About CEES

Overview of the Wake Forest University Center for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability (CEES)

The Wake Forest University Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) is an interdisciplinary center that aims to promote critical thinking and effective action across the fields of Renewable Energy, Social Influence, Environment Policy, Enterprise, Environmental Markets, Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services, and Human Behavior.

There is a global demand for leadership and engagement on environmental and energy issues.  Universities play a central role in addressing these issues because they generate new knowledge and technology and house deep and varied expertise.  They are also where future leaders who will shape society are trained.

The Center for Energy, Environment and Sustainability (CEES) at Wake Forest is a catalyst for engaging the Wake Forest community and linking it with the global community to create more sustainable human and natural systems.  Focusing on Renewable Energy Research, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, and Policy, Enterprise and Ecosystem Markets, 60 faculty from 16 academic units across the university have come together with initiatives in Research and Scholarly Activities, Education, and Public Engagement. We’re generating new teams of researchers and new ways of thinking to address some of society’s greatest problems, and are engaging the broader community on issues of energy, environment, and sustainability.

We’ve sought to build a Center based not on the traditional definitions of environment and environmentalism from the last half-century, but rather one that looks forward to the next 50 years.  Our research and scholarly activities are focused away from single-disciplines and the silos of basic or applied research.  Our mission is to effect change through our work, and focus on taking knowledge and technology from the lab to society.  This requires not only basic research, but also identifying the tools—enterprise, policy, education, marketing, the arts—that turns ideas into action.

The faculty of CEES are committed to working towards a sustainable future through our research and public engagement, holding leadership roles not only in academia, but also governments, non-profits, and corporations here at home and across the globe.

The environment and sustainability are among the defining issues of our time, and we invite you to join us in making a difference.