News

New York’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Featuring FuzeHub and Ducted Wind Turbines

A SyracuseCoE Research & Technology Forum

It is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Central New York!  This forum offers guidance on how businesses can use resources like FuzeHub and SyracuseCoE.

New York State offers a host of resources designed to enable new and existing businesses to become more competitive through manufacturing improvements and help with the development of innovative technologies and processes. Centers and programs that are supported by Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) emphasize the importance of working with industry as a way to leverage New York State’s technology strengths to produce new products. The state also offers other innovation development support resources, including financial incentives to foster university collaboration, research and innovation.

Learn more about one of those ecosystem resources, FuzeHub, who provides programs and resources for manufacturers in New York State. Julianne Clothier, FuzeHub’s Industry Engagement Manager, shared information about FuzeHub’s suite of programming designed to ignite growth and prosperity in New York’s manufacturing sector, one manufacturer at a time! 

We were also joined by Joe Dickson, CEO Ducted Wind Turbines, Inc., a SyracuseCoE Start-up Partner company based in Potsdam, NY. He shared how NYS supports and programs like the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund give companies like Ducted Wind Turbines new opportunities for growth and success. Joe also shared sage wisdom from his broad 30-year experience working with six diverse startups within NYS’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Presenters:

Julianne Clouthier Industry Engagement Manager, FuzeHub

Julianne oversees the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund which is comprised of manufacturing grants, a commercialization competition and an innovation challenge. The Fund provides $1M annually to not-for profits, manufacturers and early-stage technology companies in New York. Julianne has over ten years of economic development experience and has worked on numerous microenterprise, business expansion, and infrastructure projects. She is a member of the Tech Valley High School Business Alliance and serves as a mentor, judge and panelist for numerous innovation and entrepreneurial programs.  Julianne received her MBA from the University at Albany, a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Mercyhurst College and is a recent graduate of AlbanyCanCode -Front End Web Development.

Joe Dickson CEO, Ducted Wind Turbines, Inc.

Joe Dickson, currently the CEO of Ducted Wind Turbines, Inc. and also recently served as a co-founder and the CEO of Pelitex, is a veteran entrepreneur who has served as the founder and/or senior C-Level executive of seven high-tech start-up firms across multiple industry and technology sectors during his 30-year career. His first start-up, a spin out from GE, achieved a 100X ROI in 3 years.  Since then he has been a part of 6 other start-ups across industry areas as diverse as advanced materials, IT, renewable energy, microelectronics, medical devices, and biotech.  
Mr. Dickson has helped raise over $50MM in venture and private equity capital, and also has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions. He is an expert in business and financial modeling, market validation, strategic positioning, and business plan execution. Mr. Dickson has taught entrepreneurship at both Cazenovia College and Syracuse University, and was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Syracuse Citizen’s Foundation in 1992. Mr. Dickson has a BS in Chemistry from Syracuse University and an MBA from the University of Rochester.

Up to $3,000 for SyracuseCoE Partners to Hire an Intern this Summer

SyracuseCoE helps companies provide students with invaluable “real-world” experience

SyracuseCoE is seeking applications from its industry partners for funding available through the 2020 Summer Industry Collaboration Internship Program.  The program supports paid internship opportunities for SyracuseCoE Partner Program companies to host a student pursuing a degree in science, engineering, or architecture. Throughout the course of the internship, the student will increase his or her knowledge and technical skills by engaging in hands-on work at SyracuseCoE Partner firms related to indoor environmental quality (IEQ), high performance/green building, clean and renewable energy, and water resources.

In addition to providing experiential learning, the program also aims to give students the opportunity to establish valuable relationships with local industry leaders and increase post-graduation retention in the Central Upstate region of New York. Interns will be invited to SyracuseCoE networking events throughout the summer, and they will develop and present an end-of-summer poster showcasing the project(s) on which he/she worked.

To date, 32 companies and 99 students have participated in this program, which is supported by annual fees paid by companies that participate in the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. This year, SyracuseCoE intends to fund up to 8 summer internships at Partner firms, with each commitment providing up to $3,000 per company. The deadline to apply is February 28th.

Learn more about the member benefits of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.

Occupant Behavior Driven Smart Building Controls

In the US, people spend 87% of their time in buildings. Understanding dynamic occupant presence and thermal comfort needs is crucial to ensuring that building design and operations provide healthy and productive living and working environments. Occupant behavior is becoming a leading factor for building energy use, but there are challenges to studying occupant behaviors, as they are complex and ever changing. Privacy issues and the high cost of sensors can make data collection difficult. The constant changes in the built environment caused by occupant behavior also result in both physiological and psychological effects on the occupants.

Professor Bing Dong’s presentation covered various research projects related to behavior driven controls and optimization of smart and connected buildings, from behavior-driven individual building energy optimization to urban scale energy management, from equipment level optimal controls to large scale buildings-to-grid integration. Professor Dong concluded with a research vision on behavior-driven urban energy infrastructure planning and management within a smart and connected community. 

Steven VonDeak presented the people count sensor platform, Density, Inc. To put it simply — Density counts people. Understanding how many people are in a space helps organizations improve building performance by making them safer, more efficient and more productive. Density’s people counting system places a premium on three key functionalities: anonymity, accuracy, and real-time data availability. This real-time room occupancy provides insight for a variety of use cases including intelligent demand-controlled HVAC operation. Organized in 2014, Density has grown to a 50-person startup and their proprietary hardware/software system is all assembled, tested and packaged right in Syracuse, NY.

Moderator:

Laura J. Steinberg
Interim Executive Director, SyracuseCoEExecutive Director, Syracuse University Infrastructure InstituteProfessor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University

Dr. Steinberg’s research focuses on environmental phenomena’s effect on infrastructure, including how climate change is impacting infrastructure and environmental disasters. Her areas of expertise include environmental modeling and policy, diffusion of innovation, and critical infrastructure protection.

Presenters:

Bing Dong
Associate Professor, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse UniversitySyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow

Dr. Dong has more than 15 years experiences in building energy performance simulation, building controls and HVAC FDD. He is also actively involved in the projects related with occupancy behavior modeling in buildings, machine learning for sustainability, wireless sensor network in buildings and building information modeling. He has published more than 50 peer reviewed papers. His papers are cited more than 400 times by other researchers around the world. He specializes in Occupancy Behavior Modeling, Energy Performance M&V, Model-based Building HVAC Controls; Energy Performance Simulation, HVAC FDD and BIM. 

Steven VonDeak
Co-founder and Chief of Staff, Density, Inc.

Steven VonDeak is a co-founder and Chief of Staff at Density Inc, a 50-person venture-backed enterprise IoT company. Incorporated in 2014, Density helps organizations improve the performance of their space by making it safer, more efficient, and more productive. From 2014 to 2019, VonDeak has been responsible for supporting the varied operational needs of Density, including: finance, legal, and human resources. He is also the general manager of Density’s Syracuse office, where the company was founded and continues to run significant operations today. From 2008 to 2014, VonDeak founded and operated a digital consultancy specializing in web and mobile application development. He holds a JD from Syracuse University College of Law ’08 and a BA from the University of Rochester ’05.

Personal Cooling

Bush Technical personifies SyracuseCoE’s mission to connect companies with students and faculty to develop new technologies.

“The students are solving real problems for real companies looking for real answers. They become much more invested.”
– Bill Bush, Owner of Bush Technical

Medical teams in Africa working to combat contagious viruses such as Zika and Ebola are hindered by their need to wear full body suits in temperatures that often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Wearing a cooling vest underneath can help, but the electricity required to make the ice used to cool the vest is often not available in remote areas, not to mention the burden of being tethered to a 20-pound cooler.

That’s just one application for a lightweight, battery-operated personal cooling vest being designed by Bush Technical, a one-man consulting and contracting company specializing in compressor technology, with assistance from engineering students at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Bill Bush was a retired Carrier engineer when he was tapped by H. Ezzat Khalifa, Syracuse University professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, to create a micro-scroll compressor for a SyracuseCoE-led research project funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). That was 2014.

The project was to develop personal environmental control (PEC) systems for office workers, units that would sit on or under a desk. Bush recalls thinking that the scroll compressor technology the team wanted him to develop wouldn’t provide sufficient efficiency for the system. But it did, exceeding its efficiency target by 17 percent. In networking with other ARPA-E stakeholders, Bush found other markets interested in uses for his ultra-efficient mini compressor

Now fully out of retirement, Bush is an adjunct instructor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, for the last five years assisting with the senior mechanical engineering design course. For the last two years, and continuing for a third, Bush has also led teams of capstone students working with Bush Technical on refining a wearable system that provides personal cooling.

As a one-man operation, Bush says partnering with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering on a capstone project is a win-win situation. Rather than working on an abstract technical challenge, “the students are solving real problems for real companies looking for real answers,” he says.

“They become much more invested.” In turn, he gains valuable engineering assistance while retaining intellectual property rights.

In 2018, students designed a manufacturing process for mass production of the compressor. In 2019, with support from the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund, they developed a breadboard prototype to prove that the wearable vest technology would work. Bush describes the breadboard prototype as having all of the components connected and operating, without the size restrictions the actual device would require. “It’s basically an open system with easy access to fiddle with and make tweaks,” he says. For 2020, a third capstone team is designing a test facility for both cooling system components as well as for complete cooling systems.

Working from his lab space at SyracuseCoE, Bush is working step by step to refine the system. “Once I’ve got the kinks worked out, another very good capstone project will be to develop it into an actual wearable prototype,” he says. There will also be an opportunity for computer science students to support the development of an application that controls the device through a cell phone app.

Bush credits SyracuseCoE for “snowballing” the entire enterprise—beginning with submission of the ARPA-E proposal for the PEC system, to providing support to help develop his technology, to providing space and infrastructure for Bush Technical at SyracuseCoE headquarters. “This Bush Technical initiative wouldn’t exist without SyracuseCoE,” he says.

Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE engages students, faculty, and collaborators at 200+ firms and institutions to catalyze innovations that improve energy efficiency, environmental quality, and resilience in healthy buildings and cleaner, greener communities.

SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program Now Accepting Applications for 2020

LEARN MORE AND APPLY

SyracuseCoE—New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems—is offering funding to support seed projects that strengthen faculty scholarship in clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality, and water resources. Successful applicants will participate in the SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program, which provides leadership for SyracuseCoE’s core technical areas and supports engagements with academic and industry partners. Funding awarded to seed projects also is intended to catalyze research that will lead to future opportunities, including funding from federal agencies or commercial sources.

The Faculty Fellows Program is open to faculty members who hold full-time appointments at SyracuseCoE Academic Partner institutions: Syracuse University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) and SUNY Oswego. All proposals must address how the use of the Faculty Fellow seed funding will lead to a significant “next step” in the research, lead to or leverage follow-on funding opportunities, and contribute to establishing SyracuseCoE and its Partner institutions as thought leaders in the targeted area. In addition, projects are encouraged to strategically target research topics that hold promise for contributing to economic development of local entities and New York State businesses.

SyracuseCoE intends to award up to $75,000 in this round. Proposals for seed projects that engage multiple faculty members may request up to $20,000. Seed projects involving a single faculty member are eligible to receive up to $10,000. The deadline for applications is January 6, 2020.

Driving Entrepreneurship: Exploring Models of Innovation and Supports

Innovation and entrepreneurship come in many shapes and sizes. At this month’s SyracuseCoE Research & Technology forum, we will focus on different models of innovation and growth, including an award-winning student-led start-up, PAANI, that has developed clean water solutions for global health; an internal model of innovation in a global company, Ramboll, that engages students and the community to leverage hyperspectral imaging to address harmful algae blooms; and a federal agency, U.S. Trade Development Agency, that provides grant funding to support U.S. businesses in emerging markets around the world.
Join us for an exciting discussion of unique models of innovation and entrepreneurship and the agencies that support their growth.

Moderator:

Professor Loiuse Manfredi

Louise Manfredi, Assistant Professor, Industrial and Interaction Design, College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Design, Syracuse University

Dr. Louise Manfredi is an assistant professor of industrial and interaction design at Syracuse University, New York and a newly appointed Syracuse CoE Faculty Fellow. Dr. Manfredi is focusing on two new areas of research interest (1) sustainable material testing, development, and adoption and (2) finding methods to improve the working relationship between designers and STEM practitioners. Both research agendas are woven through her teaching; she is always seeking innovative academics and industry partners to work with to create more immersive learning experiences for her students. Prior to Syracuse University, Dr. Manfredi was an assistant professor at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and a postdoctoral scholar in neuroscience and biomechanics, and entrepreneurship fellow at the University of Chicago. She holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (2011) and a B.Des. in product design (2006) from the University of Leeds, UK.

