Rutgers Students Work to Bring Wind Energy to New Jersey

wind turbines

This September, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order to increase New Jersey’s offshore wind goal to nearly 50 percent by 2040. A group of 12 Rutgers students is hard at work to help the state meet that deadline. They are part of the inaugural cohort of the Wind Institute Fellowship Program: a pilot launched last April at Rutgers and several …

Rutgers Launches Collaborative to Harness University Expertise to Support Offshore Wind Energy Development

wind turbine

Rutgers has launched the Offshore Wind Collaborative to coordinate and build expertise in offshore wind research across the university community and to support workforce development pathways to employment in this industry. Leading the establishment of the collaborative is Margaret Brennan-Tonetta, director of the Office of Resource and Economic Development at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, along with Josh Kohut, professor, Department of …

On 10th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, New Jerseyans Believe in Climate Change, See It as a Threat, and Are Concerned About Its Effects

Point Pleasant New Jersey on Sunday October 28th, 2012. One day before Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Photo is 32 hours prior to the superstorm making landfall on the evening of October 29th. Photo: Shutterstock

Support for Various Climate-Related Policies, but Not How to Pay for It As the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approaches and more than a year out from Hurricane Ida, the vast majority of New Jerseyan believe the Earth’s climate is changing, see it as a serious threat to the state and are concerned about the effects of changing climate conditions …

Reflections on Superstorm Sandy, 10 Years Later

Scenes like these were common along the Jersey shore in the wake of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The borough of Mantoloking (pictured) was particularly hit hard. Photo: Matt Drews

Combating climate change is one of our greatest challenges. Rutgers experts break down the policies, infrastructure changes, social justice reforms and other work that will be necessary to weather the storm. Robert Kopp Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary SciencesCo-Director, University Office of Climate ActionPI, Rutgers Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub (MACH) Sandy caused extreme flooding across our region. In New …

Blue Acres: The Art and Science of Managing Flood-Prone Open-Space Properties in New Jersey

Looking north along a former block of Watson Ave in Woodbridge, NJ. Formerly a quiet residential street with houses, frequent flooding has resulted in this segment of roadway being repurposed into open space with a walking path through the Blue Acres program. Photo: Matt Drews

By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications A wildlife and conservation management expert for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, EOAS faculty member and Associate Professor Brooke Maslo works with local NJ municipalities to help them manage and restore properties in FEMA-established flood-prone areas purchased through the DEP Blue Acres program. Imagine the plight of families in New Jersey who own homes in the state’s …

JC NERR Plays a Key Role in New Jersey Coastal Community Resilience Consortium

Killifish sampling in the Grassle Pocket Marsh

Task One: Complete Last December, the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR), along with multiple other NJ partners and institutions, were awarded a grant to fund the implementation of the newly-established New Jersey Coastal Community Resilience Consortium. In addition to the JC NERR, partners include Monmouth University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Stockton University, NJ Sea Grant Program, Montclair …

Rutgers Marine Field Station: On the Edge of Climate Change

RU Marine Field Station by Micah Seidel

As the facility marks its 50th anniversary, here is a look back at its history and how it developed into a crucial research station in New Jersey.   Rutgers Marine Field Station stands at the heart of where climate change is happening the fastest in the world, providing a unique and crucial window into the future for researchers.  A former U.S. Coast …

Feasible Surfclam Husbandry Techniques for Northeast Shellfish Growers

Surfclams have a spawn-to-sale production cycle as short as 12-18 months. Photo credit: Michael Acquafredda.

Editor’s note: Michael Acquafredda (GSNB’19) earned a doctoral degree in Ecology and Evolution in the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies A study that provides technical aspects of Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) husbandry supports the feasibility for the culture of the species in the U.S. Northeast region. “Overall, successful surfclam nursery culture aligns well with the Northeast’s established shellfish farming framework, and …

EOAS In the News: “Tiny Oysters Are a Hopeful Sign in the Hudson River”

Baby Oysters

New York Times reporter James Barron joined #EOAS faculty member Thomas Grothues and other #Rutgers scientists on a trip on the Hudson River in lower Manhattan to check on the “oyster habitat enhancements” they had installed last year and seeded with juvenile oysters. Barron reports “The oysters were small, barely the size of a thumbtack. The people measuring them, on a skiff rocking …

Rutgers Awarded $12.6 Million Grant to Create Oyster Habitat for Coastal Resilience

Oysters in a cement setting experiment from Richard Riman’s laboratory.

The university-led project is in response to a broader effort to protect critical coastal civilian and Department of Defense infrastructure and personnel at risk of climate change. Rutgers has been awarded $12.6 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an oyster-based shoreline ecosystem to help protect coastlines from storm damage, flooding and erosion. The Rutgers-led project, …