Top 10 University Clean Technology Initiatives
Many top venture capital firms keep their eyes on universities to see what renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are being produced, says a recent blog by the president and founder of Sustainable World Capitol. The blog profiles what it considers to be the top 10 initiatives coming out of universities today. Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Clean Energy Prize, along with initiatives from Imperial College London (UK); University of Tokyo (Japan); University of California, Berkeley; Institute of Singapore; University of Minnesota; Tel Aviv University (Israel); Cornell University (NY); Australian National University; and University of Melbourne (Australia) are featured.
U California Davis to Shutter Domes; New Student Housing Planned
Citing the need for costly repairs, the University of California, Davis has announced plans to close the Domes; 14 huts that house about two dozen students in a communal living area with organic gardens, chickens and fruit trees. The modest student housing will give way to 35 acres of apartment student lodging, planned with bike-friendly pathways and energy-saving technology like solar panels, power-saving lighting and high-grade insulation. Residents of the Domes applaud the sustainable building efforts, but say that environmental sustainability is not the same as the social sustainability fostered in their communal living situation.
U California San Diego Wins Solar Grant
The University of California, San Diego chapter of the Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) has received a $10,900 grant from the national ESW organization to develop a mobile solar-powered station. The intent of this mobile solar unit is to charge batteries for electrical appliances such as laptops, cell phones, campus electric utility vehicles and other devices.
U Calif System Seeks Energy-Efficient Solutions to Budget Cuts
Facing Gov. Jerry Brown's recent call to cut $500 million from the University of California system for the 2011-2012 school year, University of California leaders are looking for system-wide efficiencies in the areas of energy usage, among other solutions. The University of California, Riverside, for example, is looking to reduce its power usage by turning down air conditioners.
U Georgia Athens Campus Recycling Hits 50% Mark
The University of Georgia, Athens has announced that it is now recycling about 50 percent of its campus waste. The university is testing a prototype musical recycling bin that plays 16 seconds of the university’s football fight song each time a bottle or can is deposited in the bin and hopes to get a grant to test more of the bins, powered by small solar panels, across campus. The university is also looking into the cost of including a recycling bin that is attached to every trash can on campus.
U New Mexico Debuts Green Science and Math Center
The University of New Mexico has formally opened the doors of its new Science and Mathematics Learning Center, which will seek LEED Gold certification. The 62,000-square-foot building houses classrooms and teaching laboratories.
Academic Impressions Examines Campus Solar Trend
As institutions like the University of Maryland, College Park and Princeton University (NJ) announce plans for large solar installations, Academic Impressions looks at how the solar market is changing and what questions institutions need to address as they consider investments in solar energy. The article, which includes resources for reviewing state incentives for renewable energy and a checklist of critical questions to consider, notes that a swift decline in the cost of solar installations and a rise in state incentives available for financing solar installations have contributed to making solar power more affordable for colleges and universities in recent years.
Ball State U Debuts Native Landscaping Online Interface
In partnership with JFNew, a company that provides ecological consulting and ecosystem restoration services, Ball State University (IN) has launched NativeBrowser™. The free, web-based tool allows the input of key site conditions to create a customized list of native plant species suitable for the specified growing conditions. The tool was developed as an online interface to the web application, NativeSpec™, an extensive database of native plants and seeds categorized according to their preferred habitat and ecological conditions and site factors. Students in the university's department of landscape architecture accepted a 2010 Student Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects for their leadership in developing NativeSpec™.
Campus Trayless Dining Initiatives Continue to Grow
After mainstream media coverage in 2008 and 2009, trayless dining on higher education campuses is back in the media with a controversial spin. Though the practice saves water with less trays to wash and reduces food waste by 25 to 30 percent, according to a 2008 study by food services provider Aramark, the Washington Post reports some student backlash to the idea of no trays. Without the option to load up a tray with the amount of food they want, students at Virginia Tech, Dickinson University (PA) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst have campaigned to bring trays back. Despite this, the trayless trend continues on campuses and more than 20 stories on the practice have been reported in the AASHE Bulletin since 2008. In related news, new competitions among residence hall cafeterias at the University of Colorado at Boulder are encouraging students to take their meals without a tray. While the university isn't enforcing the practice, there has been a noticeable trend among students to go trayless. With a $1,000 sustainability grant, the university is also focusing on a new program that will allow students to reuse to-go containers. For $5, students can purchase a re-usable container that they can bring back in exchange for a token, which can be used for a reusable container the next time they grab a meal on the go.
