Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions

Events Archive

All times U.S. ET unless noted.
View:
Archive

2026 Bass Connections Fair External link

Students of all levels are encouraged to stop by the Bass Connections Fair and talk with project team leaders and Bass Connections staff to learn more about new project opportunities and the benefits of participation. Check out some tips for making the most of the Bass Connections Fair.

Date and Time
Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Location
Penn Pavilion

Climate and Health “Big Ideas” Symposium External link

Join faculty and trainees from across Duke to spark ideas and connect on climate and health research. Including a keynote address by Mary B. Rice (director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health), research showcase, and "big ideas" pitch session. Lunch will be provided. Hosted by Duke University School of Medicine.

Date and Time
Thursday, January 22, 2026 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location
Great Hall, Trent Semans Center for Health Education

Plus Programs Information Fair

Learn more about Duke's summer 2026 Plus Programs! Meet the 2026 project leads for Applied Ethics+, Arts+, Climate+, Code+, CS+, Data+, Doc+, History+, Math+, Doc+, and History+!

Special interest climate/environment/energy research? Check out all seven 2026 Climate+ projects—including "Data-Driven Valuation of Flood Resilience Investments" co-lead by Nicholas Institute expert Lydia Olander.

Date and Time
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location
Gross Hall Energy Hub (first floor)

A Conversation on Energy Access and Health Systems

Join the Global Energy Access Network (GLEAN) for a spring semester kick-off event! Hear from Duke PhD candidate Ryan McCord on the intersection of energy and health systems, followed by information on GLEAN's upcoming case studies and Energy in Emerging Markets Career Trek to Washington, D.C.

Refreshments will be provided.

Date and Time
Thursday, January 15, 2026 - 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location
Grainger Hall Art Gallery

A Conversation with John Podesta | Nicholas Dean's Leadership Lecture Series External link

Register to attend the inaugural conversation in the Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment's new annual lecture series. The first guest in the series will be John Podesta, Senior Advisor to President Biden for Clean Energy and Innovation Implementation. Box lunch will be provided. A Zoom link will be provided at a later date for those who cannot attend in person.

Date and Time
Wednesday, January 14, 2026 - 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Location
Room 2107, Grainger Hall (second floor)

Webinar: Beyond Traditional Energy Infrastructure: Data Center Flexibility

Get the highlights of new Duke University modeling research on data center flexibility and its pivotal role in next-generation electric power systems. The study focuses on PJM but its findings have broad relevance for the U.S. power grid. During the webinar, experts will discuss different physical and contractual/regulatory enablers of data center operational flexibility and how these can contribute to grid reliability.

Date and Time
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. (ET)
Location
Zoom

Impact for Breakfast: Mobilizing Philanthropic Capital for Impact

At a time when public funding is tightening, market capital is more cautious, and social needs are rising, philanthropic dollars have a unique capacity to catalyze innovation, de-risk early-stage solutions, and invest directly in impact-first solutions.  

During this Impact for Breakfast session in Washington, D.C., panelists will share how their organizations are working to shift more philanthropic dollars toward impact and what they are seeing across the broader ecosystem.

Date and Time
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 - 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. (ET)
Location
Washington, D.C.

Webinar: Prospective 2026-27 Global Change Research Fellows (Southeast Climate Adaptation and Science Center) External link

The Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (SE CASC) is seeking applications from eligible graduate students pursuing interdisciplinary research on global change and adaptation for the next cohort of Global Change Research Fellows. Join SE CASC for an informational webinar hosted by members of the selection committee for a Q&A and best tips for your application. Applications and letters of recommendation are due January 12, 2026.

 

Date and Time
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Location
Virtual via Zoom

Accelerating East Coast Geothermal: A Duke Climate Collaboration Symposium

Hosted by Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering, “Accelerating East Coast Geothermal” is a two-day symposium bringing together researchers, engineers, and energy professionals to advance the development of enhanced geothermal systems. The event will highlight innovative projects across both deep geothermal reservoirs and shallow closed-loop systems, offering insights into the successes, challenges, and future opportunities shaping this rapidly evolving field.

