Core Facilities News - August 2024 - Sustainability at ASU

  • 2024-08-01
ASU Core Research Facilities

 

August 2024 Newsletter

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Supporting sustainability efforts

Community garden with wooden raised beds filled with green leafy vegetables and a blue basket.

In an era of significant global climate changes, developing sustainable technology has become a crucial priority. Researchers and engineers are at the forefront of creating innovative solutions to combat environmental degradation and foster a sustainable future. ASU Core Research Facilities provide invaluable resources for this scientific advancement, contributing to the future of sustainability efforts.

ASU's sustainability goals and vision.

 

Prototyping green technology

Large stainless steel cylindrical tank, part of the MechanicalTree, in an outdoor industrial setting with workers in high-visibility vests and safety helmets, surrounded by various industrial equipment and a modern building in the background.

Reducing carbon emissions is crucial to combating climate change but, even with reductions, excess CO2 remains in the atmosphere. Direct air capture, a solution pioneered at ASU with support from our Instrument Design and Fabrication Core, addresses this issue. The Core developed components for Professor Klaus Lackner's prototype device, the MechanicalTree, which removes CO2 from the air.

How Carbon Collect Ltd.'s MechanicalTree is collecting atmospheric carbon.

 

The future of solar

Nicholas Rolston, Hunter Mantle and Jacob Burrows in lab coats working and smiling in a laboratory.

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial for combating climate change. ASU scientists are advancing this shift with multi-junction solar cells, making them more efficient than traditional cells. Leveraging the Advanced Electronics and Photonics and Solar Fab Core Facilities, ASU researchers are refining this technology to achieve commercial viability.

New testing for this new tech.

The Rolston lab, conducting this research.

 

Cooling off

The Phoenix cityscape at sunset with skyscrapers and mountains in the background, all bathed in a warm, golden light.

Surfaces like roofs, roads and sidewalks can contribute to the urban heat island effect, which worsens air pollution and heat-related health issues. Using "cool" surfaces that reflect more solar energy can help mitigate this. Researchers in ASU's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment are utilizing Eying Materials Center spectroscopy and microscopy resources to analyze coated pavement samples to determine the efficiency of cool surfaces.

How cool pavement can affect the Urban Heat Island phenomenon.

 

Past, present, future

Two contrasting landscapes: the Arizona desert with cacti on the left and the rocky, mountainous terrain of Antarctica with snow caps on the right.

ASU researcher Becky Ball utilizes the sequencing capabilities of the ASU Genomics Facility to analyze Antarctic core samples. Funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes for Health, her work investigates factors controlling nutrient dynamics and decomposition in soils. Her lab aims to understand how deserts, like the Sonoran Desert and Antarctica, will respond to global change.

More about Becky Ball's research.

 

 

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