China’s rapid industrialization has come at a cost: The country is afflicted with some of the worst air pollution in the world.
But one Central New York company is improving air quality in China—and throughout Asia—one building at a time.
HealthWay Products manufactures air cleaning and filtration products for homes, businesses, and medical environments.
The Pulaski-based company originally developed air cleaners to remove smoke from bars. When legislation banned smoking indoors, the company changed focus, developing proprietary technology to clean air from entire buildings, capturing 99.99 percent of air contaminants.
“The World Health Organization has ranked indoor air quality as a top health concern facing humans,” says HealthWay President Vinny Lobdell. “It’s beyond smoke and allergens, but ultrafine particles that can cause cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer.”
HealthWay develops products that clean air at point of use by filtering contaminants generated within a space and at point of entry by cleaning air filtered into a building as part of its HVAC system. Customers include the Cleveland Clinic, Hyatt Hotels, Marriott, Harvard University, Starwood Hotels, Texas Instruments, BMW, Volkswagen, and Crystal Cruises. The company, named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing privately held companies in North America, sells its products in 30 countries.
Asia is the biggest growth market and SyracuseCoE has been an important partner in HealthWay’s expansion efforts. In 2013, HealthWay received a $50,000 Commercialization Assistance Program grant from SyracuseCoE to help commercialize and test a disinfecting filtration system specifically for the Asian market. The grant supported the assistance of Syracuse University Professor Jianshun Zhang, who conducted testing of the product.
“That grant was very important in helping us get that product to market,” says Lobdell. Installations include BMW corporate headquarters in China, the Saudi Ministry of Health, and hotels throughout Asia.
Lobdell says that product—the 2000 SC—is now the cornerstone of the company’s commercial line. In 2015, HealthWay purchased an additional facility in Pulaski to accommodate its manufacture, as well as to bring back other products the company was manufacturing in China, adding approximately 20 jobs to the Central New York region.
“We’re really grateful to have an organization like the SyracuseCoE locally,” says Lobdell. “Syracuse has become a hub for innovation in indoor air quality because of their efforts, and they continue to help us grow.”
Expertise: Measuring the impact of environmental conditions on cognitive function.
Backstory: Usha Satish has broad experience using the research tool Strategic Management Simulation (SMS) to study how wide-ranging variables impact cognitive function and real-world productivity, from drugs and alcohol to sleep deprivation to head injuries. In 2006, after completing a study on how various medications for seasonal allergies and rhinitis affect cognitive function, she was sought out by SyracuseCoE to see if her methods might be effective for a forthcoming study on the impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paint on indoor environments. Satish collaborated on the project, using SMS to evaluate the impact of VOCs on productivity and decision-making and expanded her area of research interest in the process.
Sound Bite: “Studying the impact of indoor air quality wasn’t originally on my radar, but it wasn’t out of the realm of imagination either,” says Satish. “Whether I’m looking at different levels of alcohol, antihistamines that cause drowsiness, or VOCs—they all have the potential to impact thinking capacity.”
SyracuseCoE Connection: In 2007, SyracuseCoE awarded nearly $300,000 for a two-year project led by Satish in collaboration with researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories to study the implications of low levels of carbon dioxide on people’s decision making and perceptions of indoor air quality. In 2009, SyracuseCoE awarded nearly $300,000 for a two-year project led by Satish in collaboration with the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to study the impacts of daylighting on human decision making and productivity. Satish was a co-investigator of the 2014 COGfx study, leading the cognitive testing and analysis component. “The SyracuseCoE is a wonderful organization for showcasing the research treasures we have in Upstate New York,” she says.
Current Project: Satish is collaborating with Syracuse University engineering professor Jianshun Zhang and King + King Architects to evaluate whether building renovations at Pine Grove Middle School in East Syracuse, New York, impact student learning. Data from SMS taken before and after the renovation under controlled conditions will be used to assess the impact of the built environment on student performance.
SyracuseCoE is home to the Willis H. Carrier Total Indoor Environmental Quality (TIEQ) Lab, a one-of-its-kind facility that enabled what climate expert Joe Romm calls “the seminal green building study of our time.” The recent groundbreaking study on “The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function” (COGfx) found participants’ cognitive function not only changed in response to the quality of their indoor environment, but also doubled in environments with enhanced green building ventilation.
