Three CBE faculty awarded professorships 

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed University Professorship. Below are some excerpts that describe what CBE’s newest luminaries will be addressing:

Gregg Colburn, Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed University Professor

The lack of affordable and accessible housing…exacts significant costs on society; some of these consequences are visible—such as the conspicuous presence of people experiencing homelessness in the urban core—while other consequences are more subtle—crowded housing, strained household budgets due to high housing costs, and the inability of communities to attract and retain essential employees… I am honored to have the opportunity to advance our understanding of the challenges associated with housing through my research and to also use my communication skills to advance our understanding of these causal relationships for non-academic audiences. 

Catherine De Almeida, Built Environments Faculty Fellow for Research Innovation

Humanity consumes natural resources 75% faster than can be replenished. Exploitative resource consumption and unrestricted waste production are causing water, food, climate, and ecological crises. These activities degrade ecosystems and proliferate pollution, disproportionately negatively impacting the health, safety, and welfare of low income and communities of color…My work addresses this urgent societal problem by framing waste as an abundant renewable resource, and advocating for us to think, act, and design differently with waste, rather than against it.

Gundula Proksch, Perry B. Johanson Family Endowed Professor

At the core of my nationally and internationally funded research, transdisciplinary collaborations, community-based research, teaching, and service is the innovative integration of living systems and circularity into the built environment. My work addresses the climate crisis by increasing the resilience and circularity of urban food systems and novel growing technologies, developing innovative living materials, and improving environmental justice for frontline communities.