The Environmental Science Institute at the Jackson School of Geosciences is initiating a five-year plan researching ways to build climate resilience in East Austin, following environmental concerns about urban growth. Starting early this year, the plan — called the Community Resilience Integrated into an Earth System Science Learning Ecosystem — will look into economic inequity caused by climate change. In partnership with organizations like People Organized in Defense of Earth and Her Resources, the ESI seeks to build climate resilience, restructure the access to water resources and target environmental injustice caused by urbanization. Read more at The Daily Texan.

Students at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin will pay tribute to the life and legacy of former congresswoman, distinguished public servant and teacher Barbara Jordan during the 26th annual Barbara Jordan National Forum (BJNF) throughout the month of February. The Forum, which is student led and organized, includes a series of lectures and events, an awards ceremony and a day of volunteerism. This year's events include a conversation with Former United States Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson and Texas Tribune CEO Sonal Shah February 21 at 12:15pm and a luncheon with Former Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Norma Cantú February 20 at 12:15pm. Read more about the BJNF at the LBJ School.

The University of Texas at Austin and H-E-B are partnering to offer campus grocery delivery to students, faculty members and staffers. Everything H-E-B offers online – from bread, milk and vegetables to toilet paper, make-up and aspirin – can be ordered online through a smartphone H-E-B app or through heb.com. Users can select a delivery time and location. “Being able to offer this service is a great resource for students who don’t have time to shop or who don’t have transportation beyond campus, helping them easily access the groceries and supplies they need,” said Soncia Reagins-Lilly, vice president for student affairs and dean of students. Read more at UT News.

UT Austin's Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department currently boasts the top graduate and undergraduate petroleum engineering programs in the nation. Many of its students have gone on to top executive careers in the gas and oil industry. But nationwide, despite the success and high pay associated with the field, the oil industry is addressing record low graduation rates in 2022. Bloomberg reported an 83% national decline in petroleum engineering graduates from 2017 to 2022, per data gathered by a Texas Tech professor. Even though the major has historically seen fluctuations parallel to changing oil prices, the future of sustainable energy usage is likely behind the nosedive. Despite uncertainty, UT's department appears to be anything but slowing down. Read more at The Austin Chronicle.

UT's Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department recently received a grant from the Lemelson Foundation to promote the Engineering for One Planet (EOP) framework to faculty teaching courses for the new sustainable energy minor. EOP is an initiative to transform engineering education and equip all future engineers across all disciplines with the fundamental skills and principles of social and environmental sustainability.The Office of Sustainability hopes this is a new model for investing in faculty and discipline specific curriculum. Read more about the EOP Framework at their website.

The new Energy Emissions Modeling and Data Lab's (EEMDL) mission is to provide reliable, science-based, transparent, and measurement-based greenhouse gas emissions assessments of global oil and gas supply chains. It does this through three key approaches: developing community models and tools for greenhouse gas emissions assessments, making publicly available timely, high-resolution emissions datasets, and creating educational and training materials to enable widespread use of EEMDL’s models and data. The lab is an initiative of UT Austin, Colorado State University, and the Colorade School of Mines. Read more about EEMDL at their website.

Texas Engineering Executive Education (TxEEE), the Cockrell School of Engineering’s professional development division, provides working engineers with top-tier continuing and professional education and real-world training that accelerates career development and strengthens companies. Their executive master’s degree programs, professional development programs, and custom on-site courses for companies are led by Cockrell School faculty members and industry experts to deliver results-based programs with immediately applicable tools. Two  upcoming courses include Introduction to Energy Technology and Policy and Methane Emissions in the Natural Gas Supply Chain, led by energy experts, Dr. Michael E. Webber and Dr. David Allen. Read more about TxEEE Professional Development Courses at TxEEE.

Planet Texas 2050’s (PT2050) annual symposium brings together university faculty, researchers, staff, students, practitioners, artists, and community members interested in applied interdisciplinary research on climate resilience, adaptation, and equitable and just transition strategies. The event is part of broader efforts to build a community of collaborators through the sharing of ideas, research, tools, and strategies aimed at shaping more resilient communities throughout Texas and beyond. The symposium takes place February 28 through March 2.  RSVP for the event at Planet Texas.

The Texas Regional Alliance for Campus Sustainability (TRACS) is a network of faculty members, students and sustainability professionals supporting higher education in Texas by implementing climate change and sustainability solutions across campus operations, academic curriculum and off-campus fields of influence. TRACS facilitates collaboration between higher education institutions through a variety of means such as the Annual TRACS Summit. The 2023 TRACS Annual Summit will take place at Texas A&M University April 3-4. Students are encouraged to submit an abstract to present. The deadline to submit an abstract is February 10. Read more about the annual summit at TRACS.