Around Town: Stanford Professors Appointed to Leadership Positions at New School of Sustainability | New
Read news about the Stanford faculty members who will lead the university’s new School of Sustainability, the results of a SamTrans pilot program in East Palo Alto, and a diversity award for Foothill College and its sustainability institute. science learning.
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS… The countdown to the beginnings of Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability reached the single digits. As the university prepares to launch the first dedicated environmental science school on September 1, it has appointed new faculty members who will begin their duties on the same day.
Dean Arun Majumdar The leadership team is made up of people from many fields of study, according to an Aug. 17 press release. “We will bring together a diversity of approaches and cultures with the new school – and they are all essential to advancing scholarship and the solution,” said Majumdar. “Through the work of these thought partners, we hope to lay the foundation for a welcoming and supportive sustainability community.”
The management team includes Jack Baker Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs; Lynn Hildemann , Associate Dean of Education; and Scott FendorfSenior Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives.
The team is made up of members of the university’s School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and School of Humanities and Science. The university plans to add a senior associate dean for space planning and facilities in the coming weeks, as well as department chairs.
Some team members are designated as Integrative Initiative leaders, a new role “designed to ensure that the school fosters an intentional culture, woven with inclusive and well-developed community values”.
The school – Stanford’s first in 70 years – aims to hire about 60 faculty positions over the next decade. It bears the name John and Ann Doerwho earlier this year made the university’s largest donation of $1.1 billion to support the school.
OPTIMIZED TECHNOLOGY… The public transport experience can be hit or miss depending on the time of day or traffic conditions. There may be times when a trip goes according to plan. There are other times when a series of unfortunate events can make the trip much longer than expected, such as slow traffic due to an accident, long detours due to construction activities, or the timing of traffic lights. circulation that work against your favor.
In the spirit of Silicon Valley, SamTrans is investigating whether the technology could benefit its bus fleet with the help of a pilot program in East Palo Alto, the agency said Aug. 23. From November 2021 to last February, the public transport agency used Route 281 to test a cloud-based transit signal priority system on University Avenue (the line also passes through Palo Alto and Menlo Park).
The technology anticipated the arrival of a bus using “advanced machine learning algorithms based on historical travel time and real-time traffic conditions,” according to a press release. The system then tapped into the existing traffic network and added a few extra seconds at traffic lights, allowing the bus to pass. This contrasts with traditional transit signal prioritization systems, which rely on sensors and transponders to determine if a “priority vehicle” is reaching an intersection.
The pilot program resulted in a 45% reduction in northbound intersection delays and a 19% drop in southbound intersection delays, SamTrans said. Travel time has been reduced by 18% for northbound buses and 7% for southbound buses. The $178,000 program was funded by the Association of City/County Governments of San Mateo County. The pilot was a partnership with Sustainable Silicon Valley and the eastern town of Palo Alto.
A VICTORY FOR DIVERSITY… Foothill College Science Learning Institute (SLI) announced that she was honored with the 2022 Inspirational Programs in STEM Awards of Overview of diversity magazine, the largest and oldest publication on diversity and inclusion in higher education.
“The Inspiring Programs in STEM award recognizes colleges and universities that encourage and support students from underrepresented groups to enter science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields,” wrote the college in a press release.
Foothill College and the Science Learning Institute will be featured alongside 78 other colleges and universities in the September issue of INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine. “SLI has brought attention on campus to the importance of diversity and equity in STEM and is successfully helping students from underrepresented groups overcome access barriers and impostor syndrome to persist in STEM,” said Ram SubramaniamAssociate Vice President of Foothill Instruction.