The COGfx study “explains the great mystery of why better ventilation increases productivity,” says Romm, who heralded the findings at the 2015 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo for providing hard data that demonstrates the health and productivity benefits of green buildings.
Findings from the COGfx study showed that cognitive performance doubled in conditions that replicated green buildings with enhanced ventilation and in some functional areas—including strategy and information usage—nearly tripled. Just as important, quantitative analysis of that increased productivity found that air quality and cost are no longer a trade-off. According to the study, doubling the ventilation rate in typical office buildings can be reached at an estimated annual energy cost of between $14 and $40 per person, depending on location; this investment can result in improved productivity valued at, on average, $6,500 per person per year.
The COGfx study was led by researchers from the T.H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University, in collaboration with faculty members from Upstate Medical University and Syracuse University, and was supported by funding from United Technologies Corporation. Experiments were conducted at the TIEQ Lab in the fall of 2014 and results were published in a series of peer-reviewed papers beginning in fall 2015.
The COGfx study was specifically designed to take advantage of the capabilities of the TIEQ Lab. “This study is exactly the kind of pioneering research that we envisioned right from the start,” says Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. “As with many other projects that have been conducted in the TIEQ Lab, the unique capabilities of the facility and the expertise of local researchers familiar with using it attracted collaborators to Central New York.”
The TIEQ Lab consists of two rooms resembling a typical office environment; however, from the floor below, environmental conditions—such as ventilation rate, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration— can be controlled with a high degree of precision. “This allowed us to make changes to the indoor environmental quality in the TIEQ Lab while keeping the participants blinded to test conditions,” says Allen.
The COGfx study enlisted 24 professionals from Central New York firms and institutions to relocate to the TIEQ Lab for six days to per form their regular work. Near the end of each workday, they were given a cognitive assessment that evaluated real-world decision-making. Over the course of those six days, the indoor environment was modified to reflect conventional buildings, green buildings, and green buildings with enhanced ventilation.
Not only were participants unaware of changes in environmental conditions, but researchers involved in the cognitive testing were also “blind” to changing conditions as well.
“The double-blind nature of the study strengthens the integrity of our results,” says co-investigator Suresh Santanam, a Syracuse University Professor of engineering and computer science who is an expert in indoor air quality and air pollution control, and director of SU’s Industrial Assessment Center.
Usha Satish, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Upstate Medical University, led the testing using the Strategic Management Simulation, a highly reliable cognitive testing tool. The computer-based test posed diverse situations based on real-world challenges, allowing users to respond and strategize in their own cognitive style.
“The simulation scenarios have been validated to replicate people’s daily decision-making,” says Satish.
This study—and the impact its results are expected to bring— is precisely what was anticipated when the lab was conceived.
“Research is a long and costly process,” says Santanam. “It would not have been unusual if it took a decade for published research to have come out of the TIEQ Lab.
The impact the lab has made in our knowledge base in a relatively short time is really quite remarkable.”
Steam heating systems are widely used in New York State, in all kinds of buildings: universities, large high-rises, schools, and even homes. We know that converting steam to hot water systems routinely saves 50% of the heating energy use, as well as saving water. But it is not known how much steam heat, in fact, exists in the state – it is just not something that is inventoried in any of the various building information databases. So we set out to estimate how much steam is used in different kinds of buildings and were surprised by the results. We also evaluated the savings to convert from steam to a new type of heating technology, variable-refrigerant flow heat pumps. Join us to learn how much steam we are blowing off, and how much we could save by converting steam to VRF heat pumps, in a fast-moving and information-filled session.
