The Climate Change Initiative (CCI) includes more than 60 faculty members and 10 staff from 20 different academic departments and all five colleges at UMass Lowell. Student leaders also participate in CCI events, retreats, and decision-making. We use a systems thinking framework to explore interactions between expertise and forge new programs, projects, and policy.

Our Expertise

Our research and expertise reflects our disciplinary diversity and the unifying theme of building new knowledge to catalyze evidence-based climate action.

CCI News

  • A woman in sunglasses and a hat smiles for a photo while sitting in a kayak on a dock. Several other people are behind her in kayaks.

    Researchers Take Freshwater Approach to Plastics Pollution

    Backed by a $360,000 U.S. Army Research Office grant, Plastics Engineering Assoc. Prof. Wan-Ting (Grace) Chen is studying how biofilms affect the breakdown of plastic in freshwater environments. The three-year project could help prevent the formation of harmful microplastics
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  • Prof. Meg Sobkowicz Kline

    Researchers Win USDA Grant to Develop Biodegradable Mulch Films for Agriculture

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded a four-year, $744,000 grant to Assoc. Prof. Jonas Baltrusaitis of Lehigh University and Prof. Meg Sobkowicz Kline of UMass Lowell to develop new mulch films for agricultural crops that are not only sustainable and biodegradable but will also help nourish and improve the health of soils and reduce plastic pollution.
    Featured Story