Academic sustainability research is complex, but the Michigan Journal of Sustainability (MJS) is making this information accessible and useful to a broad range of readers. The Fall 2014 issue, which is the second issue of this online open-access journal, was recently published.

Founded and managed by a team of U-M Sustainability Doctoral Fellows, the journal provides peer-reviewed articles that are written to be easily understood by practitioners, concerned citizens, and others reading outside their own area of expertise. The objective is to translate interdisciplinary research into a format that end-users can apply in their real-world decision-making and also to help academic researchers exchange ideas. This latest issue includes content about climate adaptation, public health, and sustainable urban planning.

“MJS provides new ways of presenting sustainability research to a broad audience,” said Susan Cheng, co-editor in chief, a doctoral student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “For example, our ‘Seeing Sustainability’ articles use photographs and maps to help illustrate specific sustainability challenges and potential solutions.”

EEB doctoral student Tommy Jenkinson is on the MJS Editorial Board for Volume 2 (Fall 2014) along with students from the U-M Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; the School of Music; the College of Engineering; Department of Psychology, and the School of Education. The students are part of a doctoral fellowship program directed by the Graham Sustainability Institute.

The third issue of journal, slated for release in January 2015, will focus exclusively on climate adaptation. The goal of this special issue is to foster thinking about bridging the science-policy divide to help society adapt to existing and projected future impacts from disasters, climate variability, and long-term climate change.