Indiana University’s Integrated Program in the Environment (IPE) is proud to announce the 2024–2025 Sustainability Scholars. The interdisciplinary program empowers undergraduates to gain meaningful research experience as early as their first semester at IU.
The program—with additional support from the Environmental Resilience Institute (ERI) and the IU Office of Sustainability—pairs selected undergraduate students with world-class faculty mentors to start researching sustainability issues.
This year, students will work with R1 faculty to learn about sustainability-related issues in the College of Arts + Sciences; O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs; the School of Public Health; the Kelley School of Business; the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering; and the School of Medicine.
These projects connect environmental issues across schools and fields, touching on topics including animal behavior, agriculture, emergency communications, real estate, supply chains, and environmental sensing—to name a few.
“We need creative individuals in every field collaborating on the world’s biggest challenges—and I'm excited to see what this year's Sustainability Scholars will accomplish,” said Sarah Osterhoudt, director of IPE and associate professor of anthropology.
On top of research experience and mentorship, students receive a $500-per-semester scholarship. They also take a research methodology course with Sarah Mincey, clinical associate professor in the O'Neill School, director of ERI, and the program's founder.
2024–2025 Sustainability Scholars, research projects, and faculty mentors
- Ashton Harper, “Connecting a bug's life to human health” with Dr. Titus Schleyer, School of Medicine; School of Public Health; Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
- Hannah Robertz, “What can New Zealand teach the US about sustainability?” with Dawn Kutza, Kelley School of Business
- Sharayu Deo, “Integrating novel AI-driven soil health methods to inform regenerative agriculture” with Andre Franco and Gwendolyn Lloyd, O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
- Rahul Durai, “Identifying factors influencing indigenous Peruvian farmers' ability to adapt to climate change (structurational divergence paper)” with Jessica Eise, School of Public Health
- Addie Covey, “Deconstructing 'Go Woke, Go Broke': Analyzing corporations' embrace or abandonment of DEI initiatives in sustainability rhetoric using Weaver's God/Devil terms” with Dacia Charlesworth, Kelley School of Business
- Grace Vander Sande, “Understanding indigenous Peruvian farmers' experience under climate change” with Jessica Eise, School of Public Health
- Elena Krueper, “Do dark-eyed junco females still migrate farther than males?” with Ellen Ketterson, College of Arts + Sciences
- Joash Lee, “Creating marketable 'peace credits'” with Timothy Fort, Kelley School of Business
- Ayaz Sultan, “Is the sustainable supply chain sustainable?” with Matthew Guschwan, Kelley School
- Chloe Reagan-Stoops, “Environmental sensing for extreme heat” with Dana Habeeb, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering
- Stefan Boes, “Assessing plant population responses to global change” with Jen Lau and Bryan Guevara, College of Arts + Sciences
- Andrew Good, “Do dark-eyed junco females still migrate farther than males?” with Ellen Ketterson, College of Arts + Sciences
- AJ Graham, “Community health and sustainability during the Great Depression: Women employed in New Deal programs at IU and on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula” with Brian Forist, School of Public Health
- Katie Moss, “Exploring alternative real estate models for climate action and social equity” with Thomas Landis, Kelley School of Business
- Bella Matney, “Introducing American citizens to Canada's earthquake early warning system” with Michael Hamburger, College of Arts + Sciences
- Vini Kabra, “A global database of earthquake-induced landslides” with Michael Hamburger, College of Arts + Sciences
As the hub for all environmental and sustainability-related programming on the Bloomington campus, IPE connects students with the experiences and support they need to excel as the next generation of environmental leaders. To this end, IPE has invested more than $70,000 in student research on environmental and sustainability topics over the past year, including the Sustainability Scholars program.
IPE is jointly administered by the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, the School of Public Health, and College of Arts + Sciences. Its interdisciplinary nature reflects a commitment to preparing the next generation of scientists, policy-makers, communicators, and leaders who face significant and complex environmental and sustainability challenges.
This story has been updated to reflect new Scholars.