Chronicle of Higher Ed Editorial: Diversity in Science
The only way we will "out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world," as President Barack Obama called for in his January State of the Union address, is if professors engage more women and ethnically diverse science students, writes American Association for the Advancement of Science Chief Executive Officer Alan I. Leshner in a recent editorial for The Chronicle of Higher Education. While traditional reward systems at many universities emphasize publication and grant-getting, Leshner points to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as an institution that also rewards its professors for engaging diverse populations. Support in the form of institutions paying tribute to faculty members who are successful at nurturing diverse ideas and student involvement is essential for innovation, says Leshner, because increasing the diversity of the scientific human-resource pool will inevitably enhance the diversity of scientific ideas.
Cornell U Students to Design and Build School in South Africa
Cornell University (NY) Sustainable Design, a student-led organization, has partnered with Education Africa, a nonprofit organization that strives to counter poverty through education, to design and build a schoolhouse in Cosmo City, South Africa, this summer. The 6,000-square-foot preschool and teacher-training center, known locally as a crèche, will accommodate up to 80 of the area's children as part of a South African national initiative to improve early childhood development. It will include classrooms, a dining area, a kitchen, a health center, indoor and outdoor play areas, and an office. The students have also published a book, "Schoolhouse South Africa: Comprehensive Context," that is a compilation of their research for the project. The book contains case studies, local architectural history, details about the city and region, childhood development strategies, building sites, structures and a pre-design brief.
EPA Awards Grant to Georgia Institutions for Clean Air Research
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a five-year grant of $8 million to Emory University (GA) and the Georgia Institute of Technology to create one of four national Clean Air Research Centers that will address the public health impacts of air pollution. The Southeastern Center for Air Pollution and Epidemiology (SCAPE) will characterize ambient air pollution mixtures and determine their specific role in human health risks, using new measurement and modeling approaches. The overall goal of the center is to contribute to improved management of air quality for the benefit of human health in the U.S. Air quality engineers and scientists from Georgia Tech will develop and apply detailed measurements and new modeling techniques to identify and track atmospheric contaminants and mixtures of these contaminants suspected of having adverse health effects.
First-Ever Bicycle Friendly Campus Designations Announced
The League of American Bicyclists has announced the first institutions to receive its Bicycle Friendly University designation. The program recognizes colleges and universities that create environments where bicycling can thrive and provides a roadmap and technical assistance to create great campuses for bicycling. For its breadth of programs, including a cycling network, education programs like the Bike Safety Dorm Challenge, bicycling incentive programs and 21.7 percent of bike commuters, Stanford University (CA) received the only platinum-level award. Twenty of the 32 institutions who applied received designations including the University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Davis; University of Minnesota; and Emory University (GA).
Gender Neutral Housing Begins at Rutgers U
Working in conjunction with the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities, Rutgers University (NJ) has announced that it will pilot a program that allows for gender neutral housing. The policy is being tested at the university to provide more suitable accommodations for transgender students. There are more than 50 institutions that offer similar housing options for sophomores, juniors and seniors at college.
Grist Covers Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive
The Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive (CoFed), a new national training program and research institute empowering students to create ethically-sourced, cooperatively-run sustainable food storefronts and cafés on college campuses, was recently featured in Grist Magazine. The article profiles a recent University of California, Davis graduate and regional CoFed organizer who sees campus co-ops as a way to radically reduce overhead and offer sustainable foods at affordable prices for students with a model that cuts out the middleman, uses volunteer or member labor, and hooks into university resources such as subsidized rent and student entrepreneurial funds. Co-ops also serve as working classrooms and events spaces, and can introduce concepts of food sovereignty and food access to an audience whose adult lives are still taking shape.
Harvard U Reinstates ROTC on Campus
After Congress' recent repeal of a ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military, Harvard University (MA) has agreed to reinstate the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program on its campus. The agreement marks the end of a Vietnam era policy, in which the university refused to participate in the recruitment and training program until the military permitted greater inclusiveness to all members of society.
