Student Projects

Students often do the research that leads to positive sustainability changes on campus. Some classes have final projects that focus on such research.

Many of the projects on this page are from the “Renewable Energy and the Sustainable Campus” course. Others are campus-sustainability summer research, intern projects, or projects from other courses. Another set of resources are the student papers on the Envi Studies website under “theses” and “environmental planning reports”.
https://www.williams.edu/environmental-studies/research/student-theses/
https://www.williams.edu/environmental-studies/research/environmental-planning-reports/

Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this liberal arts institution, projects/papers in many classes can be sustainability-related.

Have a project you worked on that you’d like to add to this website, email us!

The Pluriverse Pavillion

Forte, Giuseppina
Tutorial "Design for the Pluriverse" , Fall 2023

Project Summary

Alhambra: Charging Station Management at Williams College

Alhambra, Student Consulting Group
Independent Project, Spring 2024

Presentation slides

Electric Lawn Mower Study

Harrington, Annika
ZC Electrification Intern, Spring 2023

Results Summary

Sustainable Retirement Investments: Shifting Paradigms at Williams College

Sadykova, Diliara
ZC ESG Investments Intern, Fall 2023

Digestible Solutions: A review of post-consumer food waste at Williams

Nordmeyer, Agustus, Pham, True
Independent Study, Winter 2021

Exploring How to Decrease Food Waste through LeanPath

Sherpa, Ang
Eco-Advisors, Zilkha Center, Spring 2017

Link to google slides presentation

William’s Sustainable Transportation Guide

Cao, Vera
Eco-Advisors, Zilkha Center, Spring 2020

William’s Sustainable Transportation Guide

Biodiesel Fuel at Williams

Das, Snehadri
ZC internship, Spring 2020

(Biodiesel Feasibility Investigation Reflection)

(Rudimentary Cost-Benefit Analysis for Biodiesel Production at Williams)

(An Illustrated Guide to Producing Biodiesel)

(How to Make Biodiesel – Teacher edition)

(The Chemistry of Biodiesel Production – Student edition)

Considering a Sustainability Requirement at Williams College

Bless, Reece
ZC internship, Spring 2020

(View Google Doc)

Energy Conservation Sustainability Improvements at Williams

Anderson, Ted
PDC internship, Spring 2020

(View as Google Doc)

Restorative Climate Justice and Carbon Offsetting

Gardner, Nick
ENVI 412, Spring 2019

(View Google Doc)

Carbon Neutrality at Williams: Should We Worry About Moral Licensing?

Maynard, Josie
ENVI 412, Spring 2019

(View Google Doc)

Plastic Soup

Tekin, Jane
ENVI 329, Spring 2019

Our Planet’s Plastic Plight: Student Action to Address Apathy

Sang Hwan Lee, Sophia Sonnenfeldt
ENVI 329, Spring 2019

Read the whole letter to future students here.

Zilkha Center Letter: sent to the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives staff

Letter to the Sustainability Working Group and the Williams Strategic Planning Effort: to inform the strategic planning efforts during 2019-2020 academic year

First Year Letter: sent to staff working to plan First Year programming including First Days and EphVentures

Conceptualizing our Carbon

Weinberg, Caroline
ZC internship, 2018-2019

Energy Conservation Projects Implemented in Hollander Hall, Lambert, Milham, and Susie Hopkins

Monge, Julio
Zilkha Center intern, Fall 2015

Energy conservation projects implemented over summer 2015

Monge, Julio
Zilkha Center intern, Summer 2015

Confronting Climate Change: On-Campus Emission Reductions Possibilities

Black, Anna; Kim, Juchan; Wasinger, Rainer,
Internship, Summer 2016

(View as Google Doc)

Drawdown Solutions for New England Institutions of Higher Education

Spalding-Fecher, Maya
Internship, Spring 2019

View Google Doc Report

The Case for Increasing Garden Accessibility in Williams’ LBC Environmental Center

Onubogu, Ivana
Summer Intern, Summer 2018

Researching Green Building Initiatives: Dorm Thermal Comfort, Sustainable Building Planning, Envi Center Tours

Chester, Evan
Zilkha Summer Internship, Summer 2018

Final Presentation link

Carbon Offsets: Potential Biodiversity Impacts and Recommendations

Banks, Adrienne; Bardong, Liam; Sullivan, Shauna; Dory, Sean; DuBois, Astrid; Elder, Emily; Smith, Rebecca; Martin, Laura,
Envi 252: Biodiversity and Climate Change, Spring 2018

Report (View PDF)

Increasing Outdoor Recycling

Ticknor, Emma
Eco-Advisor Project, Spring 2018

Forward Food Experience: Plant-Based Culinary Training for Dining Staff

DuBois, Astrid
Eco-Advisor Project, Spring 2018

Greening Clark Hall: Assessing the Cost of Energy Efficiency

Caplin, Bennett
Geos 206, Fall 2017