Camden Campus

Climate Action Group

Mission

The Camden Climate Action Group will build and promote a culture of sustainability at Rutgers Camden.

Participants

Co-Chairs

Richard Michelfelder

Associate Professor of Professional Practice, Finance, School of Business, Rutgers-Camden

Professor Richard A. Michelfelder, Ph.D. is currently associate professor of professional practice, finance at the School of Business – Camden. His research and advisement to energy and water / wastewater utilities globally focuses on sustainability in energy and water. At Rutgers, he has been awarded many research grants and teaching awards, including the President’s Excellence Award. Previously, Dr. Michelfelder was CEO and Board Chairperson of Quantum Consulting, Inc., a national public utility consulting firm, and Quantum Energy Services and Technologies, LLC., an energy and water efficiency services company based in Berkeley, California. He has testified many times before state regulatory agencies and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions on issues related to the cost of capital, energy efficiency, water load research, cost of service and incentive rate mechanisms for energy efficiency. He has published numerous articles specifically addressing public utilities and climate change. He holds the Ph.D. in economics from Fordham University.

Hong Fang

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Rutgers-Camden

Hong Fang is an assistant professor in the Department of Physics. He received his Ph.D. in materials physics from the University of Cambridge and his B.Sc in physics from East China Normal University and Bielefeld University. He has worked in various fields at the intersection of materials physics, neutron physics, and physical chemistry. His current research is focused on the design, development, and understanding of materials and interfaces for renewable energy and sustainability applications. These include battery materials, solar cell materials, and catalytic materials for green-house gas capture and conversion.

His research interest also includes biopolymers, novel carbon allotropes, and charged atomic clusters and molecules. Hong’s work has appeared in leading scientific journals such as PNAS, Nature Communications, Angew. Chem., Joule, PRX Energy, and Reports on Progress in Physics. He serves as an Invited Reviewer for the Vehicle Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. He is teaching two courses related to the use of energy and its implication to the environment – “Energy and the Environment-50:750:374” in Fall and “Introduction to Earth-50:460:101” in Spring. He also serves as a DEI Council Member of the Faculty DEI Subcommittee of Rutgers.

Members

Elizabeth Demaray, Associate Professor of Art, Department of Visual, Media, and Performing Arts, RU-C
Brian Everett, Assistant Dean, Camden Honors College, RU-C
Mike Fitzgerald, Camden Associate Director, IP&O
Angélica Gonzalez, Associate Professor of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences, RU-C
Tamara Nelson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, RU-C
Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri, Assistant Professor of Nursing, School of Nursing, RU-C
Joseph Tariman, Associate Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical Innovation and EBP, School of Nursing, RU-C

Scope:

Build a culture of sustainability at Rutgers Camden that:
- Integrates climate action into academics, life, and policy across campus
- Embodies the core values expressed in the climate action plan
- Is inclusive of all Camden students, faculty, and staff
Measure and communicate progress toward building a culture of sustainability at Rutgers Camden

Goals

Recommend to the provost a series of teaching modules related to climate change and other environmental concerns that could be considered for incorporation into existing and potential courses.
Suggest opportunities for engaging faculty (including those who are part of a sustainability hiring cluster) and students in civic engagement initiatives that address such matters as climate change, environmental justice, and other related topics – broadly and, more specifically, in our host city of Camden.
Identify and propose strategies for reducing climate impacts resulting from the operations of the campus.
Develop opportunities for Rutgers University–Camden to work toward the remediation of matters related to environmental justice and health equity in Camden and southern New Jersey, with an emphasis on matters related to the health of individuals, families, communities, and populations.