Ian started Taitem Engineering in 1989. He has led several applied energy conservation research projects, has led many design and energy projects, and has delivered workshops in the area of energy and ventilation. He has also led the development of several computer programs which are used in the HVAC, energy, and indoor air quality fields, including TREAT (Targeted Residential Energy Analysis Tools), which was awarded the 2005 national R&D100 Award. He also developed an innovative desiccant cooling system, for which he holds a U.S. patent. Prior to starting Taitem Engineering, he worked for seven years at Carrier Corporation in Syracuse, where he designed heat pumps and air conditioning equipment, and holds eight patents from this work. He is the co-author of the book Green Building Illustrated (John Wiley and Sons), and is the author of the forthcoming book Energy Audits and Improvements for Commercial Buildings (John Wiley and Sons, April 2016). 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, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.
SyracuseCoE is seeking applications from current members of the Partner Program to the 2016 Summer Industry Collaboration Internship Program. The program supports paid internship opportunities for SyracuseCoE Partner Program companies to host a student engaged in work related to a SyracuseCoE focus area, including:
Indoor environmental quality (IEQ)
Clean and renewable energy, including high performance/green building
Water resources
In addition to increasing the technical skills of area students pursuing degrees in science, engineering, and architecture, program goals include increased post-graduation student retention in the Central Upstate region and the establishment of valuable relationships between college students and local firms. To date, more than 30 companies and 90 students have participated in this program, which will provide up to $3,000 toward an intern’s wages. The deadline to apply is March 31st.[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Learn More!” style=”custom” custom_background=”#d44500″ custom_text=”#ffffff” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fcenterofexcellence.syracuse.edu%2F2016-summer-industry-collaboration-internships%2F||target:%20_blank”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
SyracuseCoE invites proposals to the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund from current 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
Deadline March 24, 2016[vc_btn title=”Learn More!” style=”custom” custom_background=”#d44500″ custom_text=”#ffffff” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fcenterofexcellence.syracuse.edu%2Fwhat-we-offer%2F2016-innovation-fund%2F||target:%20_blank”]
For 30 years, researchers at SyracuseCoE academic Partner SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) have studied new forms of renewable energy. In the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering, researchers use sugars derived from willow biomass to create biofuels with very low greenhouse gas emissions that will replace their fossil fuel counterparts.
That research moved from the lab bench to production scale with the opening of the SUNY-ESF Biofuels Pilot Plant at SyracuseCoE in 2015. “We want to make the same portfolio of products you can make from fossil fuels,” says Art Stipanovic, ESF professor of chemistry and director of the Pilot Plant.
The new facility is a small-scale, commercial grade pilot plant that allows researchers to scale up the size of their production significantly, so that they can develop and demonstrate processes that will evolve into full-scale commercial production.
“Equipment like this is hard to find,” adds Thomas Amidon, professor and chair of paper and bioprocess engineering at ESF. “It’s too small for most manufacturers but too big for almost anywhere else. You’d rarely find this on a college campus.”
The Pilot Plant includes a 1000-Liter fermenter that creates an optimal environment for microorganisms to convert wood-based sugars to fuels such as ethanol and butanol, and a 30-gallon-per-hour distillation column to distill the biofuels produced in the fermenter to high purity fuels suitable for testing in engines.
The facility provides a more robust learning and research environment in a real-world setting. “The goal is to move science into a technology and then into a commercial business,” says Amidon.
That’s already happening.
New companies that have originated from ESF’s research include Avatar Sustainable Technologies, founded by Bhavin
Bhayani, Ph.D., and Bandaru V. Ramarao, professor of paper and bioprocess engineering at ESF and director of the Empire
State Paper Research Insitute.
It was during an internship at a paper mill while an ESF doctoral student that Bhayani had his aha moment. “There was a tremendous amount of paper waste that was already beaten and pulped,” he says.
Bhayani saw this cellulosic waste as a readymade option for producing the sugars needed for fermentation to biofuels. He and Ramarao, his doctoral advisor, received NYSERDA funding to develop and demonstrate the concept on a lab scale. Bhayani also won $10,000 from SyracuseCoE in Syracuse University’s RvD IDEA student competition in 2013;the award served as a catalyst to start Avatar Sustainable Technologies to commercialize its proprietary technology for producing fermentable sugars for bioproducts industries.
“Different biofuels and bio-plastics require different qualities of sugar. We’re working with people in academia, at the paper mills, and biofuels companies to make sure our processes are in alignment with their requirements,” he says.
