Cassandra Thiel, PhD

My research utilizes life cycle assessment and principles of industrial ecology to analyze and improve the environmental performance of infrastructure systems, hospital design, healthcare practice, and medical technologies. This new field of study (sustainable healthcare or clinical sustainability) introduces medical providers to data-driven, environmentally preferable solutions, while developing and improving sustainability metrics for measuring human and environmental health. 

As a 2014–2015 Fulbright–Nehru fellow, I analyzed the materials used, the waste generated, and the environmental footprint of cataract surgery at Aravind Eye Care System in southern India. My team found that Aravind’s approach generated just 5% of the carbon emissions as the same surgery done in the United Kingdom. This study demonstrated that reusable surgical materials and careful process design can produce excellent patient outcomes, while reducing costs and the environmental footprint. Our team is testing interventions designed to reduce the footprint and cost of cataract care in the United States, while maintaining excellent outcomes. My lab is also conducting research focused on radiology, inpatient units, and surgical waste.

I hold additional faculty appointments with NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where I teach courses on operations management and environmental sustainability, and with NYU Tandon School of Engineering, in the Department of Civil and Urban Engineering.