Professor Patricia Culligan Awarded National Science Foundation Grant
08/24/2009
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Columbia University $476,000 to continue work in developing green roof technologies in urban environments. The grant will help the Columbia team improve the scientific understanding and optimization of green roof functionality. The lead investigators are Patricia Culligan, Professor of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Stuart Gaffin, Associate Research Scientist, Center for Climate Systems Research and NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Wade McGillis, Lamont-Doherty Research Scientist and Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering. The grant will fund development of the Columbia University Green Roof Consortium, a collaborative effort among these schools, centers and institutes, as well as the Earth Institute's Urban Design Lab and Barnard College.
Municipal governments around the world are providing incentives to adopt green roofs, which aid in collecting rainwater and preventing sewer system overflow. Professor Culligan described the potential benefits of green roofs as follows "green roofs cool urban environments, better insulate buildings, trap air-borne particulates and capture carbon dioxide, but they can also present special challenges on existing buildings that predominate in major urban centers." Columbia has seven green roofs, two of which are also research stations. The consortium provides a key academic integration with private and commercial green roof activities in New York City and will provide others with new insights about best practices in this essential environmental technology.
Photo: Green roof on Columbia University property. Credit: Stuart Gaffin.