Presenters:

Nikita Chatterjee ’20, Co-founder & CEO, PAANI, B.S., Economics, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University

Nikita is a rising senior, studying Economics at Syracuse University. She is originally from a small town in North Jersey, and the eldest daughter to two immigrants from Kolkata and Mumbai, India. As a first-generation college student, Nikita credits her success in part to the entrepreneurial resources provided by Syracuse University. After graduation, she plans to go into financial consulting in the healthcare industry in India where she sees a great need due to low availability of resources.

Brianna Howard ’20Co-founder, PAANI, B.S., Public Health, The David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Syracuse University

Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, Syracuse University
Brianna is a first generation college student from Queens, NY. As a Public Health major at Syracuse University, her passion is to advocate for underserved communities who lack access to the proper resources and tools necessary to live a healthy life. Brianna’s first exposure to global health began on a trip to South Africa in high school where she worked with a non-profit to promote access to education. In the future she hopes to work on similar projects like this to empower communities globally. In whatever career path she chooses, her goal will always be to save and impact lives as well as to give a voice to the people who are most often silenced.

Jamie Newtown, Director of Innovation, Ramboll

Mr. Newtown is the Director of Innovation at OBG (Part of Ramboll). In this position Mr. Newtown manages the Company’s ideation and execution process. As a founding member, he worked to establish the program, grow support for innovation initiatives through cultural activities such as SPARK and I-Factor, and identify ways to leverage the collective intelligence of the Company to differentiate from the competition. Responsibilities have included strategy and action plan development, leadership of the Innovation & Technology Committee, digitalization development, and evaluation of new business models stemming from the great ideation developed within the organization. Mr. Newtown also serves as the resource manager for a group of environmental, health, and safety (EHS) compliance practitioners. This group provides technical delivery of solutions for clients.

David Riposo, Financing & Implementation Manager, U.S. Trade and Development Agency

As the Financing & Implementation Manager for the U.S. Trade and Development Agency’s sub-Saharan Africa team, David Riposo directs a portfolio of more than 70 clean energy projects in sixteen African markets. Mr. Riposo’s portfolio features a spectrum of technologies and scales, from gas infrastructure in the Niger delta to utility-scale wind and solar projects in frontier markets and portfolios of mini-grids in remote communities. Before joining USTDA, Mr. Riposo led donor-funded energy access programs in Africa and South Asia for five years, including a USAID-funded cookstove market development program that led to the deployment of 40,000 fuel efficient stoves in Bangladesh. Previously, he was a strategy consultant advising companies and governments on clean energy markets and technologies. His professional experience also includes establishing a renewable energy consulting business in India and helping hundreds of wind and solar project developers define the pre-construction energy generation potential of their projects. Mr. Riposo earned a B.S. from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry and an M.S. from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Bird’s Eye View

Students take unusual approach to the problem of harmful algae blooms at Ramboll Think Tank at SyracuseCoE.

“Between the resources available and the proximity to the Tech Garden and Ramboll office downtown, SyracuseCoE was a great environment for the interns to develop and grow their network.”
– Jamie Newton, Director of Innovation, Ramboll

Harmful algae blooms (HABs) have become a growing threat to the ecological, recreational and economic services provided by waterways in New York state due to toxins that can cause sickness and fatality among people, pets, livestock and wildlife. Due to their ephemeral nature—they can grow rapidly and be moved by wind and water currents—HABs are difficult to characterize and manage.

A team of college students from Syracuse and Clarkson universities is promoting the use of unmanned aerial systems (drones) to collect information pertaining to HABs and associated patterns of lake dynamics to better understand where and how HABs develop and guide how they can be managed.

Ramboll hired the six students—Haleem Alakiu ’20, Trufat Emanuel ’20 and Bryan King ’20 from Syracuse University and Noah Poirer, Kaitlin Rossiter and Adam Sherwood from Clarkson University— who spent the summer engaged in the first-ever Ramboll Think Tank, housed at SyracuseCoE. During its 11-week internship, the team studied a health and environment statement around HABs, developed ideas to collect and quantify data, and engaged industry and municipal partners to validate the uses and demand for such information.

Ramboll is a global engineering, design and consultancy company that acquired Syracuse-headquartered engineering and design consultancy OBG on January 1. According to Jamie Newtown, director of innovation at Ramboll, the Think Tank was an outgrowth of OBG’s SPARK competition, a 24-hour innovation think tank where teams of college students brainstorm and problem solve to find innovative solutions to real- world industry challenges.

“We recognized there was a lot of talent within these SPARK programs and decided to extract the top talent out of a competition held in Central New York to help with our own innovation,” he says.

Holding the Think Tank at SyracuseCoE was natural. OBG was a founding Industry Partner, and Neil Webb, Ramboll director of growth and markets, chairs the SyracuseCoE Partners Council. SyracuseCoE has partnered on SPARK, hosting numerous Central New York competitions.

“SyracuseCoE was the perfect collaborative environment for the Think Tank to meet,” says Newtown. “Between the resources available there and the proximity to the Tech Garden and Ramboll office downtown, it was a great environment for the interns to develop and grow their network.”

In August, the Think Tank team participated in Drones Over Downtown in Syracuse and the following week made a poster presentation at the SyracuseCoE Innovation Showcase with additional support from Syracuse University Blackstone Launchpad. Their work culminated with submission of an application to GENIUS NY, the world’s largest business accelerator program for unmanned systems.

“Their goal is to be selected for 2020 and be able to create and launch a new business to refine their idea,” says Newtown.

Regardless of the outcome, the interns found the Think Tank experience an invaluable addition to their education.

“A lot of engineering is physics and math,” says King, an engineering major. “This internship allowed me to develop business and networking skills, allowing me better insight into other avenues I could pursue with my combined engineering and newfound business knowledge.”

Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE engages students, faculty, and collaborators at 200+ firms and institutions to catalyze innovations that improve energy efficiency, environmental quality, and resilience in healthy buildings and cleaner, greener communities.

Nine Companies Selected to Receive Funding to Advance Innovations

SyracuseCoE gives Innovation Fund Awards to Partners to help commercialize innovative products and services

SyracuseCoE announced that it has selected nine companies from CenterState/Upstate/Central New York to receive awards from its 2019 SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund competition. SyracuseCoE’s Innovation Fund Program is designed to target specific barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations by companies who are members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.

The nine award-winning projects are:

Acumen Detection was awarded Innovation Fund support to expand the commercial use of their existing patented technology (the Acumen PCR®MYCOB assay) by development of a screening test to detect Mycoplasma bovis from deep nasal swabs of cattle. Early detection of Mycoplasma in cattle will aid in making timely and accurate herd management decisions and enable the farmer to increase their profits by saving the energy wasted on feeding, housing and treating sick and non-productive animals those can spread the disease to healthy animals.

LC Drives received an Innovation Fund award to support its development of the next generation of are smaller, lighter, more efficient electric motors.  This project will help the company scale the machine design and related manufacturing equipment on the path for use in utility scale wind turbines ultimately reducing the cost of wind power.

Cocoon construct is developing a prefabricated panelized system to unlock the market for whole‐building deep energy retrofits in New York State and create jobs at multiple manufacturers throughout the product’s supply chain. The proposed project will support the design of a proprietary attachment system for affixing Cocoon prefabricated wall panels to existing building structures, as well as modeling and simulation to validate the system’s performance.

Cocoon construct also received support in 2019 for a second project designed to develop a Certification Test Plan for their prefabricated panelized system. The project will include product compliance and testing protocols with the dual objectives of informing the work undertaken by a Syracuse University Mechanical Engineering Capstone project team and ensuring that the system can be tested, certified and warrantied for long‐term performance, thus enhancing its commercial readiness. Successful commercialization of the envisioned product promises to accelerate the market for deep energy retrofits and create jobs at multiple manufacturers throughout the product’s supply chain.

Ducted Turbines International (DTI) is commercializing a ducted turbine technology and received funding support to address the power electronics that connect the turbine to the grid and the manufacture of a robust blade system. With the focus on a quality supply chain that will enable a long-term reduction in the cost per unit energy ($/kWh), DTI hopes to remove these barriers, creating a ‘Turbine in a Box’ solution that will provide power everywhere to anyone. The project will demonstrate the development with a full-scale turbine test at the Clarkson Wind Turbine Test Site.

DTI also received an award in 2019 to help reduce the cost of its turbine duct by integrating a rotational molding manufacturing product that can significantly reduce the cost of the duct, speeding the path to commercialization.

Edison Innovative Power is developing the world’s first SMART, configurable, multi-output high-voltage system. The company received an Innovation Fund award to perform multiple iterations of advanced thermal simulation and analyses to drive design optimization and verification prior to moving to production.

Farm to Flame Energy has developed biomass-powered generators and grinders are smokeless, odorless and easy to manage. The company received an Innovation Fund award to develop a demonstration unit that will advance their path to commercialization.

Ramboll is in the process of establishing BloomOptix as a start-up and will enter the GeniusNY competition in October 2019. The Innovation Fund program funding will be used for the purchase of a hyperspectral sensor and unmanned vehicle technology that will contribute to the future commercialization of the BloomOptix team’s innovation.

tkFabricate was awarded an Innovation Fund project to support the design and construct a prototype “Integrated Mechanical Systems Pod (IMSP)” sized to provide space conditioning (heating and cooling) and domestic hot water for individual attached single-family homes in the Syracuse Housing Authority’s “Scattered Sites” residences. This packaged mechanical unit will include air-to-water heat pumps and be an integral part of full building deep energy retrofits targeting increased thermal comfort and indoor air quality while achieving 75% energy use reduction when measured from existing building loads, thus enabling the residences to be capable of net zero energy use with subsequent installation of photovoltaic panels.

Vistex Composites received funding to perform product trimming in-house at their manufacturing facility and improve safety & air quality (Helps meet OSHA Standard 1910.1000 (air contaminants)). This will eliminate the frustrations associated with the two current options which are: 1. Attempting to perform trimming manually with facemask and air filter which can be unsafe; or 2. Outsourcing this portion of the manufacturing process – causing the company to lose production opportunities (significant unnecessary costs make price non-competitive & drastically extends lead times).

“Central New York companies, like those in the SyracuseCoE Partner Program, have an entrepreneurial spirit and a history of pioneering innovation”, said Laura J. Steinberg, SyracuseCoE’s interim executive director. “The SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund awards help collaborating companies bridge gaps in the commercialization process and ultimately contribute to stronger companies and products that have a greater chance of success in the marketplace. ”

SyracuseCoE is New York State’s Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems. Funding for the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund is provided by industry members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. The nine awards in the current round total $107,146. To date, awards from the program have totaled $467,345 and supported 43 clean energy projects at 27 companies throughout New York State. Eligibility for Innovation Fund awards is open to all current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. The next call for proposals is expected in February of 2020. Applicants submit a proposal online and then pitch their project to a panel of reviewers from the region. To learn more about joining the SyracuseCoE Partner Program, contact Tammy Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu.

Lessons Learned from Monitoring and Re-Commissioning New York State’s Portfolio of CHP Systems

Combined heat and power (CHP) systems, or cogeneration, provide on-site electric power and thermal energy from a single system, eliminating waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Conventional power plants use fuel to generate electricity but reject waste heat into the atmosphere. In contrast, CHP systems recover that waste heat and use it for industrial processes, to heat domestic hot water, and provide space heating and cooling.
 
This Research & Technology Forum featured fleet-level results for several CHP systems that have been installed under NYSERDA‘s CHP program. Specifically, Hugh Henderson, Principal Consultant at Frontier Energy, outlined the types of performance issues that have been found at specific sites, and shows how performance-monitoring and re-commissioning efforts have helped these CHP installations achieve their expected potential.

Presenter:

Hugh Henderson
Principal Consultant, Frontier Energy
 
Mr. Henderson is a Principal Consultant at Frontier Energy with more than 30 years of experience evaluating energy technologies through on-site evaluation, field monitoring, and energy simulations. His areas of expertise include innovative HVAC systems, CHP, industrial processes, and heat recovery. Mr. Henderson holds both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Agricultural (Mechanical) Engineering from Cornell University. He is a professional engineer in Florida and New York State. He is an active member in several ASHRAE society-level committees.

Old School Meets New School: King + King Architects Transform an 1849 Schoolhouse into a High-Performance, Low-Carbon Residence

This Stone Schoolhouse lies on the outskirts of Syracuse, just off State Rt. 92 in Fayetteville, New York. Constructed in 1849 with 22” local limestone walls and heavy timber framing, the structure has stood the test of time through maintenance and neglect, hot humid summers and bitterly cold winters.
 
