All Sustainability Institute programs are designed to deliver transformative educational experiences that prepare participants to become leaders of positive change—in their studies, their workplaces, and their personal lives.
American Indian Housing Initiative: AIHI was established in 2001 and is the flagship service learning program of the Sustainability Institute at Penn State. This collaborative research and education program focuses on the application of sustainable building technologies such as strawbale construction solar energy systems and residential energy assessments on American Indian Reservations.
Community Gardens at Penn State: The community garden site provides students and community members the chance to attend workshops and put in practice local and organic food production methods. Currently, more than 100 gardeners practice sustainable and organic gardening techniques on this site.
Careers in Sustainability: The Careers in Sustainability initiative is a resource for students who are interested in sustainability-related careers. Through a series of networking events, we bring together students and employers who have similar interests in sustainability.
Dow SISCA: The Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award (SISCA) recognizes and rewards students and universities for their innovation and research of sustainable solutions to the world's most pressing social, economic and environmental problems.
GridSTAR Center: The Grid Smart Training and Application Resource (GridSTAR ) Center’s mission is to provide continuing education and train-the-trainer programs in advanced power systems design, energy economics, cyber security, distributed energy systems and building-vehicle-grid systems. The Center also complements the new Clean Energy Application Center and Solar Education and Training Centers initiated by Penn State in 2009.
HyRES Lab: The Hybrid and Renewable Energy Systems (HyRES) lab is a new facility on the Penn State University campus and the Penn State Sustainability Institute. The HyRES lab is utilized to study energy related technologies and strategies on the residential scale.
Minor in Sustainability Leadership: The Intercollegiate Minor in Sustainability Leadership, administered by a committee of faculty from across the colleges and campuses of the university, is offered for students in any major who wish to integrate social, economic, and environmental concepts of sustainability into their degree program.
MorningStar Solar Home: The MorningStar Solar Home is a net-zero home: it produces as much (and even more) energy as it consumes. It is currently used in sustainable housing education efforts through research and outreach activities. The MorningStar Solar Home is about to be integrated in the Penn State HyRES Lab and will serve as a residence for a graduate student to test the house systems in real life conditions.
National Energy Leadership Corps: This is a consortium of universities and industries whose purpose is to train and mobilize a cadre of energy savvy student leaders. The NELC student assessors provide effective leadership education and energy assessments to furnish implementation plans for U.S. homeowners interested in saving energy and money.
Northern Mid-Atlantic Solar Education and Resource Center: By engaging a broad spectrum of stakeholders, the Pennsylvania State University’s Mid-Atlantic Solar Resource and Training Center supports a comprehensive training infrastructure for design, installation, commissioning, service and sales of both solar PV and solar heating and cooling technologies.
Renewable Energy for Central America: "RECA" is a Student Chapter of the National Electrical Contractor Association. This international service program was created to foster clean energy solutions in communities of Central America.