UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 11, Page 2
November 11, 1993
Center's name change reflects its new emphasis

     After 12 years, the Center for Energy and Urban Policy Research is 
changing its name and developing new areas of graduate education.
     Last summer, the center officially became the Center for Energy and
Environmental Policy. A $200,000  grant is supporting new graduate research
projects on environmental issues, and, in keeping with the new emphasis, an
environmental policy colloquia series, launched last spring,  will continue
this year on campus.
     "We are building on more than a decade of experience in energy
policy," says John Byrne, center director. "Many environmental issues have
their source in energy problems whether you are talking about acid rain or
global warming or oil spills."
     Of the 40 graduate students associated with the center, about
one-third are working in the environmental area, Byrne says. Current
research topics range from global warming, urban air quality, oil spill
prevention, hazardous waste management, wetlands preservation and the
politics of wilderness. Concentrations in energy and environmental policy
are available at both the master's and doctoral levels, but the Ph.D.
program emphasizes international dimensions of environmental issues.
     In addition to associate director Young-Doo Wang and the
interdisciplinary staff of the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy,
the center draws upon associate members in other colleges, including
colleagues from the colleges of Marine Studies, Business and Economics,
Engineering and Arts and Science.
     According to Byrne, researchers at the center currently are involved
in three major research areas:

        * Working with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and
          the Chinese Academy of Science to develop sustainable energy and
          environmental policy options for China.;
        * Assessing the social and economic impacts of climate change as
          part of their advisory work with the  Intergovernmental Panel on
          Climate Change; and
        * Looking at solar cell technology as an environmentally
          sustainable energy alternative in a joint effort with the
          National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the EPA and the Department
          of Energy.
                                                  -Cornelia Weil