CCE Fellowship spurs effective recycling in Med Center

CCE Fellowship spurs effective recycling in Med Center
Rice senior uses classroom knowledge to create real-world solutions

BY JESSICA STARK
Rice News staff

Next time you are at an institution in the Texas Medical Center, you might notice some changes to the way nonhazardous waste is recycled. Thanks to her summer research project, Rice senior Jessica Coe will work with Baylor College of Medicine and the Medical Center Recycling Collaborative (MCRC) to implement more effective recycling this fall.

	JEFF FITLOW
	Rice senior Jessica Coe explains her summer research project, a plan to implement more effective recycling in the Texas Medical Center. Her project was supported by a Center for Civic Engagement Fellowship.

Coe’s project was supported by a Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) Fellowship, in which she received a $4,000 stipend to conduct a faculty-supervised project in collaboration with a Houston-based partner. The summer fellowships are an extension of the CCE’s civic research and design program that provides upper-level undergraduate courses centered on community-based research or design projects.

Coe’s project stems from her class “Rice into the Future,” instructed by Richard Johnson, director of sustainability. With two of her classmates, she created a plan Rice could use to recycle construction and demolition waste from the Rice-owned graduate student apartments already set to be demolished.

“The project was fairly successful and solidified my belief in the power of the individual — armed with the appropriate knowledge and resources — to make substantial contributions to solving environmental problems,” Coe said.

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Johnson saw Coe’s drive and dedication throughout that project, so when the MCRC was looking for someone to conduct a research project, she immediately came to mind. It was a great fit too for Coe, who passionately believes in serving Houston.

“Houston is the home of the Ship Channel and many institutions that present inherent hazards to our natural environment,” Coe said. “It is important and exciting to work on environmental issues here, where there is the potential for a huge body of positive change, Also, Houston has provided me with the location for an amazing undergraduate experience. In my time here, I’ve made good use of the city’s resources, like Discovery Green, the Theater District and the Houston Zoo. I was excited to get a chance to give back to the city that has given me so much.”

During her presentation to the MCRC Sept. 3, Coe recommended the next steps the institutions take would be to implement sustainable purchasing, begin composting food and waste, incorporate sustainable initiatives into bid initiatives for outside vendors, earn LEED certifications for all new buildings and recycle construction and demolition waste.

“My project helped me to understand the tangible, real-world applications of the theories I learn in the classes for my environmental policy major,” Coe said. “The program gives students a unique opportunity to pursue graduate-level research on a topic about which they are passionate, but do not have the time to study in much depth during the school year. This affirmation of the power of academia to affect real-world change is a refreshing reminder to students who may see the academic world as totally separate from the world ‘beyond the hedges.'”

In addition to the experience, Coe was also appreciative of the mentors she met as she conducted her project. She said both her community partner, specifically Winifred Hamilton, director of environmental health at Baylor College of Medicine, and her faculty adviser, Johnson, were instrumental to her success.

A PDF of Coe’s study can be found at http://www.envirohealthhouston.org/files/MCRCFeasibilityStudy_20080903.pdf.

For more information on the CCE Fellowships, visit http://ccr.rice.edu/.