Inside Higher Ed Editorial: Diversity in Higher Ed
There are three reasons why diversity is truly important in higher education institutions, notes a recent Inside Higher Ed editorial by Oklahoma State University Provost and Senior Vice President Robert J. Sternberg. Sternberg writes that students learn more from others if the others are different from themselves in significant ways; that diversity helps promote understanding that can be lacking when different groups fail, or refuse, to act; and that diversity helps attract the best students, faculty and staff. While some faculty and administrators may see diversity and academic excellence as competing goals, Sternberg says that to have excellence, you must have diversity.
Iowa State U Students Pilot Campus Bus Biodiesel Project
Iowa State University students are working to convert campus buses to run on used vegetable oil from the cafeteria. The team's grease processor is expected to produce 55 gallons of fuel per week. If the program is successful, the students plan to ramp up production by processing waste oil from local restaurants and selling the waste vegetable oil as biodiesel.
McMaster U Strikes Deal with IBM to Improve Energy Efficiency
McMaster University (ON) has formed a partnership with IBM to create an energy-smart campus power grid. The university will use IBM software to monitor and forecast energy consumption in 60 campus buildings. The energy analytics software will track hot water usage, lighting and electrical output. The university will refer to the information gathered for ways to reduce operating costs and cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.
MIT Travels to Brazil for Biodiesel Education Efforts
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s biodiesel team, Biodiesel@MIT, plans to return to Sao Paulo, Brazil this spring to continue its previous education efforts on how to convert diesel engines into waste vegetable oil-powered engines. The group will target its education to garbage sorters, helping them identify which waste is particularly beneficial for waste vegetable oil biodiesel. The group is fundraising to finance the return trip.
Montgomery County CC Students to Build LEED Homes Over Break
Students at Montgomery County Community College (PA) will travel to Kent County in Michigan to work on the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes that will seek LEED certification as part of an alternative spring break program. Habitat for Humanity's Collegiate Challenge is a year-round alternative break program that offers more than 200 volunteer sites throughout the country. The Kent County chapter committed to building all future homes to LEED certification in 2007.
U California Berkeley Chemist Turns Bacteria Into Biofuel
A University of California, Berkeley chemist has made a biofuel breakthrough by engineering bacteria to produce a biofuel similar to gasoline. The lead chemist of the research team developed the process working with students and colleagues. Their work is funded by the university and various foundations.
U Calif Santa Barbara Restores Newly-Designated Campus Open Space
The University of California, Santa Barbara has begun the cleanup and restoration of a 69-acre tract of campus land that has been permanently set aside as open space under a conservation easement agreement. The university's Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration is overseeing the cleanup of remnant pipes, fencing, cement and other items with the goal of enhancing wetlands along the western border of the property, where some original, less-disturbed soil and native plants remain.
U Georgia Awards $13K for Student Sustainability Projects
The University of Georgia's Office of Sustainability has announced the inaugural winners of its Campus Sustainability Grants Program. Four student projects will be funded through $13,000 of green fee funds. The projects include the installation of a water bottle refill station; the establishment of the university's first bike share program; the expansion of the university's dorm move-out waste reduction program; and the installation of a rainwater harvesting system at the campus community garden.
U Georgia Enlists Sheep to Improve Waterway Access on Campus
The University of Georgia's Grounds Department has dispatched 30 sheep and two donkeys to improve access to a major waterway that runs through the campus. The grazing site is currently choked with privet, an invasive plant that forms a nearly impenetrable physical and visual barrier and displaces more diverse and controlled native species. The university chose sheep in particular because unlike cattle, sheep avoid the water's edge, leaving vulnerable embankments undisturbed. Unlike goats, they do not attempt to strip larger, desirable trees.
U Massachusetts Dartmouth Plans Wind Turbine Installation
The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus is planning to install a 243-foot wind turbine on campus, a move that is estimated to reduce energy costs by $125,000 per year. Financing for the turbine is part of a $35 million state-funded capital investment plan for renewable energy efforts on campus that includes the installation of solar panels on the roof of the university's athletic center.
U Massachusetts Plant Receives EPA Energy Efficiency Award
The University of Massachusetts' $133 million central heating plant has received a 2011 ENERGY STAR CHP award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The award recognizes highly efficient CHP (combined heat and power) systems that reduce emissions and use at least 5 percent less fuel than comparable, state-of-the-art, separate heat and power generation. The plant’s energy-efficient features include a 10-megawatt solar combustion turbine, heat recovery steam generator, four-megawatt steam turbine, three natural gas boilers and the 160,000 gallons of water used in the plant each day is treated wastewater. The plant has reduced campus-wide greenhouse gas emissions by about 75 percent.