Looking forward through the 21st century, how do we shepherd buildings with historic character into the future using healthy, safe and comfortable design modifications… all the while with minimal energy use and net-zero aspirations? King + King Architects present their approach to transforming an 1849 stone schoolhouse into a high-performance, low-carbon residence. 
 
Designed to the guidelines of the Passive House EnerPHit standard, we strive to achieve all of the above! As a precedent to historical masonry deep energy retrofits in cold climates, join us as we embark on this endeavor of simultaneously incorporating high-quality historic building principles in practice with the analysis and scrutiny of Passive House building science. The new residence has systems in place for energy use monitoring, real-time wall system analysis and CO2 sensing to ensure this structure endures another 170 years, at least. 
 
Presenters:
Tom King, CPHD, LEED AP
Team Leader, King + King Architects
 
Tom is a Certified Passive House Designer and Tradesperson, trained in the construction, detailing and energy modeling of high-performance buildings. At King + King he lives in the details. Designing high performing envelope systems for all buildings, large and small. Whether it be Net Zero, Passive House, new construction or renovation, complying with limited budgets and Energy Codes, or striving toward the highest performance metrics; every building stands to benefit from airtight construction, continuous insulation and high quality detailing coupled with integrated mechanical system strategies. Tom pushes this boundary and challenges colleagues and consultants alike to think, design, and construct more holistically. 
 
Tom is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, where he held a leading role in the research, design and construction of the SURE House’s resilient and sustainable components. The SURE House is a net-zero energy prototype for resilient residential construction targeting coastal neighborhoods increasingly affected by a changing climate. The Stevens SURE House team, led by six graduate students including Tom, won an unprecedented seven of ten competitions at the 2015 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. Tom holds a Master’s in Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Roger Williams University. 
 
Jim King, AIA, LEED AP
Partner, King + King Architects
 
Jim is partner-in-charge of the K-12 Education Design Studio, specializing in the K-12 education market and its intrinsic connection between space planning, teaching and learning. Carrying an excellent reputation among educators as a collaborator and instructional space specialist. As an employer in a STEM field, Jim understands the importance of partnering with education at all levels. He frequently serves as an in-class resource for project-based learning activities, provides opportunities for job shadowing, and hosts professional development sessions for educators. Jim frequently hosts students in his office for “problem-solving days.” Jim believes that engagement of students from diverse backgrounds with STEM businesses is critical to increasing the numbers who choose STEM-focused careers. 
 
Jim serves on the leadership teams of the Central NY and Northern NY STEM Hubs, the Empire State STEM Learning Network and the ESM and North Country STEM Learning Ecosystems. This involvement has helped fuel Jim’s passion to change the way education is delivered in NY State and thought the United States. Under Jim’s leadership, King + King is a founding partner in the Collaborative Educators Summit, a two-day cost-free professional development experience for school-based teams. Jim holds a Bachelor of Architecture from Syracuse University and has been a licensed architect since 1983.
 

Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Research to Commercialization: Upstate Parts & Supply Teams with Syracuse University to Win $200,000 to Evaluate Next-generation HVAC Technology

Upstate Parts and Supply, Inc. from East Syracuse, NY leveraged assistance from TEC Innovates and a collaboration with Syracuse University to win a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program to evaluate the feasibility of a next-generation residential HVAC air handler.

The project is intended to improve the energy efficiency of HVAC systems used in homes.  Upstate Parts & Supply, Inc. will collaborate with Syracuse University researchers to develop a next-generation Compact, High-Efficiency Air Handling Unit (CHE-AHU) for residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The CHE-AHU will synergistically integrate the fan and heat exchanger, which is expected to reduce energy consumption of the air handler by at least 35%, improve the overall performance of the HVAC system by at least 7%, and reduce overall size by at least 30% compared to current technologies.

The TEC Innovates program identified the DOE funding opportunity and facilitated a collaboration between Upstate Parts & Supply and Professors Thong Dang and Mehmet Sarimurat of Syracuse University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to develop the project, which is based on technology developed previously by Prof. Dang and his students. TEC Innovates, which is supported with funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce, spurs innovation and entrepreneurial activity in the Central New York region to develop new and improved products for “Thermal and Environmental Controls (TEC)”.

“It is exciting for Upstate Parts and Supply to partner with Syracuse University faculty to commercialize a technology developed from research at the University,” said vice president, John DiMillo. “This project has the potential to both innovate and grow the economy and would not have happened without the support of SyracuseCoE’s TEC Innovates Program.”

Learn more about the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Call for Proposals – 12 Awards of Up to $10,000 Available for Commercialization Activities

2019 Innovation Fund Call for Proposals Now Open to Partner Firms!

LEARN MORE AND APPLY

SyracuseCoE invites proposals to the Innovation Fund from current SyracuseCoE Partner companies for up to $10,000. It is anticipated that there will be twelve awards. The Innovation Fund is funded by SyracuseCoE Partner Program and is designed to help companies commercialize products and technologies that have the potential to transform and innovate the market. You must be a member to apply, but it’s not too late, you can join the SyracuseCoE Partner Program today! Projects must be aligned with one or more of SyracuseCoE’s three core areas:

  • Indoor Environmental Quality and Building Energy Efficiency
  • Clean & Renewable Energy
  • Water Resources

Previous successful companies who were Innovation Fund winners:

Visit the Innovation Fund Projects page to see how other Partners have used these funds. The application deadline is 5:00pm EST, Tuesday, September 24, 2019.

Carbon Standards Re-Examined: Syracuse Researcher Charles Driscoll Collaborates with Harvard and Boston University

SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows News

What: SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Researcher Charles Driscoll joined researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Boston University School of Public Health, and Resources for the Future evaluated the cost-benefit analysis for the U.S EPA’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, known as a Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA), to determine whether it incorporates the best available information and the conclusions are fully supported. The results are summarized in their working paper, Carbon Standards Re-Examined: An Analysis of Potential Emissions Outcomes for the Affordable Clean Energy Rule and the Clean Power Plan.

Context: On June 19, 2019, the EPA repealed the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) and finalized the ACE rule. The intent of the ACE rule is to establish the Best System of Emission Reduction for carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, a requirement under the Clean Air Act. The research team evaluated the RIA by undertaking new energy modeling and conducting side-by-side comparisons of EPA’s findings and assumptions with those of other scenarios.

Key Take-Away: The results from this analysis call into question the assumptions and conclusions in EPA’s cost-benefit analysis. They demonstrate that the ACE rule does little to address climate change and is likely to have even greater adverse air quality and health effects in some states compared to no policy than EPA has projected.

Why It Matters

For the rule – By underestimating the magnitude of emissions rebound in the RIA, EPA may have overestimated the net economic benefits of the ACE rule, calling into question whether its benefits truly outweigh its costs. The effect of underestimating emissions rebound on the benefits calculation for the ACE rule depends on how large the actual emissions rebound is likely to be and where it would occur.

For health – Underestimating emissions rebound means that the ACE rule may result in more cases of respiratory illness, heart attacks, worsening asthma, and premature death in some states from exposure to higher fine particulate matter and ozone than EPA has estimated.

For states – In some states, the emissions rebound expected from the ACE rule would shift the burden of curbing CO2 emissions to the states and could undercut their ability to meet their greenhouse gas reduction goals. Emissions rebound may also impact the ability of some states to meet and maintain federal air quality standards.

For the nation – Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the U.S. increased approximately 3.5% in 2018. Our analysis suggests that ACE could drive emissions higher still, making it even more challenging for the U.S. to meet its previous commitments under the Paris climate agreement and to achieve emissions reductions needed by 2030 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Professor Charles Driscoll, University Professor of Environmental Systems and Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering & Computer Science, Syracuse University is a SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellow. His research focus areas are:

  • Aquatic chemistry
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Climate change science and engineering
  • Environmental quality modeling
  • Ecosystem restoration
  • Ecosystem science
  • Stormwater management
  • Hydrology
  • Limnology
  • Soil chemistry

See a list of Professor Driscoll’s published research.

 

Faculty Fellows Research: Using Virtual Reality for Data Simulation

Syracuse University Professors Melissa Green and Amber Bartosh are collaborating on a project that attempts to use virtual reality software to create immersive data visualizations for architecture and engineering purposes.

Project Developing a platform to communicate quantified data using a virtual reality (VR)-enabled immersive and interactive environment.

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Amber Bartosh

Assistant Professor, Syracuse Architecture, Syracuse University

See a list of Professor Amber Bartosh’s published research

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Melissa Green

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University

See a list of Professor Melissa Green’s published research

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We see alignments between what we’re trying to do in terms of data visualization. It’s not that crazy a pairing when you think about it from that standpoint.AMBER BARTOSH

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Intellectual Collision Bartosh is an architect who uses virtual reality to visualize things like energy flows around people in a building. Green, a mechanical and aerospace engineer, seeks to use the same technology to visualize fluid flows, such as around fins in water. “We see alignments between what we’re trying to do in terms of data visualization,” says Bartosh. “It’s not that crazy a pairing when you think about it from that standpoint.”

Nuts and Bolts Advancements in digital modeling tools have dramatically increased the amount of spatial data relating to fluid dynamics flow visualization, and building energy systems. However, the two-dimensional systems typically used to represent this data usually oversimplify complex three-dimensional conditions. With initial funding from SyracuseCoE as part of the Faculty Fellows Program, followed by a CUSE Innovation Grant from Syracuse University, Bartosh and Green are working to make links among traditional architecture, engineering software, and virtual reality software to create immersive data visualizations.

Challenges It’s a difficult process. While it’s easy to represent a building visually, it’s more challenging to show how a building is going to perform in terms of thermal control or daylighting. “Those things are more difficult to convey because we’re not used to seeing that data in 3-D,” says Bartosh. “We can measure it and record it in charts or spreadsheets, but what we’re trying to do is bring that into this virtual environment, feeling like you’re walking through the real space with the temporal qualities specifically related to energy and flow that we are trying to visualize.”

Real-World Collaboration Bartosh is using projects from SyracuseCoE Partner firm Ashley McGraw Architects as test cases for data visualization methods to see if they help with communication. In turn, Ashley McGraw has integrated VR into its practice after seeing how the technology was being used by architecture faculty working at the SyracuseCoE Interactive Design and Visualization Lab (IDVL).

SyracuseCoE Impact Bartosh and Green are both SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows working out of labs at SyracuseCoE headquarters. Green directs the Flow Visualization Lab, while Bartosh works out of the IDVL. SyracuseCoE funding allowed for the purchase of VR equipment used for their current project. “The space and resources we have here are fundamental to what we do,” Bartosh says.

Bottom Line The collaboration is an attempt to make data visualization a more streamlined process for each of their own labs and, ultimately, a feasible product transferable to other STEM and design disciplines.

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Status and Trends of Harmful Algal Blooms in Skaneateles Lake

The Skaneateles Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Action Plan was published in 2017 in order to lay out a comprehensive approach to minimize the frequency and intensity of HABs in Skaneateles Lake. One recommendation of the HAB Action Plan was to perform a modelling effort to better understand the sources of nutrients potentially contributing to HABs, the lake dynamics, and to inform the development of a Nine Elements Watershed Plan.

As a run-up to that modelling effort, a data gap and trend analysis have been conducted to understand what data are available now to support modelling, what those data say about the status and trends of the lake, and what data are needed to conduct the recommended modelling. The findings of this analysis suggest that the lake is responding in complex and unexpected ways to a variety of stressors including invasive species and climate change.

During the forum, we discussed the findings of the analysis in detail and actions for next steps.

 

Presenter: 

Anthony Eallonardo Jr., PhD, PWS

Technical Manager, OBG, Part of Ramboll
 
Tony is OBG’s applied ecology lead focusing on ecological restoration and clean water planning efforts. Dr. Eallonardo has managed a wide range of ecological restoration design and implementation projects, phytotechnology applications, multi-agency planning efforts, as well as ecological assessments and mapping projects. He is a co-lead of the Prevention committee within ITRC’s (Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council’s) Strategies for Preventing and Managing Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms team.
 

Dave Matthews, PhD

Director, Upstate Freshwater Institute
 
Dave serves as Director of the Upstate Freshwater Institute. He has conducted fundamental and applied research on over 100 lakes, reservoirs, and rivers in New York. His research interests include nutrient loading and cycling in lakes, the eutrophication and recovery of lakes, harmful algal blooms, mercury cycling, ammonia toxicity, and the influence of sediment processes on water quality. Dr. Matthews has co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics.
 

