Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience (CISR)

Working across departments and disciplines, the Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience (CISR, pronounced scissor) at Michigan Tech supports development of next-generation technologies and facilitates collaboration with partners, co-creating research and knowledge in ways that serve the stakeholders and communities we engage with through our work.

Mission

The CISR is a collaborative Center established through a partnership among the Great Lakes Research Center, the Ecosystem Science Center, and the Tech Forward Initiative on Sustainability & Resilience. CISR works closely with these groups and with the Office of Sustainability & Resilience to grow Michigan Tech’s research leadership in the domains of sustainability & resilience innovations.

Leadership

  • Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Director of Research, Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience

Research Interests

  • Socio-technological system transitions
  • Technology adoption
  • Energy policy
  • Energy practices
  • Sustainable communities
  • Self-provisioning
  • Environmental education
  • Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
  • Associate Research Director, Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience (CISR)
  • Advisor, Outdoor Venture Crew

Areas of Expertise

  • Solar photovoltaic and thermal power plants
  • Electricity grid operational modeling
  • Energy-water nexus

Research Interests

  • Impacts of climate change on electric power systems
  • Energy transitions in cold climates
  • Solar photovoltaic design for cold climates
  • Heat pump performance
  • Thermal power plant modeling