U Minnesota PhD Student Works to Simulate the Sun
A University of Minnesota Ph.D. student is researching ways to produce an effective solar simulation that could provide 24/7 energy in any weather condition. The project is leading to further research on how to make hydrocarbon, liquid fuel from solar energy.
U Saskatchewan Offers New Critical Enviro Ed Graduate Degree
The University of Saskatchewan is offering a new Master of Education degree in critical environmental education to begin in July 2011. The degree will be offered through four online courses and three summer institutes that explore culture and environment; anti-racist education; research methods; re-inhabitation in relation to social and ecological justice issues; autobiography and contemporary fiction as a means to study the construction of identities; concepts of wisdom including Indigenous and deep ecology; and provide the opportunity to develop, practice and experience a range of curricula and assessment practices relevant to critical environmental education.
Utah State U EcoCenter Recognized for Energy Leadership Efforts
Utah State University's Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter has been recognized for its role in establishing Park City, Utah as a national "green" leader. Park City Municipal received the 2010 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in October, an award given to communities that go above and beyond the standard for purchasing green power, which includes wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro powers. Five nonprofit organizations in Park City were awarded for their contributions during a Park City Sustainability Roundtable last month. The Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter was recognized for its ongoing clean energy use, energy efficiency (54 percent cost savings over conventional design), educational programs and its efforts on "This Green Earth," an environmental radio show.
Utah State U Installs Thermal Energy Cooling Tank
Utah State University has built a 30-foot-tall concrete thermal energy storage tank that will hold two million gallons of water, which will be used to cool buildings on campus. The water in the tank is cooled using electric chillers. The chillers will operate at night and the tank will store the water throughout the day. This project is estimated to save $100,000 a year in electricity costs. The annual savings will help the university pay for the $2.5 million investment in the tank.
U Texas Austin Launches Sustainability Website, Directory
The University of Texas at Austin has introduced a sustainability website dedicated to monitoring sustainability issues across campus. The main feature of the portal is the Sustainability Directory, a searchable, relational database focused on education and research that organizes information into topical subjects related to sustainability issues.
U Texas Dallas Student Building Awarded LEED Platinum
The University of Texas at Dallas’ new Student Services Building has earned LEED Platinum certification. The four-story, 74,000-square-foot-building includes energy-efficient lighting, a solar hot water system, and was constructed using local building materials. The $27.5 million dollar project was financed in part by student fees collected from a $71 tuition increase.
Virginia Tech Encouraging Green Commuters
By 2015, Virginia Tech hopes to have half of its workplace committed to green commuting. The institution's alternative commuting program focuses on incentives for biking to campus including ample bike parking, and works with local transit companies to provide free passes at certain times of the day.
Western Washington U to Encourage More Female Science Students
The National Science Foundation has awarded two Western Washington University professors with a five-year grant worth $590,000 to help encourage more female students to major in computer science and mathematics. Most of the grant money will be used to provide need-based scholarships of as much as $10,000 per student, per year. Only about 10 percent of computer science majors and 35 percent of math majors at the university are women.
Yale U Works to Decrease Dorm Waste
Yale University's (CT) College Council has announced that it will direct $10,000 toward projects aimed at decreasing wasteful student habits. The primary projects include a Summer Storage program that allows students to store their items at the school before leaving for the summer break; the Spring Salvage and Trash to Treasure programs that promote reusable items through second-hand sales; and rentable Hydration Stations that will replace bottled water during outdoor events.
2 Harvard U Buildings Awarded LEED Certification
Harvard University (MA) has earn a LEED EBOM (Existing Buildings Operations and Management) certification for its 1959 Class Memorial Chapel. Since 2008, the university has reduced the Chapel’s energy consumption by 49 percent through lighting updates, water conservation measures, heating and cooling monitors and water pipe insulation. The university has also received LEED Gold certification for its SEAS Computing and Information Technology Office. Renovations include new furnishings, lighting fixtures and windows, and more sustainable materials for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.
3 Universities Awarded Tree Campus USA Recognition
For their dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship, Emory University (GA) and Kent State University (OH) have received a 2010 Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation for the second and third year, respectively. Middlebury University (VT) has also received the recognition for the first time, meeting the five core standards of tree care and community engagement.