Elizabeth Moran, PhD

President, EcoLogic
 
Liz has over 30 years of experience in water resources management, with a focus on limnology and water quality. As President of EcoLogic, she has led many projects addressing emerging water quality challenges to lakes, rivers, and watersheds.
 
 

 

Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

SyracuseCoE Partners Present: Bringing Hyperspectral Imaging Into the Mainstream, by Corning

Spectroscopy is the branch of science concerned with the investigation and measurement of spectra when matter reflects electromagnetic radiation. Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors and systems cover many dozens to hundreds of spectral bands contiguously.
 
New energy and environmental research potential for UAVs within Corning’s HSI sensors. Over the past ten years, the size, weight and cost of HSI Sensors have come down dramatically and enabled integration with small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now FAA-approved for use in a wide range of commercial applications. This, combined with user-friendly image processing software and the development of many software applications leveraging HSI is fueling a rapidly growing market for HSI sensors and applications, notably in agriculture, environmental and food quality and safety applications. 
 
In this Research & Technology Forum, Richard Zacaroli, Business Development Manager, Commercial Hyperspectral Products with Corning, introduced the background and expertise of Corning and how its innovations of the HSI sensors are exploring research potentials in agriculture, food quality and safety, and other new energy and environmental applications. 
 

Presenter: 

Richard Zacaroli

Business Development Manager, Commercial Hyperspectral Products with Corning, Inc.
 
Richard (Rich) Zacaroli is Business Development Manager, Commercial Hyperspectral Products with Corning, Inc., has over 40 years of experience in the Electro-Optics industry, primarily in the airborne reconnaissance, surveillance and remote sensing sectors.
 
Rich has an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management with a certificate in Change Management, and a BS in Business Administration from Wichita State University.
 
Rich’s current focus is developing strategies, market channels and partnerships to grow Corning’s share of commercial and industrial markets for hyperspectral imaging technology and products, notably in agriculture, environmental and quality assurance applications. 
 
 

Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

From Battlefield to Barn: Innovative Environmental Sensors Adapted to Detect Disease in Dairy Cows

During Operation Desert Storm, SRC developed portable, early-detection systems that would save the lives of troops that were subjected to chemical or biological attacks. Acumen Detection, now is adapting this technology to revolutionize the dairy industry by helping farmers protect the health of their herds.
 
The contagious disease mastitis is a problem for the dairy industry worldwide; in the U.S. alone, the impact exceeds $2 billion annually. Acumen Detection has worked with researchers at Cornell University to develop innovative assays and incorporate real-time detection for dairy pathogens.
 
This means farmers can detect and treat mastitis early avoiding the spread of infection that results in millions in lost production and culling of diseased cows.
 
Acumen Detection is leveraging the academic resources of Central New York’s Innovation Crossroads district, with R&D laboratories, offices and manufacturing at SyracuseCoE and the neighboring CNY Biotech Accelerator.
 
In the May Research and Technology Forum, the representatives from Acumen Detection, introduced how they developed the research on the early-detections systems and advanced this technology to apply to the dairy industry. Dr. Rinzan explained the method she improved and applied to the research. Director Lumia of the Production Department introduced the product that developed for this technology for getting the time-saving and more accurate outcomes. And Technology Director Dorion explained the mechanism behind the technology.
 
We also discussed the potential of this project and its benefit and efficiency for the dairy industry. Of which, eventually, Acumen Detection’s mission is “committed to keeping dairy farms healthy and profitable with advanced technologies that enable faster, more informed management decisions”. 
 

Presenters: 

Chuck Stormon

CEO, Acumen Detection
 
Chuck earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. He has cofounded six successful companies and a venture fund for seed stage startups. His background includes executive leadership positions in both public and private companies, research, engineering, board directorships and faculty at two universities (Syracuse University and LeMoyne College).

Dr. Fathima Rinzan

Director of Microbiology, Acumen Detection

Fathima (Faraz) has been with Acumen’s R&D team since the beginning; she contributed tremendously to the development of revolutionary assays and a milk prep kit to screen for bovine mastitis. Faraz brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and has a unique set of skills acquired through working in diverse settings, such as biocide, biotech, and food manufacturing industries, clinical labs and academia. Faraz holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, an M.S. in Microbiology, and a Bachelor’s degree in Microbiology. She is currently pursuing an MBA.

Angelina Lumia

Director of Production, Acumen Detection

Angelina leads manufacturing while making sure all the laboratories are safe and in compliance. Angelina is a co-author of a published article in the American Chemical Society Biomaterials Science and Engineering Journal. The article is based on her senior research project from SUNY ESF. Angelina holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from SUNY ESF and is currently enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at SUNY Oswego.

Benjamin Dorion

Director of Technology, Acumen Detection

Ben is Director of Technology, in charge of Acumen Detection’s software and hardware platforms. His department manages our inventory, provides support to the sales team and fields customer support requests. Prior to joining Acumen Detection, Ben was Corporate Quality Analyst with Byrne Dairy. Ben has a BS degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Binghamton University and a MPS in Web Development and Informatics from Fort Hays State University. Ben is currently enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at SUNY Oswego.
 
 

Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Industry Partners Innovation: Personal Climate Control

Collaborative Research and Commercialization Project

If you surveyed employees in any office environment on any given day, it’s likely that a significant percentage would report that the temperature made them feel uncomfortable. That’s because office heating and cooling systems typically use a single thermostat to control temperature in a zone that contains many people, and thermal comfort varies from person to person.

The possibility for allowing each employee to control the temperature in their own microenvironment is moving closer to reality, thanks to an ongoing project led by Syracuse University faculty researchers, in collaboration with Air Innovations, United Technologies Research Center, Bush Technical LLC, and Cornell University.

Ongoing Syracuse University Research: In 2015, Syracuse University began a $3.2 million ARPA-E project to develop microenvironmental control systems, called μX, to provide localized thermal management for office workers, which would dramatically reduce building energy use. With support from SyracuseCoE, faculty and students at Syracuse University the personalized environmental control systems project, led by H. Ezzat Khalifa, now professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering, produced several prototype units. Now, Air Innovations is working with SyracuseCoE to redesign the unit for cost-effective commercial manufacture.

“The real core technology that was developed is commercializable, but there are individual components that are not ready for manufacture, so we need to substitute with off-the-shelf technology,” says Michael Wetzel, president and CEO of Air Innovations in Syracuse.

Wetzel says it’s important to understand how the unit will be used in practice: Will employees run it all day long, or only for parts of the day when they want to adjust the temperature? Will people want it integrated into their desk or are they comfortable with it being an object sitting on the floor? “Right now we’re focusing on making sure that the product is acceptable to the market, in terms of the actual capacity for how it will be used and in terms of form and function,” he says.

The hope is to secure funding for a field trial to be conducted in real-world office environments. “We’d like to have about 50 units in place by June 2019 and collect data over six months,” says Wetzel. The data collected will inform capacity and aesthetic decisions about the product, which he hopes to see go commercial by mid-2020.

“What’s really going to drive this product to market is people’s interest in having absolute control over their environment and their productivity,” says Wetzel. “There is a huge opportunity to save money and energy so this product can pay for itself over time.”

Faculty Fellows Research: Developing a Sustainable Battery

A big concern with electric cars is the battery. You’re driving around with about a gallon of flammable liquid in there. If we can replace that with a nonflammable solid and we replace lithium with calcium, then we’re going to have a safer, better battery overall.Professor Ian Hosein

Ian Hosein

Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University

Project
A Solid Polymer Electrolyte from Cross-Linked Polytetrahydrofuran for Calcium Ion Conduction
Developing a solid-state calcium-ion battery that is a cheaper, more powerful, and environmentally safer alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

SyracuseCoE Impact
A Faculty Fellows award from SyracuseCoE funded supplies and equipment to produce and test a prototype electrolyte and demonstrate that it is extremely conductive. “We have integrated the solid electrolyte into a prototype calcium-ion battery, demonstrated that it works, and are currently focusing on improving it,” Hosein says. “We never could have done this without the financial support from SyracuseCoE.”

Backstory
Lithium-ion batteries are a popular energy technology due to lithium’s ability to store energy. Unfortunately, since lithium is mined in far-off places, it’s also expensive. And most lithium-ion batteries contain a liquid electrolyte that is flammable. “There’s a drive to find another ion that has the same energy density but is cheaper and more earth-abundant,” says Hosein.

Nuts and Bolts
Hosein has developed a battery using calcium—one of the most abundant elements in the world, which has double the charge of lithium—and replaced liquid electrolyte with a flame-resistant solid. “It’s essentially a plastic that contains the calcium ions and facilitates transport from one electrode to the other,” he explains. However, because every ion is unique, so is the solid electrolyte required to conduct energy. “It takes a lot of development to get the right combination of calcium source and the right plastic composition to actually get something that’s conductive,” says Hosein.

Practical Application
Having a safer and more powerful battery is important for industries ranging from personal devices to transportation. “Everyone’s heard about cell phone batteries that explode,” says Hosein. “A big concern with electric cars is the battery. You’re driving around with about a gallon of flammable liquid in there. If we can replace that with a nonflammable solid and we replace lithium with calcium, then we’re going to have a safer, better battery overall.” 

Read more about the researchers in the SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program.

2019 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon: An Encore Winning Presentation

Mixed Use Multi-Family Housing Division First Place Winners

SUNY ESF and Syracuse University SEED – Syracuse Energy Efficient Design

See below for an encore presentation by the first place winning team in the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2019 Solar Decathlon’s Mixed Use Multi-Family Housing Division. Students from SUNY ESF and Syracuse University collaborated this past year in the design of a Net Zero Energy Building, with guidance from several SyracuseCoE industry partners and community stakeholders.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners of the competition are selected at a pitch event held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and reflect proposals that blend design architectural and engineering excellence with innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production.

Beyond designing an innovative net-zero energy building, the team also focused on addressing important social, economic, and environmental issues in the City of Syracuse. This presentation summarizes the challenges and follows the project from schematic design into design development and construction documents. Finally, students discussed opportunities for next steps in the project.

Presenters:

Michael Schmidt

Michael Schmidt ​is currently a junior studying Sustainable Construction Management with a minor in Management at SUNY-ESF. He transferred to ESF from Rockland Community College where he earned a degree in Green Buildings Maintenance & Management. Throughout his collegiate career, Mike has developed a strong passion for sustainability in the built environment. Beyond course work, he has worked for two years as a sustainability consultant on a variety of single-family and multifamily projects across the tri-state area.

Erika Gripp

Erika Gripp is one of three student leads on the DOE Solar Decathlon project and is a junior in the Construction Management program at SUNY-ESF. Originally from New Jersey and has been fascinated by the construction process since she was young. Her long term goal is to make a difference in the way buildings are created in relation to the environment.

Noah Townsend

Noah Townsend is a Syracuse native currently attending SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, pursuing his Bachelors in Sustainable Construction Management. He is one of three student leads in this years ESF/SU Solar Decathlon team. In addition, Noah has construction experience working for Consigli and Syracuse Custom Carpentry and Millwork.

Benjamin Schmidt

Benjamin Schmidt grew up in the rural community of Attica, NY just outside of Buffalo. He is currently a senior working towards a B.S. in Environmental Resources Engineering with a minor in Water Resources at SUNY-ESF. Ben leads the engineering team for the DOE Solar Decathlon project, managing the mechanical, electrical, and structural design components. His goal is to produce sustainable designs in buildings and environmental infrastructure.

Ryan Badke

Ryan Badke grew up in Syosset, NY on Long Island and is currently a junior in the Sustainable Constitution Management program at SUNY ESF. He has developed strong passion for sustainability and finding innovative ways to decrease waste products throughout the construction process. Ryan worked as a site superintendent at Park East Construction where he was responsible for all the day to day operations for the renovation of 5 schools throughout the Hicksville School District, while the schools were fully operational. He was also part of ESF’s DOE Solar Decathlon team and worked with the energy team to design renewable energy systems to ensure the design would be net-zero and have a small carbon footprint.

 

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Up, Up, and Away: Using Drones for Earth Sciences and Geospatial Research and Teaching

What are the approaches, challenges, and successes to using UAVs in classes and for geospatial research?
 
Unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs), a.k.a. drones, are emerging technologies that are transforming numerous industries. In the environmental field, UAVs are changing the ways we monitor and collect data on land and over water, revolutionizing the quality and frequency of remote data collection that has previously been conducted via planes or satellites. 
 