In addition to continued use of the ESF Pilot Plant, SyracuseCoE provides the firm with office space, funding through a $25,000 Innovation Fund award, and guidance in commercialization.
“It would be very difficult to do this without the support of SyracuseCoE,” Bhayani says.
Flint, a city of about 100,000 in southeastern Michigan, is known as the birthplace of General Motors and for subsequent Rustbelt decline. Two new words define the city nationally: lead poisoning. Contamination of the municipal water supply and a shocking list of resulting health problems are a product of uniquely toxic chemistry, politics, and power within the region and the state. However, aging infrastructure and social inequality, problems shared by many other American cities, were also key ingredients in this disaster, prompting the question of whether this could happen elsewhere, and how to prevent it.
On February 9th, 2016 we were joined by Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee who spoke from Washington, D.C. via webinar about the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and its connections with the city’s infrastructure. Rep. Kildee is a lifelong Flint resident who founded the pioneering Genesee County Land Bank and co-founded the Center for Community Progress, a national organization promoting urban land reform and revitalization.
In a lab on the third floor at SyracuseCoE headquarters, a group of Syracuse University graduate students works on a prototype for a heat exchanger that transfers heat with a low-pressure draw. Later that afternoon, another team will work on a structural analysis of a low-vibration cryo frigeration system in an attempt to find ways to reduce the vibration level even further.
They’re working in the Analysis and Design Center, a NYSERDA funded resource created to assist firms in Central New York’s thermal and environmental control cluster accelerate development of innovative products. Under the super vision of faculty members from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, these students are helping solve real-world problems for AM-TEC companies such as Cryomech, a world leader in cryorefrigeration and helium recovery systems.
“As a small company, we have limited manpower,” says Chao Wang, Ph.D., director of research and development at Cryomech. “Collaborating with the resources at Syracuse University and SyracuseCoE gives us research and development capabilities we just don’t have on our own.”
That’s where the Analysis and Design Center comes in. The center provides AM-TEC companies with assistance from a team of specially trained students from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, who work under the super vision of faculty members. The students per form analysis and design using software for computational fluid dynamics or finite-element analysis.
In addition to helping AM-TEC manufacturers develop new products, the Analysis and Design Center also benefits the students who are engaged. “By getting to work on problems not ‘well-posed’ in classroom homework or an exam, students have to make their own assumptions to solve the problem,” says Thong Dang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University.
One of those students is Pratik Manandhar, a master’s student in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Syracuse University, who has worked on projects for Ekostinger and Kohilo Wind. “Working in the Analysis and Design Center has provided me with an excellent opportunity to work hands-on in a professional environment and gain practical experience in implementing classroom knowledge to solve real-life problems,” he says. “In addition, attending meetings and interacting with company professionals has also helped me learn how to communicate effectively and will help me make a smooth transition from academia to industry.”
In a six-day study in SyracuseCoE’s Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab twenty-four professional employees – architects, designers, programmers, engineers, creative marketing professionals and managers – participated in a study examining the impact of green buildings on cognitive performance and decision-making performance. This week, researchers returned to SyracuseCoE to present the findings of this pioneering study to an audience of more than 140 total, including 70 via web and more than 70 in the room.
Study Info:
“The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function” study found that participants’ cognitive performance scores averaged 101 percent higher in green building environments with enhanced ventilation compared to a conventional building environment.
Researchers measured cognitive function for nine functional domains, including basic, applied and focused activity levels; task orientation; crisis response; information seeking; information usage; breadth of approach; and strategy. The largest improvements in cognitive function test scores was found in the areas of crisis response, information usage and strategy.
Crisis response scores were 97 percent higher for the green environment and 131 percent higher for the green environment with enhanced ventilation and lower carbon dioxide levels compared to the conventional environment.
Information usage scores for green and enhanced green environments were 172 and 299 percent higher than in the conventional environment, respectively.
For strategy, green and enhanced green scores were 183 and 288 percent higher than the conventional environment.
Panelists and speakers:
Introduction by: John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer, United Technologies Corporation.
