ESG Initiative Researcher Receives Ripple’s UBRI Visionary Award
We are proud to announce that Kenneth Chung, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the ESG Initiative, has received Ripple’s 2024 University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) Visionary award. This award recognizes outstanding achievement in blockchain academia.
Kenneth was nominated by his alma mater, the University of Michigan, for his work on automating smart contract transactions for funding sustainable practices and climate-adaptive infrastructure via decentralized oracle networks. His decentralized application was shown to increase trust in handling environmental data and reduce project costs.
At the ESG Initiative, Kenneth builds on his sustainability-oriented research under the guidance of Research Fellow Kevin Chuah and Vice Dean Vit Henisz. His work examines the connections between climate activists’ engagements and firm-level climate and governance outcomes, using insights derived from a wide array of primary and secondary data. Initial findings show diminishing impact of repeated engagements on climate disclosure. This suggests that more dynamic engagement methods may be required to achieve timely carbon reduction goals.
Since the launch of the University Blockchain Research Initiative (UBRI) in 2018, the University of Pennsylvania and Ripple have worked together to “support academic research, technical development, and innovation in blockchain, cryptocurrency, and distributed ledger technology.” This strategic collaboration helps answer key questions about blockchain’s capabilities, applications, and security.