In this Research and Technology Forum, we heard from two Syracuse University faculty members who are applying UAVs in their own research, and developing educational programs to share this new technology with undergraduate and graduate students. First, presenters introduced us to different types of UAV technologies, how these technologies are being used by earth and environmental scientists, and provided several local examples from thermal and multispectral monitoring around Syracuse that show how UAV data is improving our understanding at the intersection of hydrology and water quality. 
 
To round out the forum, we also discussed a new course, developed by Drs. Christa Kelleher and Jane Read, aimed at educating the next generation of environmental and earth scientists capable of using these tools when they leave Syracuse.
 

Presenters:

Photo of Christa KelleherProfessor Christa Kelleher

Assistant Professor, Earth Sciences and Civil Engineering, Syracuse University
 
Dr. Kelleher’s research interests are at the interfaces between climate, hydrology, humans, and ecology, particularly using observations and mathematical models to investigate the organization of hydrology and water quality across spatio-temporal scales. Currently, she’s pursuing projects to examine the hydrologic role of vacant lots in urban areas, exploring the hydrologic controls on contaminants of emerging concern across Central New York, and the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to understand patterns of hydrology and water quality in Syracuse and beyond. Christa teaches courses in water science, hydrology, earth systems modeling, and applications of UAVs to environmental and earth sciences.
 
 
 
 
 

Photo of Professor Jane Read

Professor Jane Read

Associate Professor, Geography, Syracuse University
 
Dr. Read specializes in geographic information systems, remote sensing, land use and land cover, and human-environment interactions. Much of her research has focused in the neotropics, including Costa Rica, Brazil, and Guyana, although she has also studied historical land changes in the Adirondacks of New York State, USA and more recently working with colleagues on a digital atlas project – Onondaga Lake: Finding a Restorative Center in Digital Space. She was the Director of Undergraduate Studies for Geography from 2014-2018 and is interested in ways to incorporate active learning into the classroom. She teaches courses in global environmental change, tropical environments, spatial thinking and geospatial technologies (GIS, remote sensing, UAVs), and spatial storytelling.
 
 
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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

SyracuseCoE Selects Five Companies from CenterState NY to Receive Funding to Advance Innovations

SyracuseCoE has selected five companies from CenterState New York to receive awards from the latest round of its Innovation Fund competition. Four the recipients are start-up firms that are members of the Clean Tech Center, an incubator operated by CenterState CEO at The Tech Garden. SyracuseCoE’s Innovation Fund is designed to help its Partner firms overcome barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations.

The five award-winning companies and their projects are:

  • cocoon construct, based at the CleanTech Center at The Tech Garden, is developing a prefabricated panelized system that seeks to unlock the market for whole-building deep energy retrofits in New York State and create jobs at multiple manufacturers throughout the product’s supply chain.
  • Ducted Turbines International, located in Potsdam and at the CleanTech Center, is commercializing a ducted turbine technology and needs to address key aspects of the system that are not readily available.
  • Edson Innovative Power, LLC, based at the CleanTech Center, will perform advanced thermal simulation and analysis on its product to drive design optimization and design verification prior to moving to production.
  • Farm to Flame Energy, a student-led venture from Syracuse University that is a member of the CleanTech Center, will construct a proof-of-concept prototype of a biomass-powered electricity generator that is capable of using any dry biomass feedstock.
  • LC Drives, located in Potsdam, is developing the next generation of electric motors that are smaller, lighter, and more efficient. This project will help scale the machine design and related manufacturing equipment.

“SyracuseCoE’s Innovation Fund awards highlight CenterState New York’s vibrant ecosystem for innovations and entrepreneurship in environmental and energy systems,” said Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director, and associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University. “These awards are intended to help companies bridge the gap to commercialization of new products. We are especially pleased that four of the recipients also are receiving support from CenterState CEO’s CleanTech Center program at The Tech Garden.”

SyracuseCoE is New York State’s Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems. Funding for the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund is provided by industry members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. The five awards in the current round total $47,146. To date, awards from the program have totaled $407,345 and supported 37 clean energy projects at 24 companies throughout New York State.

Eligibility for Innovation Fund awards is open to all current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. The next call for proposals is expected in August. Applicants submit a proposal and then pitch their project to a panel of reviewers from the region. To learn more about joining the SyracuseCoE Partner Program, contact Tammy Rosanio at tlrosani@syr.edu.

Faculty Fellows Research: The Impact of Green Infrastructure


Through SyracuseCoE, my students gain the ability to interact with others who are doing interdisciplinary water research at both the faculty and student level. Christa Kelleher

Photo of Christa KelleherChrista Kelleher

Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences; Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University

See a list of Professor Kelleher’s published research

Project
Assessing the impact of passive green space on water infiltration, ground temperature, and air temperature.

Backstory
Like many older cities, Syracuse has a combined sewer system that includes both sanitary waste and surface runoff. Rain and snowmelt can exceed the capacity of the system and cause combined sewer overflow (CSO), rising urban stream temperatures and harming aquatic ecosystems. Green infrastructure throughout the city attempts to improve water infiltration and reduce overflows. In addition to green infrastructure, the city’s many vacant lots can be considered a form of passive green infrastructure.

Nuts and Bolts
Kelleher and her students are assessing the performance of green infrastructure installations and vacant lots in Syracuse. They are monitoring soil temperature, air temperature, and water infiltration on five vacant lots slated to be repurposed with green infrastructure into urban rain gardens. “These conversions are designed to impact a single CSO outlet,” Kelleher explains. “The idea is that if they co-locate these sites, maybe it will impact the amount of storm water running off.” Baseline information gathered before installation will be used to evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the rain gardens. In addition, as a source of comparison, they are also collecting data from rural parks and from established green spaces within the Syracuse urban core.

And Another Thing
One of the sites being studied is SyracuseCoE headquarters. Graduate student Crystal Burgess installed sensors on the SyracuseCoE green roof, on a large planting bed adjacent to the parking lot, and in a mostly shaded area near the building entrance. “This allows us to gather a range of temperature profiles that we would see in an urban area and also to factor in how much factors such as buildings and vegetation play in decreasing soil temperature,” Burgess says. Summer intern Zoe Curewitz, a student at Nottingham High School in Syracuse, also contributed to the project by helping to install sensors across the Syracuse University campus.

SyracuseCoE Impact
Kelleher previously received a $10,000 competitive award from the Faculty Fellow Program to *study longitudinal patterns of stream temperature and levels of storm flow along Onondaga Creek using unmanned aerial vehicles. “All of this work concerns the movement of heat in urban systems,” she says. In addition to funding, “SyracuseCoE has been instrumental in helping me connect with other folks at the University and beyond that to the broader community,” she says. “Through SyracuseCoE, my students gain the ability to interact with others who are doing interdisciplinary water research at both the faculty and student level.”

Faculty Fellows Research: Assessing Chemical Impact

If we’re interested in thinking about urban areas as landscapes, it’s nice to know what’s coming into the system and helpful to know how the landscape functions.Professor Charles Driscoll

Charles DriscollCharles Driscoll

University Professor of Environmental Systems and Distinguished Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University

See a list of Professor Driscoll’s published research

Project
Professor Driscoll is measuring atmospheric deposition—the chemicals reaching the Earth through rain and air—in Central New York, comparing sites in urban Syracuse, including the SyracuseCoE green roof, with rural Skaneateles.

Backstory
The Syracuse project is an offshoot of Driscoll’s long-standing research on the effects of acid and mercury deposition and climate change on forest, aquatic, and coastal ecosystems in the Northeast and elsewhere. Driscoll also recently began collaborating with researchers at Boston University who are taking similar measurements in Boston, to develop models to evaluate how urban landscapes are different from rural landscapes in responding to climate change and urban air pollution. He’s also sharing information with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, which is increasing its research focus on urban areas.

Nuts and Bolts
Driscoll began measuring atmospheric deposition at the SyracuseCoE headquarters in 2011. Last year, he added additional sites in Syracuse to compare levels and patterns of contaminants over the course of the year. He’s also assessing the function of the SyracuseCoE green roof in terms of its ability to retain water, nutrients, and trace metals. “We measure many more chemicals than is routine,” Driscoll says. Because there have been few measurements taken in urban areas and some of these chemicals are not typically measured, Driscoll believes some of the patterns found in Syracuse have never before been reported. As an additional comparison, he established a testing station in Skaneateles identical to the one at SyracuseCoE.

What He’s Found
Not surprisingly, overall air pollution levels in Syracuse are higher than those in Skaneateles, significantly impacted by highway auto emissions, construction activities, and road salt. But there were chemicals with higher levels in the rural setting, including phosphorus. “There are harmful algal blooms in Skaneateles Lake that people think are driven by inputs of phosphorus. We think the phosphorus we’re measuring is going to be a large input to the lake,” he says. “We learn things from these measurements that stimulate interest in new areas that we didn’t really intend.”

SyracuseCoE Impact
Driscoll’s project has been funded over four rounds of the Faculty Fellows Program. In addition to research funding, the SyracuseCoE green roof provides a world-class research environment. “There’s a lot of interest in green infrastructure, and the SyracuseCoE green roof is a Cadillac roof,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a green roof in the world that outperforms it.”

Practical Application
Few studies have been done of atmospheric deposition in urban areas. “If we’re interested in thinking about urban areas as landscapes, it’s nice to know what’s coming into the system and helpful to know how the landscape functions,” he says.

Engineered by Corning, Designed by Syracuse Architecture: The Architectural Applications of Corning® Willow Glass®

Dr. Daekwon Park (Assistant Professor at Syracuse School of Architecture) and Dr. Sean Garner (Senior Research Associate at Corning Inc.) discuss the experimental collaboration process between designers at Syracuse School of Architecture and scientists at Corning Incorporated. The collaboration was conducted as a semester-long directed research studio course for the Master of Science students at Syracuse School of Architecture. Dr. Daekwon Park and his students focused on developing creative and innovative architectural application derived from the plethora of innovative glass and ceramic technologies at Corning including Willow Glass, Gorilla Glass, and Fiber Optic Lighting among others. Dr. Sean Garner coordinated and led the team of experts including scientists, engineers, and marketing experts at Corning to support and guide the research process.
 
The experimental collaboration process, which was both productive and informative for both entities, can serve as a good case study for other early-stage industry-academia collaboration endeavors.
 

Presenters:

Daekwon ParkDr. Daekwon Park

DDes, AIA, LEED AP
Assistant Professor, Syracuse University School of Architecture
Faculty Research Fellow, SyracuseCoE
 
Daekwon Park is a registered practicing architect and assistant professor at Syracuse University School of Architecture. He is a faculty research fellow and director of the Material Archi-Tectonic Research Lab (MATR LAB) at the Syracuse Center of Excellence. Park is also the founder of the multidisciplinary design practice MATR Studio based in Syracuse, NY. His research, practice, and pedagogy investigate the intersection between design, material technology, and environmental science with an emphasis on how it influences the way the built environment is designed, built, and occupied.
 
 
 

Dr. Sean Garner

Senior Research Associate, Corning Inc.
 
Sean M. Garner received a B.Eng. degree in Engineering Physics (Applied Laser and Optics) from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1993 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Electrophysics) from the University of Southern California in 1998. Sean joined Corning Incorporated in 1998 working in the area of materials processing and device prototyping, and today he continues this work at the company’s Science and Technology Center as a Senior Research Associate. For more information on Sean see this news article on Corning’s website.
 

 

 

Moderated By:

Gary GirzadasGary Girzadas

Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, Syracuse University
 
Gary Girzadas directs a team of dedicated professionals who champion innovative partnerships with industry and foundation organizations. He focuses on strategically aligning the mission of Syracuse University with partners in a range of technical, social science, and cutting edge policy areas and sectors.  With extensive higher education experience, Gary works to develop holistic university partnerships that energize signature areas of strength. Over his tenure in the field he has developed gifts, grants, sponsored research, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and philanthropic support for local, national, and global projects.
 
 
 
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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

From the Front Lines: Deep Energy Retrofit Solutions

New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has partnered with the Dutch initiative EnergieSprong to challenge market development of feasible deep energy retrofits. Beginning with six pilot projects focused on affordable multifamily housing, teams throughout the State search to flush out demand forecasts, industry investment, and regulatory constraints to drive market transforming solutions to net zero, or near net zero retrofits targeting the State’s existing building stock.

Where do the origins of this concept lie? This leads us on an adventure through the Netherlands, where market development has been in process for nearly ten years. A team of architects, engineers, financiers and owners took the opportunity to experience, first-hand, the advancements in technology and financing principles involved with developing market ready deep energy retrofits.