Joseph G. Allen, DSc, MPH, Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor of Exposure Assessment Science
Piers MacNaughton, MS Project Manager, Doctoral Candidate
Suresh Santanam, ScD, PE, Co-Investigator, Director, Industrial Assessment Center, Associate Professor, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering
Usha Satish, PhD, Director, Strategic Management Simulations Institute for Human Performance
Because the study reflects conditions in indoor environments that many people encounter daily, these findings have far ranging implications for worker productivity, student learning, and safety.
Green building design that optimizes employee productivity and energy usage will require adopting energy efficient systems and informed operating practices to maximize the benefit to human health while minimizing energy consumption.
View the recorded webinar:
For more information about the Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab, contact tlrosani@syr.edu.
A shift to LED lighting is saving sports teams millions of dollars and improving fan experiences, in large part using products developed and manufactured by Central New York’s Ephesus Lighting. Since 2013, Ephesus lighting has been installed at more than 100 sports venues across the United States and Canada, saving an estimated 45-million kilowatts of energy and eliminating 34,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere.
Ephesus developed an ultra-high performance LED technology with a patented lens design that is 75 percent more energy-efficient than the metal halide lights traditionally used at stadiums, providing fuller illumination and casting fewer shadows. And at much less cost—the average arena installation reduces energy costs by up to 85 percent, bringing a return on investment in less than five years.
Since entering the sports LED market, Ephesus’ revenue has grown an average of more than 300 percent in each of the last three years. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without SyracuseCoE,” says Joe Casper, who founded the company in 2010 with his wife, Amy.
The Caspers had worked for advanced technology companies across the United States, including Lockheed Martin in Syracuse and Motorola. They returned to Central New York with a vision to translate their combined expertise in semiconductor design and production to develop new energy-efficient technologies in LED lighting. Casper sought out Ed Bogucz at SyracuseCoE, who in turn connected the Caspers to a broad array of resources, including business incubation, potential research and development collaborators, and other services to develop, test, and commercialize their innovative, energy-efficient lighting products.
In 2012, Ephesus won a Commercialization Assistance Program award from SyracuseCoE that enabled the company to develop its own patented LED chip using gallium nitride on diamond. Subsequently, Ephesus developed an LED light for sports arenas that was installed at the historic War Memorial Arena at The Oncenter, home of the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
In 2014, Ephesus developed a next-generation light suitable for large stadiums; the performance of the first prototype was tested successfully at SyracuseCoE headquarters in May. The first installation of the new light was the University of Phoenix Stadium, which hosted the Super Bowl in February 2015. That exposure led to a jump in sales. “Ever y new venue will be built with LED,” says Casper, adding that stadium and arena lighting is just one aspect of business. Ephesus has also developed lighting for industrial and commercial use and for broadcasting. And that’s just the beginning.
“The intellectual collisions that happen at SyracuseCoE spawn a lot of new ideas,” says Casper.
In October 2015, Ephesus Lighting was purchased by Eaton Corporation, a global technology leader in power management solutions.
Syracuse University and Nanjing University Partner to Form the International Center for Green Buildings and the Urban Environment
With joint interests in sustainability of the built environment, Syracuse University and Nanjing University (NJU) of the People’s Republic of China signed a cooperative agreement on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to establish the International Center for Green Buildings and the Urban Environment. The objective of the new partnership is to promote cooperation in environmental and energy research and education.
The agreement to establish the new center was signed by officials from the two universities at an event held at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE). The ceremony began with Jensen Zhang, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of Syracuse University’s Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory, welcoming the guests to Syracuse University. Representing Syracuse University and signing the document were Elizabeth D. Liddy, interim vice chancellor and provost; Michael A. Speaks, dean of the School of Architecture; and Edward Bogucz, executive director of SyracuseCoE. NJU was represented by Yi Pan, vice president for research, and Wowo Ding, dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning.“This is a very important time for collaboration between the U.S. and China on research and practice in climate change,” said Sherburne Abbott, vice president for sustainability initiatives at Syracuse University. “Our two countries are responsible for 43 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions, and our leadership will be essential in organizing a new framework for reducing these emissions. We hope to bring together the faculty and students from our great universities to build on the relationship between clean energy, climate change and a sustainable future.”
