projects in the summer of 2024.

Mental health is key to managing stress and supporting productivity in both research and education. This project will empower all students to persist in STEM and holistically prepare them to succeed in the future workforce. 麻豆传媒在线 is proud to be a leader in quantifying the value of the mental health support services.

The project has strong support from the University鈥檚 administration and contributes their HSI expertise as senior personnel. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Junius Gonzales, brings his expertise in Hispanic students鈥� mental health and commitment to reduce equity gaps for student achievement and grow student internship and research opportunities. Milton Fuentes, Department of Psychology and MSU Provost鈥檚 Higher Education Academic Leadership Fellow, brings to the project a deep understanding of Hispanic students, mental health, and expertise in Latinx, multicultural, and family psychology.

The team will employ a mixed-methods approach to answer the following questions:

1. what impact does psychoeducational group counseling have on research and internship experiences
2. does participating in psychoeducational group counseling influence students’ sense of hope
3. how does participating in counselor-facilitated, weekly affinity groups impact research mentors and project managers? The hypothesis is that the counseling component will provide students with clarity regarding their career paths; increased group-cohesion; the confidence and tools to confront and disrupt racism; necessary mental health support; and mentally-safe and inclusive internship and research experiences.

鈥淭he inclusion of counseling support for students participating in these internship and research experiences is exactly the kind of proactive, preventative services that all students deserve. We are hopeful that the comprehensive scope of support will be nothing short of transformational for the students, for those of us privileged to engage with and serve them, and for our institution.

The team will also invite faculty mentors and program managers to participate in their own counselor-facilitated affinity groups to establish best practices for mentoring students with intersecting and marginalized identities. With additional support by the College and Provost鈥檚 Office, the University hopes to maximize the reach of this program and make it sustainable. The team will share the practices broadly within 麻豆传媒在线 and with other institutions of higher education as a model to integrate counseling into research and internship experiences.

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation HSI Program under , which aims to enhance undergraduate STEM education, broaden participation in STEM, and build capacity at HSIs. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Issues and initiatives around the environment, and what they mean for the businesses connected to it, have never been greater.

That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e proud to present the second annual .

It鈥檚 an important look at the people whose work most impacts the environment in the state, whether that entails clean energy, offshore wind, electric vehicles, water or a host of other issues.

To them, we say: Congratulations!

To everyone, we say: Save the planet.

Organized by PSEG ISS, the initiative brings together aspiring environmental leaders and decision-makers to tackle pressing environmental challenges in the community.

This year, a group of 50 environmentally conscientious students are divided into 10 teams and aligned with host partner organizations to survey, research, analyze and report on sustainability projects. The organizations include PSEG; Hackensack Meridian Health; New Jersey Resources; NJ Transit; Stryker; Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; DSM-Firmenich; Newark Community Food System; and 麻豆传媒在线 Facilities.

Read the full article on the University News Center

This year鈥檚 50 students are divided into 10 teams and paired with host organizations to survey, research, analyze 鈥� and ultimately report on 鈥� sustainability projects for partner organizations, including Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center, PSEG, Weeks Marine, Inc. and the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition Essex Hudson Greenway Project.

This is the greatest group of students we鈥檝e ever had.

PSEG ISS supports research and community projects, including climate change in New Jersey, and energy and water studies globally. In its seven years of operation, the PSEG ISS Green Teams Internship Program has had 320 undergraduate students from 68 different universities and almost 120 degree programs go through the program. By the end of this summer, the 64 teams (including 10 from this summer) will have completed over 250 projects for 39 different hosting organizations, many of them repeat customers. The 2022 students hail from 31 universities and represent 45 degree programs.

Read the full article on the University News Center

Weitian Wang, director of the University鈥檚 Collaborative Robotics and Smart Systems Laboratory, is principal investigator (PI) on the grant and working with co-PI Michelle Zhu, professor and the associate chair of the Department of Computer Science, and co-PI Amy Tuininga, director of the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies.

