Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment

[1] It supports research in seven areas: climate, ecosystem services and conservation biology, food security, freshwater, oceans, public health, and sustainable development.

In the mid-1990s, a committee chaired by former Stanford president Donald Kennedy was appointed by provost Condoleezza Rice to evaluate environmental research.

[2] As a result, president John L. Hennessy in 2003 announced a campus-wide initiative on the environment and sustainability.

In 2006, the Institute was formally renamed for Stanford trustee Ward W. Woods, a 1964 graduate, and his wife, Priscilla, who made a $30 million contribution.

[5][6] EVP projects include: Research sponsored by Woods led to innovations including solar energy pumps used to water crops in the developing world, new technology that removes pathogens from wastewater and the introduction of government policies for drinking water access in sub-Saharan Africa.