VIEE - Vandebilt Institue for Energy and Environment

Welcome to VIEE

The Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and Environment facilitates innovative research, education and outreach to explore and solve modern environmental and energy problems. The Institute promotes interdisciplinary work among law, business, the natural and social sciences, the humanities and engineering.

Student Spotlight

Brooke Traynham, PH.D. candidate, May 2009

Brooke’s research focuses on the long-term ecological management of hazardous wastes. She’s currently building a tool that will help residuals experts gauge the ecological impact of the design and performance of containment systems.

Amanda Carrico, PhD in psychology, August 2009

Amanda’s research evaluates how individuals perceive and respond to energy use and climate change, particularly as society begins to regulate greenhouse gas emissions and develop clean energy and technology. She helped Vanderbilt develop its ThinkOne campaign, which resulted in a 5% reduction of energy use in the workplace. She’s currently working as a postdoctoral fellow with VIEE.

Originally from Louisville, KY, Amanda received her B.A. from Transylvania University and worked in mental health before coming to graduate school. In her spare time, Amanda likes to travel and make pottery.

Debra Perrone, PhD candidate, environmental engineering/environmental science

Debra’s work focuses on creating a water-energy model for cities that could assist policymakers in resource decision-making. Such a tool would allow them to, among other things, compare and evaluate groundwater pumping and desalinization and weigh the consequences of droughts and floods. Part of her effort involves determining how cities that are “resource islands” – communities located far from water and energy resources – could find alternatives for reducing water and energy demands.

Debra studied civil and environmental engineering and geology at Lafayette College. She enjoys running, hiking, kayaking and snorkeling.

News & Events

On Thursday, November 5, 2009, VIEE hosted a presentation by Professor Chris Hendrickson of Carnegie Mellon University on Life Cycle Assessment for Green Design. In his presentation, Professor Hendrickson described the history of life cycle assessment (LCA) and motivations for why organizations engage in LCA. He also provided some case study examples of how LCA’s have been applied and the insights that can be gained from performing such studies. The session was well attended, with representation from several academic and administrative units on campus.

Professor Hendrickson is the Duquesne Light Company Professor of Engineering and Co-Director of the Green Design Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. His research, teaching and consulting are in the general area of engineering planning and management, including design for the environment, project management, transportation systems, finance and computer applications. Current research projects include life cycle assessment methods, assessment of alternative construction materials, economic and environmental implications of Ecommerce, product takeback planning, and infrastructure for alternative fuels. Professor Hendrickson has co-authored a textbook on Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services: An Input-Output Approach, in addition to publishing numerous articles in the professional literature.

How to save money!
New study, co-authored by Vanderbilt faculty, shows that fairly simple changes in household behavior can result in dramatic energy savings.
Click here to read the full article.