Date and Time
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location
Duke Student Wellness Center, Room 148/149

Soybeans, China and Food System Resilience: A Talk by Scott Marlow

Would you like to know what the recent soybean trade deal with China and the administration's proposed farmer financial assistance means for the structure of agriculture and food system resilience? If so, please join us for a talk by Scott Marlow, former Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs of the USDA Farm Services Agency.

Date and Time
Thursday, November 20, 2025 - 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Location
The Generator (Gross 100C)

Get to Know the IoW Storm Events Database External link

Tool developers from Earth Genome, The Commons, and the Nicholas Institute will walk through the ins and outs of the Internet of Water Coalition's Storm Events Database. The new database allows anyone to easily discover and download data from nearly 2 million unique storm event records dating back to the 1950s from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Date and Time
Wednesday, November 19, 2025 - 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location
Webinar

Does Increasing Electricity Access Affect Political Participation? Evidence from Rapid Electrification in Kenya

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the next Nicholas Institute and UPEP Environmental Institutions Seminar Series presentation. Our speaker will be Jennifer N. Brass, Ph.D., associate professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Bloomington. No registration required.

Date and Time
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Location
Sanford Building Room 005

Impact for Breakfast: Carbon Market Check-Up External link

This Impact for Breakfast event will take a deep dive on carbon markets. What’s the difference between compliance and voluntary markets? How do we measure “avoided emissions” in practice? How will this evolve over time? Join expert panelists in Duke in DC for a lively conversation to answer these questions. Featuring Nicholas Institute Director Brian Murray.

Date and Time
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 - 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Location
Duke in DC

Bridge Building: Expanding Collaborations for Greater Impact

The University Energy Institute Leadership Collaborative (UEILC) is a first-of-its-kind partnership of U.S. university-based energy institutes formed to address the critical challenges facing America’s energy systems. Members include leaders of over 150 energy institutes and a network of energy experts from around the world working together to inspire meaningful research, engage scholarship, inform regional and national policy, impact decision-making, and re-imagine energy education to be ready to create the future of energy systems.

Date
Thursday, November 6, 2025 to Friday, November 7
Location
Geneen Auditorium, Fuqua School of Business, 100 Fuqua Drive, Durham, NC

Duke University Energy Conference External link

Registration is live for the 17th annual Duke University Energy Conference on November 5, 2025. The Energy Conference is organized by the MBA Energy Club as part of Energy Week at Duke (November 3-7), which is led by students from degree programs across Duke.

Date
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Location
Fuqua School of Business

Measuring How Natural Capital Drives Economic Growth

Chetan Hebbale, PMP, Managing Policy Advisor for Greening Sovereign Debt at The Nature Conservancy, will explore emerging methodologies for measuring natural capital and ecosystem services as essential drivers of economic growth. This is a supplemental talk for the "Evaluating Impacts of Debt-for-Nature Swaps on Debt, Climate and Biodiversity" 2025-2026 Bass Connections project team, led in part by Nicholas Institute expert Elizabeth Losos.

Date and Time
Tuesday, November 4, 2025 - 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Location
The Generator, Gross Hall 100C

Energy Week at Duke: Nov. 3-7, 2025 External link

Registration is LIVE for the tenth annual Energy Week at Duke! The 2025 student-led event will offer opportunities to learn and network with Triangle-area professionals, students, faculty, and staff.

Check out the list of events happening in the weeklong celebration—including the 2025 Energy Conference: The Future of Energy, a clean energy tech innovation showcase (featuring companies, startups, and student groups), an exclusive community dinner, and more!

Date
Monday, November 3, 2025 to Friday, November 7
Location
Duke University

Duke Climate Commitment Fall 2025 Town Hall External link

Duke students, faculty and staff are invited to join the Duke Climate Commitment to learn more about the Climate Commitment plans, meet the team and get involved in the future. Food will be served. Registration is required.

Date and Time
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 - 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Location
Ahmadieh Family Auditorium (Gross Hall 107)

Institutional Edgework: Navigating Field Intersections in Environmental Peacebuilding

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the second Nicholas Institute and UPEP Environmental Institutions Seminar Series presentation of the fall 2025 semester. The speaker will be Ambreen Ben-Shmuel, a postdoctoral fellow at the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. This is an in-person event with no virtual viewing option; no registration required. 
 

Date and Time
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Location
Grainger Hall, Room 2102