Joseph Cataldo, professor of Civil Engineering, received a one-year grant from Drexel University to continue his research on the potential benefits of green roofs. A professor at Cooper for 43 years, he installed a green roof on top of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in 2015 with an eye to studying the effect, if any, that a green roof would have on rainwater runoff and on the temperatures of the building beneath. It is the second largest green roof in the country at 27,316 square meters.

In a paper published this month by Professor Cataldo's team, the authors reveal that the average amount of rainwater retained on the green roof is 77% with much less runoff than a roof without plant life. "This particular green roof," the team concluded, "appears to be more than 18 times as cost-effective as a subsurface cistern would be for managing an equivalent volume of stormwater in Midtown Manhattan."

During the coming year, Professor Cataldo plans to study the evapotranspiration (how water is transferred from plants and soil to the atmosphere) and determine how to improve temperature conditions.

The study, which has been done in conjunction with Drexel, currently has funding through the end of September 2019.