UNH Celebrates Student Research Innovation at the 2025 Sustainability Symposium
UNH students presented their research projects this spring at the interdisciplinary Sustainability Symposium of the annual Undergraduate Research Conference (URC).
As a Carnegie R1 institution, UNH is recognized for its leadership in high-impact research. In addition to faculty and research scientists, students contribute to innovative research across disciplines. This year, more than 140 students presented an array of sustainability-related projects, ranging from personal impact projects and shared value research proposals to collaborative research with business and community partners.
Hosted by UNH's Sustainability Institute, the Sustainability Symposium includes oral and poster presentations; this year it included presentations from: Sustainability Capstone (SUST 750), Sustainability in Action (SUST 501), Exploring Sustainability Honors (SUST 401H), EcoGastronomy Capstone (ECOG 701), Animal Science (ANSC 690) and there was a Various Topics category. The courses SUST 750, SUST 501 and SUST 401 comprise the core courses of UNH’s Sustainability dual major, which, along with five electives, build expertise in social, environmental and economic sustainability for students of any UNH major.
Congratulations to all participants on the quality, creativity, and insight of their work, with special recognition for this year’s first-place award recipients!
Sustainability Capstone (SUST 750) Award Winners
Sustainability Capstone students engage in semester-long research projects with business, non-profit, and community partners during their senior year, investigating and implementing solutions to sustainability challenges.
First Place Award for SUST 750: “Decarbonizing the UNH Pool.”
Sofia Anestam '25, Environmental Engineering and Sustainability dual major
Laura Karpa '25, Information Systems and Business Analytics and Sustainability dual major
Shane McKenna '25, Community and Environmental Planning and Sustainability dual major
Durga Raga '25, Environmental and Resource Economics and Sustainability dual major
Josh Salowe '25, Communication, Sustainability dual major
The UNH Pool Sustainability Capstone group helped address the problem of climate change and energy inefficiency at UNH by evaluating potential heating alternatives for the UNH outdoor pool. The project seeks to answer the question “How can alternative heating systems reduce carbon emissions from heating the UNH outdoor pool?” By addressing this issue, UNH has an opportunity to contribute to global climate action while improving campus sustainability. Transitioning away from natural gas heating would align with the university’s environmental goals, potentially reduce operational costs, and serve as a model for other institutions seeking to make meaningful changes in their energy consumption. Acting now would not only benefit UNH financially and environmentally but also reinforce its commitment to social responsibility in the fight against climate change.
Sustainability in Action (SUST 501) Award Winners
Sustainability in Action students rely on systems thinking, design thinking, shared value, stakeholder analysis, sustainable leadership principles, and GIS to brainstorm and propose potentially viable, shared value social and/or environmental sustainability projects, focusing on topics and challenges they find compelling.
First Place Award for SUST 501.02: "Advancing Sustainability and Accessibility in Transportation Systems"
William Cleaveland '26, Community and Environmental Planning, Sustainability dual major
Kara Hatalsky '27, Zoology and Sustainability dual major
Julia Mistretta '27, Community and Environmental Planning
Reily Tighe '26, Communication and Sustainability dual major
"Our proposed Creating Shared Value (CSV) initiative is an app called CommUNIty that seeks to bridge the communication barrier between disabled students and UNH facilities personnel. By promoting transparency, accountability, and effective solutions to accessibility hazards, our app will work to improve sustainability and accessibility in our university’s transportation system. Our initiative creates shared value for university stakeholders by increasing revenue through student achievement, lowering costs by making the hazard response process more efficient, and promoting sustainability of the built environment in a way that can contribute to our STARS rating. In short, the CommUNIty app will find its place as a tool for all students and stakeholders in our university community, improving our preexisting system by building belonging.”
First Place Award for SUST 501.01:"Sustainable Menstruation”
Hannah Albers '26, Environmental Conservation and Sustainability, Sustainability dual major
Emory Bachand '27, Business Administration and Sustainability dual major
Kayla Doan '28, Undeclared
Talia Kay '26, Economics and Sustainability dual major
Ella Pardy '26, Business Administration and Sustainability dual major
“Our goal is to create a sustainable menstrual product that is better for the planet both in production and disposal. We aim to improve the health of women by producing a product free of toxic metals and chemicals. Our long-term goal is to reduce period poverty by making our products accessible in stores and schools. Our tampons and pads will be made from corn by-products—specifically corn husks and cobs—sourced from farms in the United States that practice safe and ethical corn production. Additionally, we will sell reusable applicators made from sustainable, medical-grade silicone. Our mission includes lowering the risk of toxic shock syndrome through safer menstrual products. We strive to create a product that prioritizes women’s health and environmental impact.”
Exploring Sustainability (SUST 401) Award Winners
Exploring Sustainability students develop personal action projects, applying course materials that provide knowledge of the multiple meanings of sustainability and the history of these concepts as well as frameworks and tools for analyzing sustainability issues.
First Place Award for SUST 401 Honors: “Marine Debris Across Four Beaches on the Gulf of Maine”
Anna Hogan '27, Biochemistry, Molecular, and Cellular Biology
Emily Palermo '26, Animal Science
Esher Swanson '26, Marine, Estuarine, and Freshwater Biology and Sustainability dual major
“Our project is a study of marine debris in the Gulf of Maine with an emphasis on beaches and sustainability. Marine debris is caused by urbanized coastlines, discarded fishing gear, and negligent discarding of waste. Our research question was: How does marine debris accumulation differ across four beaches in the Gulf of Maine? Our objectives included: quantifying marine debris, observing prevalent types, interviewing experts and educating the public about our findings.”
Additional Awards
First Place Award for ECOG 701: “Saving Grains: Transforming Brewer’s Spent Grain into Sustainable Food Solutions”
Caeleigh Reger '27, Hotel and Hospitality Management and Ecogastronomy dual major
First Place Award for ANSC 690: “The Controversy of Lifting the Elephant Ivory Trade Ban”
Nicole Oldmeadow '26, Animal Science
First Place Award for Various Topics Oral Presentation Session: “Phytoremediation of Lead Contaminated Soil by Golden Bantam Corn”
Shane Gleeson '27, Analytical Economics and Sustainability dual major
Sophie Hodge '27, Biomedical Science
We extend our gratitude to our business and community partners for their engagement as mentors with student capstone projects, including Matt L’Heureux, UNH Campus Energy Manager, who mentored the winning capstone project.
Thank you also to the judges who donated their time and expertise to the task of selecting the winners: Ted Lague, Dr. Fiona Wilson, Dr. Shuili Du, Dr. Yashar Azam (SUST 750); Dr. Dovev Levine, Ted Lague, Michael Burns, and Dr. Fiona Wilson (SUST 501); and Melinda Negron-Gonzales, Kelsey Farrell, Kailei Wedge, and Wania Ahmed (SUST 401H).
