Nantucket, Massachusetts Project Center - IQP

Current Director(s)
Dominic Golding
Active Program Term(s)
B-Term during late fall
Project Opportunities
Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP)
PROJECT CENTER WEBSITE GET STARTED

Nantucket has a population of 14,000 year-round residents and attracts an additional 40,000 tourists each summer. Nantucket was once a booming whaling center but is now primarily a summer resort and tourist destination. The historic district of the Town of Nantucket has more than 800 buildings that predate the Civil War and retains many cobblestone streets. The entire island is a National Historic District and has several excellent museums, many wonderful public beaches, and protected conservation land covering about 45% of the island. 

Past Nantucket students have helped the town address pressing problems such as:

•Promoting energy awareness and energy saving

•Increasing affordable housing

•Preventing coastal erosion

•Increasing museum visitation

•Improving emergency response

•Enhancing access for the disabled

Media Coverage

Nantucket Current
WPI Students Evaluating Nantucket Community Pool Usage

As part of their Interactive Qualifying Project, four students at WPI's Nantucket Project Center are conducting a survey about usage of the Nantucket Community Pool. The project, in partnership with the Nantucket Community School, is one of 89 projects that WPI students have conducted at the project center since 2008 in collaboration with local organizations and town officials. “These projects have covered a wide variety of topics in areas such as energy conservation, museum studies, parks and recreation, coastal erosion, parking, sustainable agriculture, affordable housing, facilities management, light pollution, and town trees," said Nantucket Project Center Director Dominic Golding.

 

Additional Publications: The Inquirer and Mirror
Nantucket Current
Town Pilots New Streetlights On Main Street To Combat Light Pollution

Nantucket is working in partnership with four WPI students and the non-profit Nantucket Lights on a project to reduce light pollution. As part of the students’ Interactive Qualifying Project, the students will take feedback from residents on new LED streetlights and potential future lighting decisions as part of the town's adoption of an outdoor lighting by-law.

Additional Publications: The Inquirer and Mirror