Research

We assemble diverse, interdisciplinary teams of faculty, external experts and students to collaborate on the world’s greatest environmental and sustainability challenges and turn research into action for the common good. Our research isn’t restricted to the lab: we are transforming Georgetown’s campus into a living laboratory where we develop urgently-needed, scalable solutions to green the campus and broader community—and shape the future of our planet.

News & Publications from the ECo Faculty Netowrk

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All, In the Press, Scholarship

You’re Being Lied To About Ocean Plastic | Truth Complex | Business Insider

Plastic pollution is getting worse — despite widespread public awareness of the problem, massive investment in recycling, and years of pledges to stop polluting. So what do we get wrong when we talk about ocean plastic? A lot, it turns out.

September 26, 2024

All, ECo Impact Funding, Scholarship, University Stories

“Spotlight” on Magnetic High Entropy Alloys

Researchers in the Physics Department of Georgetown University have demonstrated a novel approach to achieve strong magnets using high entropy alloys, without relying on the traditional ingredients of rare-earth elements.

September 11, 2024

All, Announcements, Scholarship

“All of us urgently need to band together to pass a robust and just earth to future generations,” says eminent environmental lawyer Edith Brown Weiss

An article in Environmental Policy and Law reviews important developments in implementing the Planetary Trust

August 13, 2024

ECo Faculty Network

Explore over 100 Georgetown faculty furthering research and teaching on complex environmental issues

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Research Programs

Below is a list of research programs related to the work of the Earth Commons:

Marra Lab

Director Peter Marra’s research uses birds to help us define and understand broad environmental issues, tackling contemporary conservation challenges by addressing fundamental knowledge gaps at the intersection of ornithology, ecology and conservation biology. The Marra Lab in Georgetown’s Department of Biology investigates migratory connectivity, full annual cycle ecology, urban ecology & applied conservation, Kirtland’s Warbler conservation & management, and identifies the smoking guns in bird declines.

Research Projects

Migratory Connectivity

Advancing the conservation and understanding of animals throughout their full life cycle by promoting the science of migratory connectivity.

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Atlas of Migratory Connectivity

Through the Migratory Connectivity Project, led by Georgetown University and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and together with the National Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, we are working on an important and exciting two volume book entitled “Discovering Unknown Migrations: The Atlas of Migratory Connectivity for the Birds of North America.” 

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