The clamour about the warming planet and the changing climate is growing louder by the day as we worry about the implications of greenhouse gases on the earth. But, did you know that our planet has seen many such ‘greenhouse periods’ in the past where the concentrations of greenhouse gases were significantly higher, resulting in higher temperatures? Yes, you read that right, and one such period was about 56 to 34 million years ago, called the Eocene epoch.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai are studying the strange phenomenon known as urban heat islands, which leads to a sharp temperature difference between urban and metropolitan areas and the surrounding rural areas, due to human activities. The study also proposes measures to reduce the dire effects of the phenomenon.

There exists a theory among economists called the ‘pollution haven hypothesis’ that talks about how foreign investments are related to environmental regulations. It states that companies from developed countries often seek to set up manufacturing units in developing countries not only because they can obtain cheap labour and resources, but also because environmental regulations in these countries are usually lenient, reducing the cost of compliance.  But does empirical data support this hypothesis?

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, have developed a new minimum opportunity cost targeting algorithm (MOCTA) to help organizations and institutions select the right environmental and conservation projects to pursue.

A team of researchers from University of Aberdeen, UK, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, People’s Republic of China, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai have looked at the effects of availability of a smartphone based real time passenger information system on a passenger’s willingness to use public transport. Their studies reveal that although there was an initial excitement for the app, there were insufficient users required to scale up.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai and Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Indore have developed a novel technique to measure the ice thickness of inaccessible and data scarce glaciers.

In a recent study, a team of researchers from Purdue University, USA, Northrop Grumman, USA, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India, and University of Florida, USA have studied the effect of using computer-aided design (CAD) simulations on teaching engineering design thinking to students.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai have looked at the economic feasibility of a solar driven electrolysis plant to produce hydrogen. The study provides a framework for the economic assessment of solar hydrogen production.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai, have looked at the benefits of availing access to information and communication technologies (ICT) during travel time. The study shows that access to ICT equipment had significant positive impacts on multitasking activities.

Researchers from ICMR-National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Bombay, College of Pharmacy, and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai used popular online algorithms and molecular dynamics, to design an effective antimicrobial peptide.