Sustainable Systems News

stock image of people planting trees in a forest

August 19, 2025

Forest Expansion Increases Agricultural Output, New Study Shows

2 min read

Agriculture is the largest cause of deforestation. So, it follows that forest expansion efforts would displace agriculture — but new research from Georgia Tech's School of Economics reports that that’s not necessarily the case.

Georgia Tech intern Morgan Hale and Lifecyle Building Center Executive Director Shannon Goodman stand in a warehouse.

August 15, 2025

Georgia Tech Summer Interns Building Community Capacity

6 min read

Georgia Tech interns fuel high-impact sustainability ventures throughout Atlanta, from insect farms to salvaged building materials.

August 13, 2025

Seashells Inspire a Better Way to Recycle Plastic

1 min read

Researchers from Georgia Tech have created a material inspired by seashells to help improve the process of recycling plastics and make the resulting material more reliable.

August 11, 2025

Brothers United in Mission to Improve Water

2 min read

Environmental Engineering graduate students Farhan Khan and Farshid Khan are passionate about providing access to clean water. They have a lot in common—starting with the fact that they are brothers. Farhan Khan came to Georgia Tech from Bangladesh to be

July 31, 2025

Mapping Georgia’s Urban Forest: Georgia Tech Tools Help Planners Prioritize Tree Canopy

3 min read

Georgia Tech researchers developed new statewide canopy assessment tools to help urban planners, policymakers, and communities make data-informed decisions for climate resilience.

July 30, 2025

Community Spotlight - Nicole Kennard

3 min read

Kennard supports faculty in building meaningful and co-creative research partnerships with local communities.

July 25, 2025

Powering the Future — Without Breaking the Grid

4 min read

Georgia’s booming data center industry brings economic promise and environmental pressure. Researchers say innovation and local action can tip the balance.

Georgia Tech student Bruce Minix accepts Award of Excellence from the American Association of State & Local History in September 2023.

July 11, 2025

Georgia Tech Students Help Illuminate Coffee County’s History

2 min read

Georgia Tech students received the 2023 Award of Excellence from the American Association of State and Local History for the Coffee County Memory Project

Ahmed Yunus and Yongsheng Chen working with a wastewater reactor system in the lab.

July 10, 2025

‘Biochar’ Can Naturally Clean the Pollution that Rain Washes Off Georgia’s Roads

1 min read

A new study shows how the material made from leaves and branches that collect on forest floors can be mixed with local soil to filter out road grime before it reaches waterways.

July 8, 2025

Chatfield Hired as New BBISS Director of Business Administration

3 min read

Director of Business Administration is a new role within BBISS that will provide administrative leadership and oversight for a growing portfolio of programs and activities.

July 8, 2025

Jenny McGuire Named Teasley Professor

5 min read

Jenny McGuire has been named a Teasley Professor, advancing Georgia Tech’s leadership in biodiversity research and climate resilience.

July 7, 2025

Study Demonstrates Low-Cost Method to Remove CO₂ from Air Using Cold Temperatures, Common Materials

4 min read

Researchers demonstrated techniques for capturing CO₂ more efficiently and affordably using extremely cold air and widely available porous sorbent materials.

A diagram showing how the atoms are connected in the praseodymium compound (left); a chart showing the most important electron interactions (right).

June 24, 2025

Georgia Tech Researchers Make an Elemental Discovery

3 min read

New Oxidation State for a Rare Earth Element Could Advance Quantum and Electronic Devices

A satellite image of blooming phytoplankton, visible as green-tinted swirls, in the South Atlantic. Credit: NASA

June 19, 2025

Ocean ‘Greening’ at Poles Could Spell Changes for Fisheries

4 min read

Ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to an analysis of satellite data published in Science on June 19.

Athena landed on its side with MSOLO glowing.

June 16, 2025

Georgia Tech Alumni Develop Device to Understand Moon’s Water Content

4 min read

The mass spectrometer and ice drill will be crucial to future NASA missions.

June 12, 2025

Breathing in a Better Climate

1 min read

As the planet warms, changing weather patterns are only one effect. Warming air is often more toxic, leading to asthma and even heart attacks. A better understanding of these air quality changes can help society mitigate their consequences. Georgia Tech r