On paper, the impressive robot system may sound intimidating: 鈥渁 multimodal collaborative robot system,鈥� or MCROS, that will 鈥渁dvance a wide range of ongoing research projects sponsored by various agencies/organizations and foster multiple potential funding opportunities distributed across four colleges [College of Science and Mathematics, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Education and Human Services and the Feliciano School of Business] and 12 academic units鈥� covering 鈥渇ive focused areas: (1) intelligent systems and advanced computing, (2) ecology and chemistry sciences, (3) smart urban agriculture and food science, (4) human-factors engineering and social science, and (5) interactive learning.鈥�

But the researchers say the robot system will also be somewhat 鈥� adorable.

Robots in the system will be short and squat, but agile, and run on all-terrain wheels. Their appendages will be interchangeable. Sensors will make them smart and capable of learning.

The robot system will call the聽Center for Computing and Information Science聽home, where Wang says 鈥渙ther researchers can come to utilize the MCROS for indoor robot-related experiments.鈥� Zhu explains that the robot system can also 鈥渂e deployed in the field, in the wild. So it can help researchers to do some dangerous things.鈥�

鈥淚t will be able to do anything from teaching a foreign language to sampling plants to see if they are ready to harvest,鈥� says Tuininga. In fact, the robot system will shortly begin working with a vertical farm in Hackensack once some more parts are purchased.

Tuininga explains, 鈥淥ur vertical farm partners are partnering with a program for adults with autism. We can use the language development component to work with people with disabilities at the same time as the plant sensing. Since it鈥檚 collaborative, the scientists and the adults with autism and the robot are all learning from each other.鈥�

In addition, the robot system will aim to open up the STEM field to more students, especially female students and underrepresented minorities, with tangible and engaging hands-on projects in robot-supported courses and outreach programs.

Besides connecting multiple disciplines within the University, the system will ultimately connect the University nationwide to scholars, helping researchers at 麻豆传媒在线 to launch robotics workshops with the state-of-the-art robotics knowledge and activities for local K-12 students, especially those from underserved districts, contributing to the development and diversity of the future high-tech workforce for New Jersey and the country.

But before the robot has its world debut next April or May, there is a lot of work to be done.

鈥淏efore you teach the MCROS, it鈥檚 just a machine,鈥� says Wang. 鈥淭he MCROS will learn from human demonstrations to make itself smarter just like a student will learn from teachers.鈥�

Adds Zhu: 鈥淎nybody can buy the hardware, but then we also make the robot intelligent by developing different artificial intelligence software. With the software, the robot will be tailored to each different domain, each different problem.鈥�

Tuininga says the project is 鈥渟haring the expertise of computer science with the whole University.鈥�

鈥淭his is the beginning. It鈥檚 a gateway to allow many, many new possibilities for collaborations across campus and outside of campus for human and technology interaction.鈥�

鈥淎nother feature is the uniqueness of our University,鈥� says Wang. 鈥淲e will have a lot of applications across subjects, from multiple colleges, multiple departments. The unique feature for our robot system is collaboration.鈥�

Story by Staff Writer聽Mary Barr Mann. Photo by University Photographer聽Mike Peters.

Nearly 80 consultants, attorneys, accountants, engineers, licensed site remediation professionals and others, who work in the environmental sector, gathered at The Grand in Totowa for CIANJ鈥檚 first in-person event in more than a year. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Shawn LaTourette gave the keynote speech. CIANJ President Anthony Russo said the second annual event was held to showcase the extraordinary environmental work done throughout New Jersey.

We felt it was important to honor those who are committed to improving the environment. These award recipients are not only doing the work
but are doing so as leaders so that others can follow in their footsteps.

Awardees were chosen by an independent panel of judges from nominations submitted to the magazine by CIANJ members and the business community at-large. The panel of judges included Richard Lawton, Executive Director, New Jersey Sustainable Business Council, Amy Greene, Founder, Former President & Expert Advisor, Amy S. Greene Environmental, a Davey Company and Bob Martin, Former NJDEP Commissioner and Managing Director, Christie 55 Solutions. The environmental awards were the cover story of the .

