Close Modal Center for the Environment The Center for the Environment brings together academia, industry, government, and the public to create a vision for—and a commitment to—a sustainable future for everyone. Image Climate change, energy insecurity, biodiversity loss, and air and water pollution all threaten the well-being of every human and ecosystem on the planet. Science and technology give us the tools we need to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of these environmental and energy concerns. Every degree that humans slow global warming through the swift and effective use of science and technology can save millions of human lives, and thousands of species of plants and animals. Close Modal A Portal for Current Science Communication The Center for the Environment was created in March 2023 to inspire, inform, and empower people to accelerate progress. Led by David Sittenfeld, PhD, the Center brings together government, academia, industry, and the public to create a vision for—and a commitment to—a more sustainable future.Through Dr. Sittenfeld’s network, the Center will be a portal for current science and technology to pour through the Museum to a public in need of practical reasons to believe humanity is up to the challenges posed by climate change and other environmental problems. The Center will produce programming not only for Museum visitors, but also for teachers, students, and a global online audience. The Center will deliver learning experiences through expert panels and lectures, town halls, online games and videos, exhibits and programs, K-12 curricula, community events, in-school programs, digital partnerships, and more. Image Placeholder for content by topic Meet the DirectorDavid Sittenfeld, PhD, assumes the Center directorship having served as an educator at the Museum for more than 20 years, overseeing special projects and network-scale activities at the intersection of climate science and society.Dr. Sittenfeld has led a diverse portfolio of large-scale Museum initiatives addressing a range of socio-scientific topics, including water and energy policy, nuclear waste siting, climate adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity, solar radiation management, synthetic biology, and planetary defense. He served as principal investigator for the NOAA-funded Citizen Science, Civics and Resilient Communities project and co-PI for the Science Center Public Forums project, which implemented community-based science-to-civics activities at 30 US science centers on extreme heat, drought, extreme precipitation, and sea level rise. He also led the Wicked Hot Boston and Wicked Hot Mystic projects, which identified heat- and air quality-related vulnerabilities in over 20 communities in and around Boston through community-engaged participatory science.Dr. Sittenfeld holds a PhD in public policy with a concentration in sustainability and resilience from Northeastern University, where he researched and implemented participatory methods and geospatial modeling and visualization techniques for environmental health assessment and public engagement about climate-related hazards. He is cofounder of the Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology network, is a member of the extended leadership committee of the National Informal STEM Education Network, and is a member of the outreach planning committee for the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society, having received the ACS Salute to Excellence Awards in 2011 and 2019. Centers for Public Science Learning Center for Space Sciences Center for Life Sciences
