AT&T Inc. this week announcedCarnegie Mellon Universityreceived a $25,000 environmental research grant and that university faculty membersH. Scott MatthewsandDeanna H. Matthewswere named AT&T Faculty Fellows in Industrial Ecology.

The grant will support the team's research project, "The Role of Information and Communications Technology in Carbon Risk Management," which will analyze the impact information and communications technology can have in helping other industries manage risk of carbon emissions (e.g., carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion).

"This grant will help us continue our leading edge research about the impacts and risk of carbon emissions," said H. Scott Matthews, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.

J. Michael Schweder, president of AT&T Pennsylvania, said the program is another example of AT&T's efforts to support education at all levels, including important research being undertaken at Carnegie Mellon, one of our nation's leading institutions.

"This is critically important work, and we're delighted to support such leading-edge research that's taking place in Pittsburgh," said Schweder."Their work will contribute to sustainable and economically efficient approaches for our business and others in Pennsylvania and around the world."

"The project that AT&T is funding at Carnegie Mellon is one that we believe is essential in continuing the trend in sustainable development on this planet," said Audrey Russo, president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Technology Council. "The objectives of this type of research coincide directly with the mission of the Council's GreenTech Network."

AT&T has a long history of enabling research on industrial ecology -- a multidisciplinary science that investigates how the economy and the environment can coexist -- through the AT&T Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship program.

The annual grant program, which provides awards of $25,000 to three academic researchers at universities across the country, is designed to advance the development of research and help universities produce faculty and students who can contribute to solving global and regional environmental problems and help shape environmentally and economically efficient strategies.

Since its inception in 1993, the AT&T Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship program has provided environmental research grants to leading universities and their outstanding academic researchers across the country.

The AT&T Industrial Ecology Faculty Fellowship program is one way that AT&T collaborates with premier academic institutions and universities to advance education and research and to enhance the company's ability to deliver innovative products and services.

10/3/2008