We bring this information back to North America for implementation, sharing details of cost compression including industrialization of architectural components, pre-fabricated mechanical systems, and finance models showing the ability for such retrofits to become viable in a market driven economy. Most importantly we make connections to New York State and North America, assessing compatibility and the opportunity to adapt and expand upon metrics seen for nearly a decade overseas.

Presenters:

Tom King

CPHD, LEED AP
Designer King + King Architects
Tom is a Certified Passive House Designer and Tradesperson, trained in the construction, detailing and energy modeling of high-performance buildings. At King+King he lives in the details. Designing high performing envelope systems for all buildings, large and small. Whether it be Net Zero, Passive House, new construction or renovation, complying with limited budgets and Energy Codes, or striving toward the highest performance metrics; every building stands to benefit from air tight construction, continuous insulation and high quality detailing coupled with integrated mechanical system strategies. Tom pushes this boundary and challenges colleagues and consultants alike to think, design, and construct more holistically.

Tom is a graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology, where he held a leading role in the research, design and construction of the SURE House’s resilient and sustainable components. The SURE House is a net zero energy prototype for resilient residential construction targeting coastal neighborhoods increasingly affected by a changing climate. The Stevens SURE House team, led by six graduate students including Tom, won an unprecedented seven of ten competitions at the 2015 US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition. Tom holds a Master’s in Engineering from Stevens and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Roger Williams University.

Sadie McKeown

Executive VP and COO
Community Preservation Corporation

McKeown oversees the company’s lending activities, business operations and investor relations, as well the operation of its regional field offices located throughout New York. McKeown is also responsible for spearheading the company’s innovative “underwriting efficiency” practice that incorporates energy and water efficiency features into the financing of first mortgages for multifamily building owners. CPC has used this new underwriting method to leverage nearly $6.4 million in additional mortgage financing to fund more than 3,600 units of energy-efficient multifamily housing across NYS.

After starting her career at CPC as a Mortgage Originator in 1992, McKeown later served as Senior VP and Director of Lending in CPC’s Hudson Valley Region, where she led the company’s Downtown Main Street initiatives. McKeown earned her Master’s Degree in Human Services Administration with a concentration in Housing from Cornell University. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Fordham University.

 
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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Call for Proposals: Up to $10,000 available for SyracuseCoE Partners

2019 Innovation Fund Round 1 Call for Proposals Open to Partners

The deadline has passed.

The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) invites proposals to the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund from current SyracuseCoE Partners for up to $10,000. The Innovation Fund is funded by SyracuseCoE Partner Program and is designed to support Partners’ efforts to overcome barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations. Projects must be aligned with commercialization of innovative products/technologies and focused on one or more of SyracuseCoE’s three core areas:

  • Indoor Environmental Quality and Building Energy Efficiency
  • Clean & Renewable Energy
  • Water Resources

To apply, you must submit the application and required documents by 5:00pm EST, Friday, March 8th, 2019.

Small Packaged Heat Pumps: Rethinking Everything

Heat pumps are a key strategy for eliminating fossil fuel use, being promoted by everyone from savvy HVAC contractors to national environmental groups to city and state agencies, but split system heat pumps are costly. Wouldn’t a small packaged solution be a hit in the market? Multifamily per-room heat loss is becoming so small, whether through deep energy retrofits or high-performance new construction, that a small packaged heat pump might really be JUST what’s needed for widespread adoption.

Imagine: no refrigerant piping, no refrigerant pipe insulation or chases, no licensed refrigeration tech, no outdoor pad, no outdoor electrical disconnect, not even an outdoor unit of any sort! How about costs in the $1000-2000 range instead of $5000-10,000 or more. Taitem’s recent study of existing and emerging technology reveals that we’re not quite there yet. 

Where are we? What’s out there? Do current packaged terminal heat pumps come close? And if not, could they with some design modifications? What else is available or being developed? Watch our January R&T below for a lively discussion of getting downright small with heat pumps.

Presenters:

Ian Shapiro, PE, LEED AP

Senior Engineer
Taitem Engineering

Ian founded Taitem in 1989. He is the co-author of the books Green Building Illustrated (2014) and Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings (2016), both published by Wiley. He has been a visiting lecturer at Cornell University, Tompkins Cortland Community College, and Syracuse University. He holds an undergraduate degree from McGill University, and an M.S. from Columbia University, both in mechanical engineering. Ian is a licensed engineer in the states of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania. In his spare time, Ian enjoys to spend time with family and friends, write poetry, and play soccer and basketball.

 

 

Evan Hallas

Senior Energy Analyst
Taitem Engineering

With ten years of experience in building science and energy efficiency, Evan has a deep understanding of building systems, strong communication skills, and a commitment to quality. Evan recognizes the importance of getting the details right, and to support this, he splits his time between the office and being out in the field.

 

 

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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

SyracuseCoE Has Student Internships Available!

Students play an integral role in the success of SyracuseCoE. As part of a student-focused research university we have the privilege to engage a diverse group of students in varying capacities throughout the year. Staff interns, members of the Summer Industry Collaboration Internship Program, and student researchers are just a few of the roles students have at SyracuseCoE to participate in experiential learning and real-world industry collaboration that addresses emerging opportunities and societal needs. Visit the links below for all the internship info!

What’s it like to work at SyracuseCoE as an Intern?

SyracuseCoE Building Systems Intern

SyracuseCoE seeks candidates to work as Intern, 10-40 hours a week, to assist Facilities Manager in providing support for HVAC, Mechanical, and Electrical building systems. This internship position is available immediately and has the potential to be extended throughout the remainder of 2019.

UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings: A Living Showcase of What’s Possible

The UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings is a first-of-its-kind technology, innovation and collaboration center showcasing United Technologies products and integrated systems.

Located in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, the center features solutions and interactive displays from UTC’s Comfort, Control and Security brands (CCS), creating a living showcase of what’s possible when technologies are implemented intelligently and integrated to increase efficiency, protect people and property, and enhance the occupant experience.

This presentation focuses mainly on the building’s HVAC innovations, and, time-permitting, we will visit the building operations remotely, via its building automation system.

Presenter:

Bill ChadwickWilliam (Bill) Chadwick

Principal Systems Engineer
UTC Building Solutions Group, AdvanTEC
United Technologies Corporation

Bill is part of the global UTC Building Solutions Group, which serves as a central point of contact for key accounts and delivers highly engineered solutions to solve customer problems in various vertical markets. Bill Chadwick serves as principal systems engineer within the AdvanTEC technology & engineering group.

Bill has more than 45 years of building systems engineering experience. He has:

  • Expertise in HVAC systems analysis, design, and integration; indoor air quality design and remediation; and building systems control and integration.
  • Held positions within consulting engineering and architectural firms where he designed, engineered, and directed the design of HVAC, plumbing and fire protection systems for commercial, institutional and industrial buildings, new and remodeled.
  • Provided HVAC system design consultation for The New Falcon Stadium, Atlanta, GA, and the Residence Antilia, Mumbai, India
  • Developed various award-winning, custom solutions, including an innovative HVAC solution for the Sistine Chapel, which reduced energy use more than 30% while doubling the load.
  • Determined the MEP system selections and served as the design consultant for UTC’s new Center for Intelligent Buildings, designed to use 40% less energy despite increasing outdoor air ventilation by over 50% to improve IAQ and occupant productivity.

Bill has served on industry advisor boards for both the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems, and the Center for High Performance Buildings at Purdue University. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan, and a Certificate in Indoor Environmental Quality, Syracuse University. Bill is a Licensed Professional Engineer in MI, OH, NY and PA. He is a Certified Energy Manager from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and is a LEED® Accredited Professional BD+C from the U.S. Green Build Council (USGBC). He remains active in ASHRAE as a Life Member.

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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Inficon Facility Tour

As part of the TEC Innovates Program, monthly factory tours engage suppliers and regional business partners throughout the region, allowing cluster firms to network and learn more about new industry developments. In November, AM-TEC firms and partners toured Inficon expansion facility, in East Syracuse, NY. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Switzerland, INFICON is a leading provider of innovative instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and advanced process control software that enhance productivity and quality in sophisticated industrial vacuum processes. These analysis, measurement and control products are essential for gas leak detection in air conditioning/refrigeration, and automotive manufacturing. They are vital to equipment manufacturers and end-users in the complex fabrication of semiconductors and thin film coatings for optics, flat panel displays, solar cells and industrial vacuum coating applications. Other users of vacuum based processes include the life sciences, research, aerospace, packaging, heat treatment, laser cutting and many other industrial processes. Inficon leverages expertise in vacuum technology to provide unique, toxic chemical analysis products for emergency response, security, and environmental monitoring.
 
Inficon welcomed the AM-TEC group with a tour of the facility, including its new 64,000 sq. ft expansion with 20,000 sq. ft certified clean room space. The highly efficient and flexible design included state-of-the-art technology with an online Building Management System, Ultraclean process gas distribution, and automated Vertical Lift Module storage system.
 
Learn more about SyracuseCoE TEC Innovates and Factory Tours. Learn more about Inficon.

U.S. Policy Options to Decrease Emissions of Carbon Dioxide to Mitigate Changing Climate

Carbon dioxide is the dominant human-generated greenhouse gas responsible for changing climate. The two largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. are from electric utilities and transportation activities. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health, their emissions needed to be regulated. In 2009 through the Endangerment Finding, the EPA indeed found that climate change is a threat to public health. As a result of these decisions, the Obama Administration implemented new fuel economy standards for vehicles and proposed standards of carbon dioxide emissions from existing powerplants through the Clean Power Plan (CPP). These policies were a large part of the U.S. commitment to decrease carbon dioxide in the Paris Climate Agreement. The Trump Administration has not been supportive of these initiatives. But due to the Endangerments Finding, they cannot just cancel but need to replace these policies. The Trump plan to replace the fuel economy standards was released earlier in August and the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) plan was released a few weeks later to replace the CPP.
 
Professor Driscoll’s presentation examines the approaches, benefits and costs of ACE compared with the CPP and no policy options. Carbon dioxide emissions standards for U.S. power plants will influence the fuels and technologies used to generate electricity, alter emissions of pollutants, and influence ambient air quality and public and ecosystem health. ACE is an “Inside the fence line” approach which improves the heat rate efficiency of individual power plants. As a result, older coal plants are made more efficient and operate for longer periods resulting in increases in carbon dioxide and emissions of co-pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury and fine particulate matter which impact human health. In contrast, the CPP would use a “beyond the fenceline” flexible approach that promotes energy efficiency and renewables. Carbon standards to curb global climate change can also provide immediate local and regional health and ecosystem co-benefits, but the magnitude depends on the design of the standards. 
 

Presenter:

Charles Driscoll

Professor Charles T. Driscoll

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University
 
Charles T. Driscoll is a Distinguished and University Professor at Syracuse University. He received his BS from the University of Maine and MS and PhD from Cornell. Driscoll’s research addresses the effects of disturbance on forest, freshwater and marine ecosystems, including air pollution (acid and mercury deposition), land-use, and climate change. Driscoll has testified at Congressional and state legislative committee hearings, and served on many local, national and international committees. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.
 
 

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Research & Technology Forum Series

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

CHAMPS and Annex68 Meet Again at SyracuseCoE

Syracuse, NY –Leading researchers from around the world convened again at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy (SyracuseCoE) to take part in a workshop and meeting on advanced building systems. The events examined the major challenges facing the combined heat, air, moisture and pollutant simulations for the design and operation of sustainable buildings, featured the most recent progress, and discovered opportunities for further collaboration.

The 15th International Forum and Workshop on Combined Heat, Air, Moisture and Pollutant Simulations (CHAMPS) included presentations by the international visitors and Syracuse University faculty and students. The 6th Expert Meeting of IEA-EBC Annex 68 Indoor Air Quality Design and Control in Low Energy Residential Buildings was held on the same day at SyracuseCoE. The two events had a joint public meeting, with topics at the forum including indoor environment quality models, energy performance research, healthy and intelligent buildings strategies and site planning around the effects of climate change.

Both events highlighted the importance of creating high-performance buildings that improve human health and performance while remaining sustainable and reducing building energy use. Research has indicated that people spend up to 80% of their time in indoor environments and 40% of building energy consumption goes to normal operations of heating, cooling and lighting. Industrialization has made it more critical than ever to develop sustainable buildings that boost human quality of life while reducing energy consumption.

