Amanda Pike is a Research Associate at the University of Tennessee Center for Clean Products where she provides technical expertise to identify and promote sustainable industry practices. Ms. Pike’s proficiency spans life-cycle inventory development, environmental performance calculation, and benchmarking of industry operations. Amanda’s work has also encompassed interpretation of natural water system sustainability, evaluation of water remediation technologies, and hydrologic modeling. Further, she has contributed to the development of protocol for assessing products under ecolabeling programs and materials evaluation tools. Speaking engagements include both industry and campus events. Amanda holds a B.S. and M.S. in environmental engineering.

In her free time, Amanda can usually be found hiking, camping, playing basketball, and spending time with her dog. She also volunteers for various community programs.

Current Projects

Amanda is collaborating with the Natural Stone Council (NSC) to characterize the stone industry’s environmental profile and identify best management practices in quarrying and processing activities. The goals of the project are to understand the natural stone industry’s current position in the green building movement and to develop a proactive sustainability plan to continually improve that status.

Past Projects

In 2007-2008, Ms. Pike worked with the Weeden Foundation to compare the environmental impacts of paper pulp manufactured from softwood trees to the impacts of paper pulp made from kenaf. Kenaf is an annual, cane-like crop that can supply fiber for pulp and paper production. Through a life-cycle assessment, this research aimed to explore the claim that kenaf-based paper induces a smaller environmental burden than tree-based paper. The study culminated in a white paper describing available life-cycle information for kenaf, identified data gaps, and articulated future research needs. A life-cycle assessment was not performed as inadequate data could be located for a reliable analysis.

Amanda Pike

Research Associate

Phone: (865) 360-5265
Email: amckenna@utk.edu

• MS, Environmental Engineering (Water Resources), University of Tennessee, 2007
• BS, Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 2005