Solving Problems across Disciplines

This past fall, undergraduate health communication and software engineering students were asked to work together to design an application that would improve accessibility around Wake Forest’s campus. From wheelchairs to long boards, students considered the unique ways people maneuver around our 340 acres each day. […]


Sustainability through Place Values

Students in my fall 2013 Literature and the Environment seminar (ENG 341G) spent the semester exploring different sites of belonging through world literature. Their course work carried them through critical discussions on the anthropocene, bioregionalism, deep ecology, ecotones and general systems theory. In their final […]


The Real Price of Gold

If you take a look at your hands, your wrists, or your neck, you will likely see something special, precious even. It is quite dense, glows with an almost aura-like quality, and, as of press time, costs about $1,350 an ounce. The material – gold […]


Perspective on Religion and Ecology

As a chemistry major with an environmental studies minor, I enjoy the chances I get to take classes that depart from the sciences. I have developed a great fondness for a course I am currently taking – Religion and Ecology, with Dr. Lucas Johnston. It […]


Green Roof Symposium at WFU

WFU was the host site for the Piedmont Triad Green Roof & Wall Market Development Symposium in mid-September. The conference, which was organized by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities in partnership with the Center for Energy, Environment & Sustainability (CEES), brought experts from around the state […]


Community of Scholars Grows

Eleven faculty members from across the disciplinary spectrum came together on May 15-16, 2013 for the 2nd annual Magnolias Curriculum Project. This year’s workshop was facilitated by alumni from last year’s inaugural project: Sarah Mason (mathematics) and Luke Johnston (religion). The aims of the […]


Writing 111: Thinking Like a Mountain

A few years ago I happened upon an intriguing article written about an indigenous tribe nestled deep in the amazon forest. Some members of this tribe, as far as researchers can gather, have never had any substantial, meaningful contact with the modern world. Observed […]


How Can We Afford It?

Joel Salatin, a self-described “Christian-libertarian-environmentalist-capitalist-lunatic-farmer” lived up to every aspect of his reputation in his lecture to the incoming class of 2017, during their fall orientation. The lecture, which was open to all members of the Wake Forest community, was the denouement in the


Solar Consortium Looks to Harness Energy

Rolling into the second year of the Triad Interuniversity Planning Project (TIPP) Grant, the project also entered phase two: collect sunlight in a more cost effective way, capture leftover waste heat, and convert the heat into usable energy. The Solar Consortium, a group […]


Measuring Climate Change

On March 6th, assistant professor of mathematics, Dr. Rob Erhardt, addressed a full room of eager listeners on the topic of global climate disruption.  His talk, sponsored by the Math Club and titled Measuring Climate Change, drew a crowd from across campus, including Dr. Erhardt’s […]


ROV Supports Diving Deacons

Professor of biology Miles Silman and undergraduate student Max Messinger are producing an unmanned submarine, also known as an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), for use in the study of aquatic ecology and oceanography. The ROV is a small, low-cost, and easy to operate tool […]


FAQ: Changes to the Environmental Studies Minor

Q.   I heard that the Environmental Program is making modifications to its minor curriculum.  What are these changes and which students will it affect?    A.  Following a vote in November 2012, the environmental faculty voted to revise curriculum for the Interdisciplinary Minor in Environmental Studies to provide […]


Mapping the Human Dimensions of Sustainability and Environment

This year, the Humanities Institute is placing a focus on sustainability in one of its interdisciplinary faculty seminars. The seminar entitled, Mapping the Human Dimensions of Sustainability and Environment, is composed of an eclectic group of thinkers from the departments of Religion, […]


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