“Some of the most vanguard work in the world in the area of Green Buildings is being conducted in China,” said Speaks. “We are excited to join their efforts in this partnership.”
The mission of the center is to advance interdisciplinary research and education through international collaboration and achieve broader impact of the two universities in the field of sustainability related to energy, environment and health in buildings and urban communities. It will be accomplished through specific objectives, including collaborative research projects, educational programs, joint outreach programs between academics and international industrial partners, and multidisciplinary faculty and student exchange. The partnership has already involved faculty and students from three different Syracuse University colleges and schools, including Architecture, Engineering and Computer Science and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, through interdisciplinary coursework, lectures and extension programs.
“We look forward to supporting this new center, and we should let the world know that Nanjing University’s office will be here on the second floor in the SyracuseCoE headquarters. To our new partners from Nanjing, I say ‘Welcome home,’ we look forward to working with you,” said Bogucz.
Both universities are internationally known for their contributions to the field of sustainability. The newly established center demonstrates their strong commitment to facilitate world-class international academic collaborations by working together to develop innovative new solutions for global challenges.
As advances in instrumentation, mobility, production processes, and networks make data more prevalent within manufacturing, the integration and modeling of information from across these varied sources is becoming a critical differentiator for improving process productivity, quality, asset reliability, EHS and energy performance. Although many technology providers have their own applications to access and store the related data, it is often only available to meet very specific and limited functional needs. When data is recognized as a critical asset and managed as part of an infrastructure, however, it can become a key enabler to help transform the entire operations. By making all process and production data available, and providing information in a context model based on functional needs, manufacturers can drive improved results against their critical business impacts. This presentation will introduce the concept of a data infrastructure and show how a related strategy can help deliver operational intelligence to enable real-time action and decisions, provide a common platform for analysis, and establish standardized KPIs to measure and evaluate ongoing performance.
Presenter:
Lance Fontaine
OSIsoft, Industry Principle, Metals and Mining
Knoxville, TN, USA
Lance Fountaine joined OSIsoft in October 2013 as an Industry Principal for the Metals and Mining industry following a 20 year career in the aluminum business with Alcoa Global Primary Metals.
In his last assignment before leaving Alcoa, Lance was accountable for the global development and deployment of common, best practice Manufacturing Applications, as well as the supporting computing infrastructure. The renewed focus and resulting strategy led to the adoption of a SMART Manufacturing program across the global enterprise. This program was based on the PI System as an information infrastructure to support efforts for continuous improvement, operational excellence and ongoing business sustainability.
After joining Alcoa as an electrical engineer in 1993, Lance held a number of positions within the company providing process control, manufacturing and IT services at the location, region and enterprise level. In addition to his technicalexperience, Lance has also led efforts to consolidate IT and OT functions into a common organizational model supporting the current convergence in computing technology.
Lance was a Presidential Scholar at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree Electrical Engineering in 1991 and returned to get his Masters of Science in Electrical Power in 1993 as a research associate for Niagara Mohawk.
Outside of work, Lance spends a majority of his time with his wife and two sons. He is very active in sports, and has also served as a coach for minor hockey, baseball and football in the Knoxville area. In addition to sports, Lance and his family also enjoy academics and traveling.
This forum will be moderated by SyracuseCoE Executive Director, Ed Bogucz.
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.
Hunger, food security, climate emissions and water shortages are anything but foolish topics. The way we systematically waste food in the face of these challenges, however, is one of humankind’s unintended but most foolish practices. During his presentation, John Mandyck will explore the environmental and social opportunities that we can create by simply wasting less food, as highlighted in his recently released book Food Foolish. Real solutions to feeding the world and preserving its resources can be unlocked in the context of climate mitigation.
Chief Sustainability Officer, UTC Building & Industrial Systems
During his presentation, John Mandyck serves as Chief Sustainability Officer for United Technologies Building & Industrial Systems, the world’s largest provider of technologies and services dedicated to making buildings and cities more energy efficient, safe and secure. With more than 100,000 employees and sales in nearly every country, UTC Building & Industrial Systems serves customers with innovative elevator, escalator, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, fire safety and security solutions from well-known global brands such as Otis, Carrier, Kidde and Chubb. In addition to sustainability, he leads the company’s marketing and communications function.
