18 February 2025

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Dental student will work on Lake Erie project as part of 2025 Dow Sustainability Fellows Program

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School of Dentistry student Xiaojia (Nicholas) Zhang is one of 32 University of Michigan graduate students who have been named to the 2025 Dow Sustainability Fellows Program.

Administered by the university’s Graham Sustainability Institute, the program fosters sustainability leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration with funding from the Dow Company Foundation. Each fellow receives project funding, professional development opportunities, and hands-on experience collaborating with external organizational partners.

Fellows are chosen through a competitive nomination and application process designed to attract and recognize top talent from across U-M’s academic disciplines. This year’s cohort comes from 12 U-M schools and colleges. Each fellow receives a $25,000 stipend, part of more than $800,000 in student funding this year from the Dow foundation in a renewed three-year commitment for the program, now in its 13th cycle.

Zhang is in his second year at the School of Dentistry. He holds bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and a master of science degree in physical sciences from the University of Chicago.

In his application to the Dow program, he cited his interest in combining his dental education, sustainability and interdisciplinary collaboration. “I believe we can transform into eco-friendly healthcare by minimizing waste, conserving resources by recycling, and implementing sustainable practices that promote the health of both patients and our planet,” he said. “This (Dow) interdisciplinary sustainability experience would be transformative for me because it offers an opportunity to go beyond the traditional education we get as dentists, and allows me to think outside the box and have different perspectives on the fundamentals of dental practice through collaboration with experts from diverse fields.”

The 2025 Dow Fellows were assigned to one of seven organizations around Michigan and the country that are focused on various sustainability issues. Zhang will be part of a group working with the Western Lake Erie Basin Coalition on a water quality project. The team will continue a project started last year to organize data related to nutrient reduction efforts in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB), where excess phosphorus has led to harmful algal blooms over the last two decades. The lake conditions threaten the ecosystem, economic productivity and the ability to provide drinking water.

Zhang and other members of the Dow team will continue work developing a public-facing database that contains information submitted by community members about their efforts to reduce nutrient pollution in the WLEB. The data base platform was started last year in collaboration with the University of Michigan Water Center and WLEB community partners.

According to the prospectus for the project, “The goal of this platform is to improve coordination, encourage collaboration, and promote resource sharing in southeast Michigan. Fellows will work closely with the community to co-design a platform that meets community identified needs and is easy to update in the future. The platform should be sustainable for the coming decades so the community can stay informed and engaged in nutrient reduction efforts in their watershed.” The project will involve the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology of ArcGIS, which integrates and connects data through the context of geography. The WLEB Dow team is also tasked with developing a marketing plan to recruit new projects to the database and obtain community buy-in to use the resource.

Zhang said Fellows are expected to dedicate approximately 200 hours per year, which averages to about 4.5 hours per week, to the fellowship. His team plans to meet weekly, alternating between internal group meetings and meetings with their project partner, in addition to work done individually by team members between group meetings. Additionally, Fellows meet once a month with the Graham Institute Sustainability supervisors and other Dow fellow groups for guidance and collaboration.

Other benefits of the Dow Fellowship include site visits to Dow headquarters and mentorship from Dow professionals. Fellows connect with the company’s extensive network, receiving career development and insights into real-world sustainability challenges.

Source: https://news.dent.umich.edu/