15th Annual International Forum and Workshop on CHAMPS Organizers
Danish Technical University, Denmark
Dresden University of Technology, Germany
Nanjing University, China
Syracuse University, U.S.A.
University College of London, U.K.
University de la Rochelle, France
University of Tokyo, Japan

Aims and Scope
CHAMPS 2018 and IEA-EBC Annex-68 will have a joint public meeting in the afternoon of September 30, 2018 to discuss the major challenges facing the combined heat, air, moisture and pollutant simulations for the design and operation of sustainable buildings, highlight the most recent progresses, and identify opportunities for further collaboration. Topics may include:

1. Whole building IEQ and energy performance: Modeling and simulation of combined heat, air, moisture, and pollutant transport processes in and around buildings, and how these processes impact IEQ and building energy efficiency;
2. Healthy and intelligent buildings: Interaction and interdependencies between IEQ and energy efficiency measures, effectiveness of source reduction, ventilation and air cleaning strategies; model-based predictive control, application of internet of things (IOTs) technology in distributed building environmental control;
3. Climate, community and site planning: Climate change effects on IEQ, urban and community planning, micro-urban climate and energy efficiency of building clusters;
4. Building envelope performance: hygrothermal performance of buildings in different climates, leakage and moisture control, envelope-integrated ventilation and energy storage systems, energy and durability;
5. Micro-environment around occupants: demand-based personal environmental control, occupant behavior and impacts on IEQ and energy efficiency;
6. Design studio: Methods and tools for coordinated and integrated urban and building systems design, building information modeling (BIM), CHAMPS simulation framework, software, and optimization techniques, common databases of materials, assemblies, building topologies, climates, and real-world versus design performances.
7. Case studies: Applications of CHAMPS for building systems design and model-based predictive controls.

SyracuseCoE previously hosted the 13th International Forum and Workshop on CHAMPS in 2016. The city of Syracuse is a leader in the international community of indoor air quality and sustainable building technology. Previous events such as the 2018 International Building Physics Conference and upcoming expos like the Emerging Technology Showcase draw global experts and researchers to Syracuse.

Eight Student Presentations on Research and Innovation Projects Win Awards at Annual SyracuseCoE Student Poster Competition

Eight Student Presentations on Research and Innovation Projects Win Awards at Annual SyracuseCoE Student Poster Competition

There were eight winners of the 2018 SyracuseCoE Student Poster Competition. Thirty-four student posters from six institutions were judged on September 24 during the International Building Physics Conference (IBPC2018) co-hosted by SyracuseCoE and Syracuse University. Judges engaged poster contestants and posters were judged on project layout and design of posters, as well as student’s knowledge and ability to explain posters and answer questions from judges.

“These competitions put student’s hard work in the spotlight and gives them a valuable opportunity to present their research with a broad group of people,” said Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director and associate professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University. “We look forward to hosting the annual SyracuseCoE Student Poster Competition every year to applaud student’s success.”

Posters were judged in three categories: undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. winners:

Undergrad Winners:

1st Place: Andres Inga, SUNY Oswego, Physics, Characterization of Ferromagnetic and Ferroelectric Heterostructure; Faculty Advisor: Shireen Adenwalla

2nd Place: Jason Cho, Syracuse University, The Discovery of the Optimal Greenest Source of Urban Irrigation; Faculty Advisor: Charley Driscoll

3rd Place: Kyle Bautista, SUNY Oswego, Adolescent Education and Physics, Success in American Public Schools: Creative Building Strategies for Enhanced Education; Faculty Advisor: Carolina Ilie

Master’s Winners:

1st Place: Lucie Worthen, Syracuse University, Environmental Engineering, Validation of the PCSWMM LID Module for an Extensive Green Roof in Syracuse, NY; Faculty Advisor: Cliff Davidson

2nd Place: Stephanie Haller, Ehsan Sabaghian, and Rawad El Kontar, Syracuse University, Architecture, Community Energy: Technical and Social Challenges, and Integrative Solutions; Faculty Advisors: Jason Dedrick, Elizabeth Krietemeyer, Tarek Rakha

PhD Winners:

1st place: Shreyas Pathreeker, Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering, Using Visible Light to Develop Advanced Battery Electrodes; Faculty Advisor: Ian D. Hosein

2nd Place: Francielli Silva Genier, Syracuse University, Chemical Engineering, Solid Polymer Electrolyte Networks for Calcium Ion Conduction; Faculty Advisor: Ian D. Hosein

3rd Place: Leila Nikdel, Clarkson University, Environmental Science and Engineering, Comparison of Different Energy Savings Strategies in Residential Buildings; Faculty Advisor: Susan Powers

Poster judges included Daniel Betts, BeCool Inc; Bill Chadwick, United Technologies Corporation; Aimee Clinkhammer, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Bob DelZoppo, SRC Inc.; Michael Genovese, NYSERDA; Ben Larsen, King + King Architects; Chonghui Liu, CNY ASHRAE; Dave Martini, Air Innovations; Mary Reidy, National Grid; and Adam Walburger, CDH Energy.

International Building Physics Conference, IBPC2018 a success!

September, 2018 —  SyracuseCoE and Syracuse University hosted IBPC2018, the International Building Physics Conference. The tri-annual event had a broad reach and brought over 300 guests from 33 countries, but it was the enthusiasm of discussions for scientific discovery in building physics that made this event a success. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors for making IBPC2018 possible, as well as our accomplished speakers for presenting engaging and innovative material. Thank you to all participants for their valuable contributions!

Thank you as well to the IABP and our conference chairs, co-chairs, and technical committee for all their efforts and support in the organization and execution of the event.

We wish everyone the best with continuing research, and look forward to reconvening in Copenhagen, Denmark! In the meantime, please check out the IBPC2018 photo album to relive some of the best moments from the conference.

Read Building physics today and future challenges: learning from IBPC2018

Experts from 33 Countries Convene in Syracuse for the 7th International Building Physics Conference

Experts on the science and engineering of buildings and urban environments convened in Syracuse, NY September 23 to 26, for the 7th International Building Physics Conference (IBPC). More than 300 attendees from 33 countries gathered to present original research and findings, demonstrated and exhibited innovative green building technologies, and discussed future challenges and opportunities.

The theme of the conference was “Healthy, Intelligent, and Resilient Buildings and Urban Environments.” The conference program included six keynote presentations, more than 250 podium and poster presentations, workshops, networking, and more.

The conference takes place every three years as part of the official international conference series of the International Association of Building Physics (IABP). The IBPC2018 is the first time the conference is being held in the United States; previously, the conference was held in Eindhoven, The Netherlands (2000); Leuven, Belgium (2003); Montreal, Canada (2006); Istanbul, Turkey (2009); Kyoto, Japan (2012); and Torino, Italy (2015).

Read more here.

2018 Innovation Showcase

We celebrated the many activities and accomplishments of student-supported projects at the 2018 SyracuseCoE Innovation Showcase and Summer BBQ! Exhibits and posters were displayed featuring innovative projects, ideas and research, including:

  • Student summer internship projects
  • Student researchers working with SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows
  • Analysis & Design Center projects
  • Signature research projects led by faculty

Included in the projects was a special presentation from a group of high school seniors. The students described and demonstrated “Carl”, a robotic coyote they designed and built as a project in the ITC Innovation club. The project was done for Sunoco Ethanol to help safely keep geese from their property.

Up to $10,000 available for SyracuseCoE Partner firms’ commercialization activities!

2018 Innovation Fund Call for Proposals Now Open to Partner Firms!

The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) invites proposals to the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund from current SyracuseCoE Partner companies for up to $10,000. The Innovation Fund is funded by SyracuseCoE Partner Program and is designed to support Partner firms’ efforts to overcome barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations. Projects must be aligned with commercialization of innovative products/technologies and focused on one or more of SyracuseCoE’s three core areas:

  • Indoor Environmental Quality and Building Energy Efficiency
  • Clean & Renewable Energy
  • Water Resources

It is anticipated that there will be six awards.

To apply, you must submit the application below and complete and return the following documents by 5:00pm EST, Friday, August 30, 2018.

Learn more

SyracuseCoE Hiring Communications Interns For Summer & Fall 2018

SyracuseCoE is hiring hardworking and creative students for a communications internship. Students will work on real-world projects, interesting events, international conferences, and gain valuable experience working on a multi-disciplinary communications team. Interns will develop professional skills through carrying out various tasks:

   • Maintaining website graphics and copy

   • Supporting print and web-based design to include such items as: writing copy for news and outreach, designing flyers and posters, exhibits, handbooks and           other publications

   • Coordinating and executing social media and emarketing campaigns in accordance with monthly communications goals

   • Writing and distributing press releases and other external communications

   • Contributing to the execution of SyracuseCoE and other events

   • Assisting in other departmental projects as needed

Student must have a good understanding and demonstrated experience with written communications, graphic design and typography, Adobe Creative Suite, MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

View the Summer & Fall 2018 Internship application.

Check out our Students Page to learn more about the experience you can have at SyracuseCoE!

2018 Faculty Fellows Program Request for Proposals

Deadline has passed

Overview:

SyracuseCoE, a unit of the Syracuse University Office of Research, invites applications for Seed Funding through its Faculty Fellows Program. The SyracuseCoE Faculty Fellows Program seeks to strengthen faculty scholarship in SyracuseCoE’s targeted research areas, support engagements with SyracuseCoE’s Industry Partners, and provide leadership that advances research collaborations among SyracuseCoE’s Academic Partner institutions. Individuals who hold faculty appointments at Syracuse University, and SyracuseCoE Partner institutions SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF), SUNY Oswego, and SUNY Upstate Medical University are eligible to apply.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) will support seed funding for research in our core technical areas:

  • Clean and renewable energy
  • Indoor environmental quality
  • Water resources

Proposals are intended to support development of new research efforts and directions that will advance SyracuseCoE’s research areas, rather than incremental steps forward on existing research programs. All proposals must address how the use of the Faculty Fellow seed funding will lead to a significant “next step” in the research, lead to or leverage follow-on funding opportunities, and contribute to establishing SyracuseCoE and its Partner institutions as thought leaders in the targeted area. In addition, projects are encouraged to strategically target research topics that hold promise for contributing to economic development of local entities and New York State businesses.

Eligibility:

The 2018-2019 Faculty Fellows Program RFP is open to faculty members who hold full-time appointments at SyracuseCoE Academic Partner institutions: Syracuse University, SUNY-ESF, SUNY Oswego and SUNY Upstate Medical University. Individuals who hold appointments as tenured, tenuretrack, and non-tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. SyracuseCoE strongly encourages proposals to include the participation of multiple faculty members, including teams from multiple departments, colleges, and/or institutions. Teams are encouraged, but not required, to include non-university participants, especially collaborators from SyracuseCoE Partner companies. However, funds may be disbursed only to academic institutions. An individual faculty member may serve as the primary PI for only one proposal; however, any individual may serve as a Co-Investigator on multiple proposals. Multiinvestigator teams are considered to be those with more than one eligible faculty member. Multiinvestigator projects should clearly explain the role of each team member and the value to a team approach for the proposed project.

Budget

Up to $10,000 for a single investigator; up to $20,000 for a multi-investigator, multidisciplinary team. SyracuseCoE intends to award up to $75,000 in this round. Funding will be available starting mid-August 2018. All funds must be expended by June 30, 2019.

Application

Applications are no longer being accepted.

View all the information about the 2018 Faculty Fellows RFP including the proposal format and project narrative.

Creating Resilient Heating Systems for Extreme Weather Events

Extreme weather events including hurricanes, snow storms and ice storms are a growing challenge as one of the many effects of global climate change. Combating this obstacle through resilient technology is one of the engineering challenges of the 21st Century.
Ryan’s research has investigated innovative ways of combining conventional combustion systems with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). The burners act as a hydrocarbon reformer while generating thermal energy for SOFC operation. This presentations examines fundamentals of SOFCs and fuel-rich combustion and extends the preliminary results to bench-scale systems. Applications of this technology include furnaces, hot water heaters and boilers, among others.

Presenter:

Ryan Milcarek

NSF GRFP Graduate Fellow JSPS International Research Fellow
Ph.D. Candidate Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Combustion and Energy Research (COMER) Laboratory
 
Ryan Milcarek obtained his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in the Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Department at Syracuse University. He also obtained a M.S. in Energy Systems Engineering, Certificate of Advanced Study in Sustainable Enterprise and Certificate in University Teaching during his graduate studies. After graduation, Ryan will begin a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at Arizona State University in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering: School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy. His current research is focused on micro-tubular Flame-assisted Fuel Cells (FFCs), system level hybrid combustion/FFC applications including micro cogeneration and two-stage combustors, microcombustion, manufacturing of ceramic materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), and energy modeling. He also conducts research in engineering education in areas of sustainability, resilience and fuel cell education. Ryan gained his passion for energy research during his undergraduate studies while conducting energy assessments of industrial facilities as part of the Industrial Assessment Center program which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Ryan is an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, JSPS International Research Fellow, ASHRAE Graduate Grant-in-Aid recipient, a recipient of the ASME International Gas Turbine Institute student scholarship, an Astronaut Scholar, and a former Syracuse University Graduate Fellow.
 