Alabama A&M U Tests Biodiesel for Campus Transportation
Alabama A&M University’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences is experimenting with turning cooking oil into biodiesel. The Toyota engine plant in Huntsville, Ala. is donating the oil to the university. The university plans to run campus buses and agriculture equipment with biodiesel fuel in the future.
Arkansas State U Grows Electric Vehicle Campus Fleet
Arkansas State University first implemented its electric golf carts on campus 11 years ago. Now the campus has 16 more electric vehicles including cars, Segways and cargo trucks. The vehicles are predominantly used by Facilities Management personnel, but they lease the vehicles out to different departments as requested.
Clackamas CC Energy Renovations Save $1.7 Mil
Since 2005, Clackamas Community College (OR) has saved $1.7 million in energy costs. The college accomplished this by upgrading natural gas boilers and facilities lighting, implementing a digital control system for energy management, and through close monitoring of its heating and cooling systems.
Colorado State U Solar Panels Observed as Model for the Military
Former U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Steven Anderson recently visited Colorado State University for a tour of its solar-panel installations. Anderson is currently the senior vice president of battlefield services company Relyant. His tour was organized by the nonprofit organization, VetVoice, which provides a platform for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The former general said that $3 of diesel fuel can end up costing $300 to deliver to the battlefield. Anderson is interested in touring the university’s facility to see how the military could implement similar solar arrays.
Cornell U Starts Bike Share Program
Cornell University (NY) is gearing up for its Big Red Bikes program, a bike share program that will begin with 20 bikes based at one station. It was made possible by the efforts of the Big Red Bikes student group that began in 2008 in the Cornell Sustainability Hub. After spearheading a petition signed by 1,000 students, the Undergraduate Student Assembly granted the group funding for the initial two years of the project, amounting to $1 from every student’s activities fee.
Durham Technical CC Expands Sustainability Technologies Program
Durham Technical Community College (NC) began a sustainability technologies program last fall for trained electricians, but due to an "outpouring of interest," the school will be opening a new program available to students without previous electrical training. The program focuses on solar panel installation, energy auditing, energy savings techniques, insulation and solar heated water. The college received a $250,000 grant from Duke Energy to help purchase the technology necessary for instructing students.
Eastern Michigan U Completes First Phase of $90 Mil Renovation
Eastern Michigan University's Mark Jefferson Science Building has completed the first phase of a $90 million renovation. The campus is in pursuit of a LEED Silver certification with features such as metal sunshades, a green roof and a rain garden. The building also utilizes a Design of Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems (DOAS) to help reduce its energy use. Phase two should be completed in 2012.
Furman U to Help Small Businesses Become Sustainable
The Center for Corporate and Professional Development at Furman University (SC) has received a $50,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support a new program that will educate and transform small businesses in the area of sustainability practices. The center will develop and implement the "Small Business Boot Camp," a hands-on program that will detail sustainable business practices that can decrease operating costs, increase revenues and build social responsibility. Program topics will include how to develop and maintain green facilities, and analyze and reduce energy usage, water consumption and waste creation.
Harvard U Library System Meets Green Office Challenge
All workspaces in buildings managed by Harvard College Library Operations at Harvard University (MA) have achieved at least Green Leaf Level One as part of the Office of Sustainability's Green Office Program. Staff in campus libraries were challenged to “go green” in February 2010 with the goal being 100 percent at level one by January 2011. Several offices surpassed this by achieving the highest Green Leaf Level Four.
Indiana U Students Grant $12K Toward Solar Installation
The Indiana University Student Foundation will award a $12,000 grant to install a two-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array panel on the Indiana Memorial Union. The funds come from the foundation's "Hoosier Legacy Fund," established with contributions from last year's Senior Challenge. The annual Senior Challenge gives each graduating class the opportunity to build its own campus philanthropic legacy with donations. This year's seniors will donate $20.11, in recognition of their year of graduation.
Kansas State U Students Design Green Campus Building
Students in the architecture program at Kansas State University are working on all phases of the design, permitting and construction process for a new design studio on campus, Studio 804. The studio will implement a host of green features including wind turbines, a green roof, a vented wall that improves circulation, a smart grid energy meter, energy-efficient appliances and electric vehicle charging stations. The students are raising money to finance the studio, which will seek LEED Platinum certification.
