The Environmental Science and Design Research Institute (ESDRI) is dedicated to research and investigations within natural, human, and built systems.
A main aim of ESDRI is to consider the inextricable relationship between human, built, and natural systems, as we develop innovative knowledge, products, and solutions to address local, regional, and global issues. The institute supports undergraduates -- academically and financially -- in hopes of mentoring a new generation of scholars.
ESDRI provides opportunities for faculty that aid in advancing their research, establishing multidisciplinary collaborations, and procuring extramural funding. The institute engages a broad range of talented scientists, designers, and practitioners, spanning many academic disciplines, fields, and programs. The institute proudly hosts an annual symposium, with an ever-evolving theme, which many of our partners, faculty, and students attend.
Colleges represented within ESDRI include:
- Aeronautics and Engineering
- Architecture and Environmental Design
- The Arts
- Arts and Sciences
- Communication and Information
- Education, Health and Human Services
- Nursing
- Public Health
In this era of human influence, designers and researchers within ESDRI seek to understand and leverage the interacting geological, biological, human, economical, and social systems that impact and regulate the availability of resources (e.g. pure water, clean air, and food), sustain diversity of life on Earth, and promote well-being.
Environmental Science and Design Research Institute acknowledges that it, and Kent State University, is located on lands previously occupied by people of the Delaware, Erie, Kaskaskia, Miami, Ottawa, Seneca-Cayuga, Shawnee, and Wyandot tribes. We pay respect to their past, present, and future.
Over 60 world-class faculty from diverse backgrounds
$125,000+ awarded for start-up research projects
Collaborating across 8 colleges and 6 KSU campuses
Generous funding for the institute's undergraduate studentsRecent News
Friday, June 17, 2022
Principal Investigator Cameron C. Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography (within the College of Arts and Sciences) at Kent State University, was recently awarded a three-year, $387,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Program Office and its Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections Program (MAPP). The project is titled “Excess Heat and Excess Cold Factors: Establishing a unified duration-intensity metric for monitoring hazardous temperature conditions in North America”.
Friday, June 10, 2022
They have gone above and beyond to keep Kent State University moving forward during the pandemic, and now they are being honored for their dedication and hard work. Kent State President Todd Diacon recently notified nine faculty members and 14 staff members that they have received special awards for their work and service.
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Climate change is a complex problem with no easy answers—and everything at stake.
Friday, April 29, 2022
Two significant environmental issues our nation faces today include invasive plant species and a lack of sustainable materials. Invasive plant species are detrimental to host environments for multiple reasons. Kent State students are working to turn invasive plant species into a sustainable material that can help protect the environment through the 2022 Biodesign Challenge, a course and national competition to create sustainable solutions to real world problems.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
The central component of the Grind2Energy systems at Kent State University are larger versions of the in-sink garbage disposals found in many homes. The difference is that at Kent State, these units aren’t disposing of food waste, but processing it with a purpose - as the first part of a highly sustainable innovation that creates energy and high-grade fertilizer.
Tuesday, February 01, 2022
Scott Sheridan, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Geography, in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University, was recently selected to become an inaugural American Geophysical Union (AGU) LANDInG (Leadership Academy and Network for Diversity and Inclusion in the Geosciences) Academy Fellow.
Monday, January 17, 2022
Many wonder if climate change is the reason we’ve had 'weather whiplash' or day-to-day dramatic changes from hot to cold or cold to hot. As a climate scientist, Cameron Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State, gets asked this question a lot. Looking beyond just the average temperatures and statistical means, he decided to take a more analytical look at weather whiplash and add to a growing body of climate change literature examining temperature variability trends.
Monday, November 22, 2021
Timothy Assal, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography, was awarded a grant as a co-principal investigator on a multi-institutional project, “Vulnerability of lower-ecotone aspen forests to altered fire regimes and climate dynamics in the northern Great Basin” (a three-year $299,842 total award with $89,600 going to Kent State), which is funded by the Northwest Climate Adaption Science Center. This collaboration includes the United States Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho, Utah State University, and the United States Bureau of Land Management.
Friday, September 10, 2021
Kent State's Jonathan Maletic, Ph.D., in the Department of Computer Science and Tara Smith, Ph.D., in the College of Public Health are the winners of the 2021 Faculty Outstanding Research and Scholarship Awards (ORSAs). The ORSAs recognize the hard work and dedication of faculty members who have been with Kent State for more than 10 years. Read more about the winners and how they display the highest levels of scholarship.