Welcome! Our first meeting will be on January 1/29 from 6-7 PM in Fascitelli 025. We hope to see you there!
The ESW Sustainability Summit is held with the goal of uniting like-minded individuals passionate about the environment and providing an opportunity to learn and problem-solve as a team. We hold it annually around Earth Day to celebrate our planet and explore new ways to address the problems plaguing it.
This year, the Summit was held on April 22 with the theme "Finding the Solution to Plastic Pollution". The event was hosted in a hackathon-style format, allowing participants to gain new knowledge and apply it with the help of our presenters and mentors. The day began with presentations from experts and URI professors about the plastic pollution issues and solutions that exist today. Following these presentations, participants had lunch and broke out into groups to design their own solutions to a specific issue with plastics. These ideas were presented and judged with the chance to win money and a meeting with professionals to further develop your idea. Check out the results below!
First Place: $300
Second Place: $100
Honorable Mentions: Three chances for a gift card to a local restaurant
Sam and Kassia
Bottle Collection and Environmental Education Policy for K-12
Kaitlyn, Sarah, Logan, Dan, and Westin
Mandate and Design for Microplastic Filters in Wastewater Management Plants
Matt (mentor), Shane, and Jared
Plastic Tax Policy
Kiran (mentor), Joe, and Collin (mentor)
Microplastic Collection System using AI
Assistant Professor of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Advisor for the Plastics: Land to Sea Program
Speaking on Plastic Pollution in the Marine Environment
Associate Professor and Department Chair of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design
Speaking on Textiles and Ocean Plastic
Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Speaking on Plastics and Recycling in Rural Communities
Public policy analyst, Communications professional, and Environmental advocate
Speaking on his work with Plastic Pollution and Waste and as Co-Chair of the RI Taskforce to Tackle Plastics
Entrepreneur and Visiting Assistant Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at URI
URI Interim Director of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Assistant Teaching Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at URI
Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Junior Software Developer at Infused Innovations
A guest from the RI Resource Recovery Coorporation will be present to provide information about recycling practices in RI
Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student
Physics Graduate Student and Graduate Advisor of ESW
COVID Information: Masks will not be required at this event. However, we encourage safe practices including masking and social distancing in accordance with suggestions made by the CDC. Thank you!