Uploaded April 2011 | Updated September 2026, 17 hours ago
Elie Bou-Zeid, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is mapping the microclimate of Princeton's campus in order to better understand how local environments affect the global climate -- and vice versa.
Bou-Zeid so far has placed a dozen sensing nodes across campus to gather data that will utlimately lead to a more complete understanding of how different building materials and vegetation interact with the local climate.
"Global climate models will tell you what's happening at the very large scale," says Bou-Zeid. "What we try to do is downscale these climate predictions to the local level. So we want to see how a small city will respond to a climate change given by these global climate models."
Real time data from the network can be viewed here:
http://efm.princeton.edu/
Note: The roof-top footage in this video is in compliance with Princeton's Environmental Health and Safety regulations. The type of laser depicted in this video does not pose a safety risk that would require the use of safety goggles.
Elie Bou-Zeid, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is mapping the microclimate of Princeton's campus in order to better understand how local environments affect the global climate -- and vice versa.
Bou-Zeid so far has placed a dozen sensing nodes across campus to gather data that will utlimately lead to a more complete understanding of how different building materials and vegetation interact with the local climate.
"Global climate models will tell you what's happening at the very large scale," says Bou-Zeid. "What we try to do is downscale these climate predictions to the local level. So we want to see how a small city will respond to a climate change given by these global climate models."
Real time data from the network can be viewed here:
http://efm.princeton.edu/
Note: The roof-top footage in this video is in compliance with Princeton's Environmental Health and Safety regulations. The type of laser depicted in this video does not pose a safety risk that would require the use of safety goggles.
![Jason Aramburu: Edyn [Princeton Entrepreneurs]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xjgCSujY5Fs/mqdefault.jpg "Jason Aramburu: Edyn [Princeton Entrepreneurs]
Jason Aramburu is the founder and CEO of Edyn, which produces a “smart” sensor system for agriculture and gardening that wirelessly tracks soil moisture and fertility. The technology allows a farmer or gardener to monitor plants and crops on an iPhone and thereby manage natural resources more efficiently. Aramburu is also the founder of re:char, which specializes in technology that helps small farmers in East Africa boost their crop yield and (and simultaneously) fight climate change.
Although Edyn is an engineering-focused company, Aramburu says that the company culture is different from that of a traditional Silicon Valley startup. “We’re creating a company culture that is laid-back and focuses on innovation but it is innovation with a social and environmental benefit,” he says. “We’re not trying to create the next Facebook or Instagram. We’re trying to create something that can meaningfully impact how people grow food, and how we use our resources in the world.”
Aramburu is one of Forbes Magazines 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneurs, an Ashoka Fellow, a 2009 Pop!Tech Social Innovation Fellow, a 2010 Echoing Green Fellow and a grantee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He is also one of Business Weeks Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs in America. After studying ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University, Aramburu worked for several years on projects in Panama’s rainforests and with farmers in Africa. He graduated from Princeton University in 2007.
For more about entrepreneurship at Princeton, visit http://kellercenter.princeton.edu/
PRINCETON ENTREPRENEURS
Executive Producers:
John Danner
Chris Kuenne ‘85
Derek Lidow ‘73
Ed Zschau ‘61
Editorial Director:
Teresa Riordan
Video Editors:
Evelyn Tu
Ben Abrams
Technical Consultant:
Delaney Granizo-Mackenzie ‘14")