A graduate of Syracuse University, John works with universities and organizations around the world to accelerate green building, such as the U.S. Green Building Council, which Carrier helped found and joined as the first member in 1993. John chairs the Corporate Advisory Board of the World Green Building Council, serves as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Urban Green Council in New York City and is a member of the Corporate Council for the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University. He was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to co-chair the Department of Energy’s Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee. He has presented energy efficiency, sustainability and future of food strategies to audiences around the world.
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.
Successfully launching a new startup company is extremely difficult. Trying to do so by means of technology developed within a university research lab is even more challenging. While more than half of U.S. basic research is conducted at universities, very little is ever effectively translated into the market. In his presentation, Doug Buerkle, will discuss the unique challenges associated with commercializing university technology and discuss ways which communities can work more effectively to overcome existing hurdles. The presentation will conclude with a brief overview of NEXUS-NY, a seed accelerator chartered with catalyzing the commercialization of clean energy technologies discovered by New York researchers. http://nexus-ny.org
SyracuseCoE—New York State’s Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems—today announced that three Central New York companies have received competitive awards totaling $30,000 from the Center’s Innovation Fund. The award-winning companies and their projects are:
LC Drives of Potsdam, for a project to develop a key manufacturing process for a newly designed wind turbine generator. This wind turbine generator will help bring down the cost of energy from wind power.
Solstice Power, of Syracuse, for to support the development of The Hybrid System, a renewable, low cost, on-site, combined heat and power solar technology, which will generate three times the electrical energy of traditional fixed, mounted flat-panel solar systems.
NuClimate Air Quality Systems, of East Syracuse, to support independent testing and final product revisions for new a Vertical Stack Induction/Fan Coil Unit. This unit will be a direct replacement for current Vertical Stack Fan Coil Units in the light commercial and commercial market place and will consume no more than 25% of the energy of current products.
The SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund is supported by funding from SyracuseCoE’s Partner Program; it is designed to support Partners’ efforts to bridge barriers to the commercialization of potentially transformative innovations in energy and environmental systems. 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; and Water Resources.
To date, the Innovation Fund has provided $164,000 to nine yracuseCoE Partner firms for projects to develop innovative products and services and promote their commercialization.
“The Innovation Fund Awards are a shining example of the creativity and strength of Central New York’s regional cluster of environmental and energy firms,” said Ed Bogucz, SyracuseCoE executive director. “The awards, competitively awarded based on technical merit and commercialization potential, have tremendous potential to strengthen each company and the region.”
“SyracuseCoE Partners benefit from a vibrant innovation ecosystem that supports the acceleration of research and technology development in energy and environmental systems,” said Patrick Jackson, Chair of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partners Council. “The Innovation Fund is a key element of the support available to researchers and companies throughout Central New York, and we look forward to the outcomes associated with these excellent projects.”
The next round of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program Innovation Fund will open in August of 2015. Eligibility for awards is extended to members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. Proposals may include collaborations with non-Partner Program firms and academic partners; however, proposals must be submitted and led by members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.
For more information about the SyracuseCoE Partner Program, visit https://centerofexcellence.syracuse.edu/who-we-are/partners
The biomimetic approach seeks to incorporate designs based on biological organisms into engineered technologies. Biomimetics can be used to engineer machines that emulate the performance of organisms, particularly in instances where the organism’s performance exceeds current mechanical technology or provides new directions to solve existing problems. In this R&T forum, our speakers will explore how nature addresses propulsion in air and water and how those insights can be used to improve technological performance.
