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The purpose of this study is to identify the most prevalent initiatives undertaken by leading universities in sustainability and offer a roadmap for other institutions seeking to undertake similar actions and contribute to more effective implementation of sustainability practices.

By using a quantitative assessment approach, the study sheds light on successful initiatives implemented by universities worldwide, spanning six categories: transportation, waste management, curriculum, food and dining, water and energy. Each category is clearly related to one or more of the 17 sustainable development goals. A cluster analysis was also applied to identify regional trends in preferred initiatives.

The study underlines the importance of integrating sustainability principles into the curricula of higher education institutions (HEIs) as well as educating staff members on energy and water management. The most common and impactful initiatives in the studied six categories have been identified. Many of the initiatives mentioned in the study do not just result in reducing ecological footprint but also provide economic savings as well. Differences among regions and countries were observed in the implementation of initiatives. Cultural and habitual factors should not be disregarded during the selection process of initiatives.

The findings of this study may help universities to take their first steps toward implementing initiatives that can effectively promote sustainable development. Results will aid other HEIs in planning for next steps while outlining the more common initiatives.

The purpose of the article was to convey experiences with pioneering interdisciplinary sustainability research by involving undergraduate students. Experiences with initiating and conducting multiple research projects spanning engineering and sustainability are described, and recommendations for programs and faculty in other institutions of higher education that plan to implement or support similar endeavors are discussed.

The article and presented conclusions are based on three separate research projects, where specific examples as to how those projects were developed as well as challenges and rewards faced during the project are described.

It is concluded that faculty should not refrain from working with students from different backgrounds and disciplines. Bringing different backgrounds and perspectives to a project enables a big picture view of problems at hand and leads to better solutions that are more in line with the three pillars of sustainability, while at the same time providing valuable hands-on experience to undergraduate students.

By its very definition, sustainability is an interdisciplinary field and, thus, requires novel approaches for education and research compared to other settled fields of science. A viable way to increase the role of sustainability in higher education is to foster interdisciplinary research and teaching. The institutions role in promoting such efforts has been discussed together with example strategies that were found to be successful as well as those that were not. The article presents results of potential successes in projects where the traditional disciplinary bounds have been breached, and an interdisciplinary approach has been used to achieve project goals. The article also gives examples on what types of sustainability research can be conducted with undergraduate students.

Auxetic sandwich structures are gaining attention because of the negative Poisson’s ratio effect offered by these structures. Re-entrant core was one configuration of the auxetic structures. There is a growing concern about the design and behavior of re-entrant cores in aerospace, marine and protection applications. Several researchers proposed various designs of re-entrant core sandwiches with various materials. The purpose of this study is to review the most recent advances in re-entrant core sandwich structures. This review serves as a guide for researchers conducting further research in this wide field of study.

The re-entrant core sandwich structures were reviewed in terms of their design improvements, impact and quasi-static crushing responses. Several design improvements were reviewed including 2D cell, 3D cell, gradient, hierarchical and hybrid configurations. Some common applications of the re-entrant core sandwiches were given at the end of this paper with suggestions for future developments in this field.

Generally, the re-entrant configuration showed improved energy absorption and impact response among auxetic structures. The main manufacturing method for re-entrant core manufacturing was additive manufacturing. The negative Poisson’s ratio effect of the re-entrant core provided a wide area of research.

Generally, re-entrant cores were mentioned in the review articles as part of other auxetic structures. However, in this review, the focus was solely made on the re-entrant core sandwiches with their mechanics.