New NRT Grant
Shu Yang and Collaborators Receive NSF Grant for Multidisciplinary Graduate Program across Engineering and Architecture, Penn Engineering Today (December 3, 2024)
Dorit Aviv Interviewed in NPR Climate Solutions Article (9 June 2025)
NRT Climate Care Co-PI Dorit Aviv was interviewed (as part of NPR’s Climate Solutions Week series) in an article entitled “5 simple (and cheap) things to make your house use less energy”.
Dorit emphasizes that “Climate solutions for reducing home energy use can be extremely simple — and sometimes even free.”
Read about Dorit’s climate solutions tips here.
Heat Stress and Urban Resilience Publication: Alternative Cooling Strategies to Combat Extreme Heat in the Urban Environment (6 February 2026)
As heat intensifies in cities, this digest, co-authored by Dorit Aviv, NRT Climate Care Co-PI, argues that solar-powered open-air cooling shelters can play a critical role in a layered urban cooling strategy - providing resilient, low-energy relief that complements cooling centers and remains operational during power outages.
NRT Climate Care Program Participation in NSF NRT Annual Meeting 2026
The NRT Climate Care program at the University of Pennsylvania was one of approximately 120 NRT Projects that participated in the NSF NRT Annual Meeting in Golden, Colorado held at the Colorado School of Mines from 22-24 March 2026.
There were nearly 400 attendees and close to 200 posters prominently displayed throughout the event.
Our program was represented by Keith Rosenbaum, Program Coordinator, Fellows Sophia Jackson (Trainee) and Shelvey Swett (NSF Travel Grant Award recipient), along with our designated NRT Evaluator, Kelly Feighan.
Both Sophia and Shelvey displayed their posters during the allotted times and Sophia gave a presentation during Day 2 of the concurrent sessions entitled “Graduate Students: NRT Research and Professional Development”.
Sophia’s poster and presentation highlighted her research on “Coral Restoration of Sustainable and 3D Printed Artificial Coral Reefs” and Shelvey shared and discussed her research findings on “A Life Cycle Framework for the Indirect Carbon Mineralization of Coal Ash”.
In addition, during the meeting, NSF shared project “best practices”, insight into industry-university partnerships, cross-institution collaboration, and addressed common challenges faced by trainees, evaluators, and program coordinators.