Harvard has a distinguished history of research in climate and climate-related fields. Harvard faculty helped to develop a fundamental understanding of the chemistry, physics, and biology of our planet’s climate system. Their work has changed the way we think about interactions among the atmosphere, the land, and the ocean, and how these shape Earth’s climate. That work continues, with ongoing discoveries in wide-ranging areas, such as atmospheric chemistry climate dynamics, geophysics, solar geoengineering, and climate-related data science.
The Salata Institute’s Climate Research Workshops bring Harvard University faculty together to present and discuss recent climate-related research papers and scholarly publications.
The Salata Institute Fellows Program accepts exceptional academics and practitioners working on climate change and sustainability for the purpose of supporting their scholarship or professional development. Apply now for the Spring 2024 Semester Fellowship.
The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University solicits proposals for funding under its Seed Grant Program in Climate and Sustainability. Proposals will be considered three times per year, with deadlines of the second Friday of January, May, and September.
The greenhouse gas methane is invisible to the human eye, so easy to ignore. But by highlighting its local impacts on human health, researchers at Harvard University hope to score a win for both people and the planet.
Chemist Daniel Nocera is inventing green tools to provide the world’s poorest with food and power. Among the handy side-effects: capturing carbon.
A climate research workshop hosted by the Salata Institute explored solutions to the problem of abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Harvard University scientists have developed and are preparing to launch a new satellite that uses breakthrough technology to detect and measure methane leaks. The technology promises to make a significant contribution in limiting climate change, as methane is a greenhouse gas whose warming potential is more than 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.
Tropical forests are one of the most vital ecosystems on Earth, yet little is understood about how they will respond to increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. Harvard Professor Ben Taylor and his team are undertaking first-of-its-kind research exploring how increasing CO2 will affect plant-microbe partnerships in tropical forest ecosystems.
Harvard Associate Professor of Materials Science, Xin Li is developing the energy storage materials of the future. The Li Lab has created solid state batteries that outperform current lithium-ion batteries used today. Their research is pushing boundaries that could lead to major breakthroughs for electric vehicle technology.
The Aizenberg Lab is reimagining air-conditioning in order to meet growing global demand for cooling while combatting climate change. Their novel evaporative cooling technology uses advanced materials science and design to make affordable, environmentally-positive eco-friendly air conditioners that work in most climates without the use of synthetic refrigerants.
Harvard Climate
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action; high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area; and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so.