 

Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Personalized Environmental Control Systems

In 2015, a team of researchers and engineers led by Prof. H. Ezzat Khalifa at Syracuse University was one of 11 teams selected by the U.S. Department of Energy (USDoE) to develop technologies that regulate the thermal environment around building occupants, rather than the entire building. The DoE has determined that doing so would save the US approximately 15% of the large amount of energy used for building HVAC. Prof. Khalifa and his team have developed an advanced micro-environmental control system, named μX, that is compact, efficient, quiet, and ergonomic. Developed as part of the DoE’s ARPA-E program, μX can enable local climate control to keep a desk occupant comfortable and facilitate expansion of thermostat setpoints, significantly reducing energy consumption for building HVAC.

This R&T Forum featured presentations on multiple aspects of this innovative micro-environmental control system, as well as a discussion of the history and opportunity offered by personal environmental control systems.

Presenters:

Dr. H. Ezzat Khalifa

Dr. H. Ezzat Khalifa

Dr. H. Ezzat Khalifa is NYSTAR Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University, where he conducts research on distributed environmental control, and high-efficiency power and cooling systems for data centers. He is the originator and PI of the micro environmental control system (μX) concept. He has over 50 years of R&D experience in energy conversion and environmental control systems. Before joining SU, he served as the Director of the Carrier R&D Program at United Technologies Research Center, where he was responsible for planning and executing a diversified portfolio of R&D in innovative environmental control and energy conversion technologies. Prior to this, Dr. Khalifa was the Director of Engineering for the Carrier Carlyle Compressor Division, where he oversaw all aspects of the development and reliability of vapor compressors for air-conditioning and refrigeration. Dr. Khalifa holds a Ph.D. in Thermodynamics & Fluid Dynamics from Brown University. He is Fellow of ASME and ASHRAE.

 

Michael Wetzel

Michael Wetzel

Michael Wetzel, P.E., is President and CEO of Air Innovations, which designs and manufactures specialty HVAC systems for a broad range of applications, from military to wine cellars to high tech. Since joining the company as president and CEO in 1996, Wetzel has grown Air Innovations from a company focused solely on floral coolers to one that addresses wide variety of refrigeration, air conditioning and filtration needs. Prior to Air Innovations, Wetzel was based in France and worked four years for a multinational company building cleanrooms in Europe and the Middle East. Stateside before that, he was employed in the HVAC construction industry. Wetzel received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Clarkson University and is the holder of seven U.S. patents. Wetzel, who speaks fluent English and French, is a licensed Professional Engineer.

 

James W. Bush

James W. Bush

James W. Bush has been working in the field of electromechanical machine design and manufacturing for 40 years with a focus on compression machinery for air, natural gas, and refrigerants. He is presently the Principal of Bush Technical, LLC providing technical services in a number of fields including the development of a miniature scroll compressor used in the successful micro-environmental control system project. Mr. Bush has led or participated in the launch of 11 different products to market and recently played a lead role in the clean-paper, ground-up design, development, and production launch of a line of scroll compressors for the commercial air conditioning and heat pump industry. He is the named inventor or co-inventor on 117 U.S. patents in this field and is author or co-author of 16 technical publications. He received his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University in 1982 with an emphasis on Engineering Acoustics and Machine Design. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Syracuse University in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department where he assists in teaching the MEE 471/472 Senior Design Project sequence.

 

Presenters:

Dr. H. Ezzat Khalifa, NYSTAR Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University College of Engineering & Computer Science

Michael Wetzel, P.E., President and CEO, Air Innovations

James W. Bush, Principal, Bush Technical, LLC

 

Research & Technology Forum Series

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Canada Day a Success!

Phyllis Yaffe, Consul General of Canada in New York, delivers a speech on Canada’s and New York’s collaborative and innovative green building history

On Wednesday, April 4, SyracuseCoE and the Consulate General of Canada in New York partnered for a panel discussion on the state of the green building field in Canada and New York. Phyllis Yaffe, Consul General of Canada in New York, kick-started the afternoon with a speech that examined Canada’s and Central New York’s collaborative history in the engineering and designing of environmentally friendly structures, saying that together, Canada and New York “build things together, make things together and take care of the land around [their] borders.”

Afterwards, Canadian green building experts, Laura Kennedy of Nedlaw Living Walls, Hazel Sutton of the Building Owners and Managers Association Canada, and Erik C. Backus, Director of Construction Engineering Management at Clarkson University, explained the new technologies in Canada’s green building sector, the real estate market’s reaction and leadership to such changes, the policies supporting new innovations, and New York’s role as a leading partner.  The panel was moderated by SyracuseCoE’s Executive Director, Ed Bogucz.

The event was a success, with people coming from both New York and Canada to join in on the conversation.  Following the panel, the activities moved to the reception, where the conversation continued over good food and drinks.

Envisioning ‘Honorable’ Transportation for Clean Communities of the Future

This month’s Research and Technology Forum featured presentations from Dr. Paul Mutolo and Barry Carr who share insights on past, present and future transportation technologies and supporting energy infrastructure. Dr. Paul Mutolo kicks off the event with an “encore performance” of his TEDx talk, addressing the impacts of current transportation systems, exploring whether they are “…borrowing from our past and our future simultaneously,” and providing a vision for future “honorable” transportation. Afterwards, Barry Carr reviews current programs designed to promote alternative transportation options – including electric, natural gas and hydrogen-powered vehicles – as well as future transportation technologies. The program concludes with an introduction to a regional start-up company that is working to establish a network of grid-tied, onsite produced hydrogen stations to power advancements for fuel cell vehicles of tomorrow.

Presenters:

Dr. Paul Mutolo

Dr. Paul Mutolo, CEO, Standard Hydrogen Corporation, and Director of External Partnerships, Energy Materials Center at Cornell University

Paul Mutolo, PhD, is Co-Founder and CEO of Standard Hydrogen Corporation (SHC). SHC’s mission is enabling widespread deployment of carbon free power and vehicles. We do this through sales of Hydrogen Energy Services™ for customers in the grid and transportation sectors, powered by our HyGEL™ onsite hydrogen energy storage system.
Paul is a founding board member and officer of the New York Battery & Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) consortium. He also manages industry-university relationships for two research centers at Cornell University: emc2, the Energy Materials Center; and PARADIM, the Platform for the Accelerated Realization, Analysis, & Discovery of Interface Materials. 
Dr. Mutolo earned his PhD in inorganic and solid state chemistry from the University of California Santa Barbara. A recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, Paul conducted two years of his doctoral research at the WWU in Münster, Germany. He received his A.B. in chemistry from Cornell. Paul lives in Ithaca with his wife and their two boys.

 

Barry Carr

Barry Carr, Coordinator, Clean Communities of Central New York

Barry Carr is the Coordinator of Clean Communities of CNY, an outreach program operated by the US Department of Energy since 1993. He is in charge of educating transportation professionals on the use of alternative fuels and alternative fueled vehicles.
 
Involved in the alternative-fuel vehicle industry since 1988, Barry works closely with state and federal governments in support of funding and development programs. He serves on NGV America’s Federal and State Legislative Committee, is vice chair of the Northeast Gas Association, and was recently awarded a lifetime achievement award from NGV America. Additionally, he has also been named to the US Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Hall of Fame.
 
 
 
 

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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

Shaping a Greener Future for New York

Waterways are more and more attractive to industry for transporting raw materials, especially energy crops and their residues from agriculture, forestry and food production operations. In addition, a growing demand for green products and materials provide economic, ecological and social sustainability. This presentation explored the possibility of utilizing New York’s Canal System as a statewide regional revitalization and transportation system, to bridge the gap between bioenergy and petro-based chemicals. The presentation drew from experience of the Green Chemistry Belt at the Rhein-Main-Danube-Canal System and the Straubing Harbor in the State of Bavaria, Germany located on the river Danube.

Presenter:

Dr. Klaus DoelleDr. Klaus Doelle, Associate Professor, Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, Environmental Science, Director TRINITY Institute, SUNY-ESF

Dr. Klaus Doelle has over 26 years combined professional experience in the commercial sector including chemical process development, paper manufacturing, materials, design, manufacturing, energy production, waste water treatment and patent management. He has over 11 year combined academic experience from Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany and the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering (PBE) and Division of Environmental Science (ES). Dr. Doelle’s research interests are focused in the areas of pulp & paper and related environmental topics, including design of constructed wetlands, subsurface bioreactors, fossil energy, bioenergy, hydropower, water and waste water treatment, paper recycling, paper development, filler materials, energy savings, renewable energy & processes, engineering, machine & process design. Results of his research efforts have been published in over 610 publications, including 140 papers, articles, invited papers, presentations and discussion panels. In addition, Dr. Doelle’s past research efforts have led to 66 granted patents, more than 250 filed patent inventions, and in addition over 50 invention disclosures.

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Research & Technology Forum Series 

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.

SyracuseCoE Accepting Applications for Funding of 2018 Paid Student Internship Opportunities

SyracuseCoE is accepting applications for its 2018 Industry Collaboration Internship Program. Through this program, SyracuseCoE Partner companies can help students fine-tune their technical skills through hands-on experience in science, engineering, and architecture. The program supports paid internship opportunities, offering students the chance to work directly with a SyracuseCoE Partner company to develop their knowledge within the industries of indoor environmental quality (IEQ), high performance/green building, clean renewable energy, and water resources.

As well as developing their technical skills, the program also aims to introduce students to local industry leaders, establishing valuable relationships that serve to increase post-graduation student retention in the Central New York area.

To date, over 93 students have worked with 31 Partner firms, supported by the annual fees paid by companies participating in the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.  This summer, SyracuseCoE hopes to fund up to 8 internship opportunities with its Partner firms, providing up to $3,000 per internship.

View the 2018 Industry Collaboration Internship Program page and application.

HEALTHfx: The Benefits of LEED-Certified, Energy-Efficient Buildings

In 2015, the Willis H. Carrier Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab at SyracuseCoE was the site of the first COGfx Study, which examined the way buildings and their environments affect people’s behavior.  Now, a 16-year research study – known as HEALTHfx – conducted by Harvard University experts has found that LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) -certified buildings across the United States and five other countries, including China, India, Brazil, Germany, and Turkey, account for a near $6B in personal health and climate benefits.

Using Harvard’s Co-BE (Co-Benefits of the Built Environment) Calculator, the study examined energy cost savings, emission, reductions, and health co-benefits.  The results showed that energy-efficient buildings around the world have already amassed an estimated $13.3B in overall benefits, while averting 33 megatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reducing air pollution.  In the U.S., these benefits will prevent an estimated 172-405 premature deaths, 171 hospital admissions, 11,000 asthma exacerbations, 54,000 respiratory symptoms, 21,000 lost work days, and 16,000 lost school days.

However, only 3.5% of total commercial buildings in the United States are considered LEED-certified; thus, the study also asserts that the health and energy advantages of energy-efficient buildings be considered during future policy creation, building design, and operation of current developments.

Read the full study here.

 

The Business of Good Social Entrepreneurship, B Corporations and the New Bottom Line

Certified B Corporations are for-profit companies certified by the non-profit B Lab to meet a rigorous set of standards related to social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Today, according to B Lab, there is a growing community of more than 2,100 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together toward a single unifying goal: to redefine success in business. The forum featured Central New York entrepreneurs Kevin Stack, Josh Stack, and Kennedy Alexis Patlan, who have traveled the challenging path to Certified B Corporation status, leveraging the power of business and the markets for social and environmental good.  The forum was moderated by Linda Dickerson Hartsock, Executive Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University.

Presenters:

Kevin Stack, Northeast Green Building Consulting, LLC, Northeast Natural Homes, Inc.

Josh Stack, Stack, Law, PLLC, Biomimicry Northern Forest

Kennedy Alexis Patlan, Social Entrepreneurship Engagement Scholar, Syracuse University Blackstone LaunchPad

 

Research & Technology Forum Series

SyracuseCoE offers regularly scheduled forums and networking showcasing innovative research, technologies and other opportunities of interest to stakeholders and community members. Past topics have included groundbreaking industry projects to modernize the HVAC systems at the Sistine Chapel, workshops to help state agencies develop funding priorities, and research on the impact of “green” buildings on cognitive function. To receive notice of these events, sign up for email updates at the “Join our mailing list” tab at the bottom right corner of the website. Visit the Research & Technology Forum page to see the archive.