In that issue the University’s project was detailed; in 2019, the MSU Facilities Green Team randomly selected sinks and showers throughout the buildings and measured the flow rates of the original aerators and showers as well as three alternative treatments, analyzed the data, made recommendations, and calculated a return on investment of approximately 63 days for 0.5 gpm aerators and 1.0 gpm showerheads. The Green Team calculated an expected savings of $313,334 and 39.2 million gallons of water over five years by switching to more efficient showerheads and faucet aerators. Facilities is replacing the fixtures now and implementing resident education. They will be analyzing water usage data for the spring and fall 2020 to determine actual savings compared to the previous year’s usage

The honorees, who all received awards made from recycled materials, included:

Waste Minimization

Holy Name Medical Center

Riker Danzig

Valley Health System

Reducing Water Usage

麻豆传媒在线

Remington & Vernick Engineers

Cleaning Up Contaminated Sites

Envision Environmental, Inc.

Matrix New World Engineering

Brownfield Redevelopment

SESI Consulting Engineers

Whitestone Associates, Inc.

Recycling

JCP&L

The Steve Rich Group

Reducing Energy Usage/Green Building Design

Donnelly Energy

St. Peter鈥檚 Healthcare System

Ecological Restoration

Matrix New World Engineering

T&M Associates

Cleaning Up Local Communities/Environmental Education

NJEDA Brownfields Program

NJIT 鈥� NJ Brownfields Assistance Center

Sustainable Manufacturing Processes

New Jersey American Water

Remington & Vernick Engineers

Special Environmental Leadership Award

Emily Lamond, Member, Cole Schotz P.C.

The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal聽,聽is seen as a model for other states and countries assessing the feasibility of clean energy alternatives, specifically not wasting the energy that鈥檚 naturally created by waste.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty ironic,鈥� says Justin Bates 鈥�20, a member of the Green Team sponsored by the New Jersey Resources subsidiary New Jersey Natural Gas. 鈥淵ou think about clean energy coming from solar or wind, but you wouldn鈥檛 expect that 鈥榙irty鈥� energy sources coming from a landfill or a wastewater treatment [plant] can be renewable and clean.鈥�

It鈥檚 the type of 鈥渙utside the box鈥� thinking that the Green Teams are known for, says Amy Tuininga, director of the PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies based at 麻豆传媒在线. 鈥淥ur undergraduates are bright, innovative and ready to apply what they learn in class to real-world issues. They have lots of energy.鈥�

For the past five years, the student internship program has undertaken noteworthy research and community projects, including climate change in New Jersey and energy and water studies globally. It has also been a key platform for launching participating students into internships, green jobs and graduate study.

For the 2019 New Jersey Natural Gas Green Team, it鈥檚 done all that 鈥� and more.

The publication in February of the team鈥檚 study, 鈥淭he Feasibility of Renewable Natural Gas in New Jersey,鈥� is the latest in a series of accolades. The student interns spoke in August 2019 during a New Jersey Board of Public Utilities review of the New Jersey energy master plan, presented their research at the national Bioenergy Sustainability Conference in Nashville in fall 2019 and were acknowledged at the annual shareowners meeting of New Jersey Resources that year.

鈥淚t was shocking, one after the other, how our research had an impact on a lot of different people and how they took it as the next step in renewable energy,鈥� says Bates, who earned a degree from 麻豆传媒在线 in Physics, with a minor in Mathematics and concentration in Astronomy. He was recently hired as a data analyst for the New Jersey solar-panel company Green State Energy.

Read the full article in the 麻豆传媒在线 News Center

The 麻豆传媒在线 PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies has just wrapped up their 2020 Green Teams program.

Six teams of five students from universities across the tri-state area have been tasked with solving sustainability related issues for organizations in New Jersey. They worked full-time hours throughout the summer and received support from the 麻豆传媒在线 PSEG ISS, both in terms of financial compensation as well as seminars and tutorials for the skills they needed to accomplish their goals.

People who are most vulnerable are the most creative at solving problems. They just need a little bit of knowledge to be able to make a living from those innovative solutions.