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Water, drought and flooding: A half-century at the environmental forefront

For a half-century, Princeton faculty members have been tackling critical environmental problems involving water, contributing to cleaning up watersheds and informing policies to plan for water scarcity and flooding around the globe.
A systems-level approach to sustainability helps cities work better for people and the planet

For Anu Ramaswami, an environmental engineer with a longstanding interest in social science and policy, advancing sustainability and improving human wellbeing go hand in hand.
Andrea Goldsmith, entrepreneur and leader in wireless communications, appointed dean of engineering

Andrea Goldsmith, an expert and entrepreneur in wireless systems who has served in campus-wide leadership roles at Stanford University, has been appointed dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University effective Sept. 1.
Giant umbrellas shift from convenient canopy to sturdy storm shield

In a new approach to storm surge protection, a Princeton team has created a preliminary design for dual-purpose kinetic umbrellas that would provide shade during fair weather and could be tilted in advance of a storm to form a flood barrier.
Fix to longstanding flaw in sensor readings could lead to energy-saving building designs

An unexpected result at a conference led Princeton researchers to uncover a significant error in the method used for decades to measure radiant heating and cooling in buildings.
Food systems are fodder for curbing cities' environmental impacts

Focusing on urbanization as a key driver of environmental change in the 21st century, researchers at Princeton University have created a framework to understand and compare cities' food systems and their effects on climate change, water use and land use. The research will allow planners to estimate the impact of a city's food system and evaluate policy actions.
Method promises advances in 3D printing, manufacturing and biomedical applications

In a development offering great promise for additive manufacturing, Princeton University researchers have created a method to precisely create droplets using a jet of liquid. The technique allows manufacturers to quickly generate drops of material, finely control their size and locate them within a 3D space.
Why are big storms bringing so much more rain? Warming, yes, but also winds

For three hurricane seasons in a row, storms with record-breaking rainfall have caused catastrophic flooding in the southern United States. A new analysis by Princeton researchers explains why this trend is likely to continue with global warming: Both the higher moisture content of warmer air and storms' increasing wind speeds conspire to produce wetter storms.
Shrinking grains expand understanding of self-healing materials

Cracks in the desert floor appear random to the untrained eye, even beautifully so, but those patterns of dried clay turn out to be predictable-and useful in designing advanced materials.