Presentations:
Characterizing the Three Dimensional Flow Around a Bio-inspired Fin Dr. Melissa Green, Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Aerodynamics and Propulsion and Fluid Mechanics, Syracuse University
Thrust Production Using Flapping Wings Dr. Douglas Bohl, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Clarkson University
Humpback Whale Tubercles and the Development of Innovative Biomimetic Designs Dr. Frank Fish, Professor, Department of Biology, West Chester University
The presentation will outline the solicitation, as well as the proposal submission, award and contracting process. PON 2606 seeks proposals for development and demonstration activities that advance the energy performance of both new and existing buildings in the residential, multi-family or commercial sector. Technology areas of interest include, but are not limited to: construction materials, strategies and practices; HVAC and lighting technologies, automation technologies enabling load flexibility and smarter background operations; and building integrated renewable energy systems. Energy improvements in buildings can also result from activities that do not involve development of new products or construction methods; improvements can result from new policies, regulations or assessments. NYSERDA also seeks proposals for activities to remove inadvertent barriers that hinder the wider use of promising technologies.
IAQ in Space Habitat: The Ultimate Challenge R. Vijayakumar, PhD, Consultant in Chief, AERFIL
Extra terrestrial manned exploration poses many immense challenges and opportunities. Key among them will to maintain acceptable indoor air and environmental quality. Although no specific mission has been scheduled, NASA and others are working on several solutions to these problems. In this presentation, the author will present a brief on the challenges in designing systems for space IAQ, and specifically discuss the technology he has been developing for NASA.
Filtering Air Filters: Development of an Improved Method for Testing the Performance of Filter Media that Remove Gases from Indoor Air Chuan He, PhD Candidate, Building Energy Environmental System Laboratory (BEESL), Syracuse University
Predicting the actual performance of filter media commonly used to remove gases in air cleaners is challenging due to low concentrations of contaminants that are typically found in indoor environments. The procedure specified in ASHRAE Standard 145.1 addresses these challenges by conducting tests of filter media at elevated gas concentrations. This approach is useful for comparing the performance of different media, but it cannot directly represent the performance of air cleaners in typical indoor environments. A new method was developed to determine filter media performance under low concentrations. Results show that the new test method can dramatically reduce test times and the approach can be applied to predict the media performance in real-life applications with sufficient accuracy.
Our built environment can shape our habits and choices, regulate our sleep-wake cycle, drive us toward healthy and unhealthy choices, and passively influence our health through the quality of our surroundings. The WELL Building Standard provides the opportunity to design and build with a human-centered approach, which ultimately supports the industry in comprehensively addressing human health.
Learn what happens once a project is registered to pursue WELL Certification, how the on-site WELL Commissioning works, and why recertification is important.
Speakers:
Nathan Stodola, Vice President, International WELL Building Standard
Bess Krietemeyer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Syracuse School of Architecture, Interactive Simulations for High-Performance Building Design Brandon Andow, Ph.D. Candidate, RPI Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE), Materials Research and Simulation of Graphene Oxide Thin-Films for Next-generation Multi-functional Dynamic Façades Amber Bartosh, R.A., LEED AP BD+C, Assistant Professor, Syracuse School of Architecture, Mediated Environments: Integrated and Immersive Media in Architecture Design, Representation, and Constructed Prototypes
SyracuseCoE is collaborating with Siemens to compare two different technologies for controlling the amount of daylight that enters a room: “smart” glass that can change tint via “electrochromic” technologies, and automated window blinds. The project will study the interactions between daylighting, occupant comfort, and energy used for lighting, heating, and cooling.
Researchers from Syracuse University, Siemens and SyracuseCoE will develop Continue Reading
Dr. Crumm’s PhD work at the University of Michigan led to the founding of Adaptive Materials Inc. (AMI). AMI grew to become an alternative energy market leader and after attracting more than $50 million in contracts was acquired by Ultra Electronics Inc.. Crumm’s simple, yet radical, business proposition was to develop a portable solid oxide fuel cell system that ran off of readily available fuel. Prior to founding Adaptive Materials, Crumm gained insight into electric power generation as a nuclear engineer. He earned his bachelor of science degree in nuclear engineering from Purdue University and a PhD in material science from the University of Michigan. Crumm is a highly regarded and respected speaker at many alternative energy symposiums and fuel cell conferences, is an advisor at Augment Ventures and Entrepreneur in Residence with the University of Michigan Center for Entrepreneurship.
Speaker:
Dr. Aaron Crumm – Founder, Adaptive Materials Inc.
Groundbreaking Study Conducted at SyracuseCoE Discovers Better Air Quality Improves Decision-Making by Knowledge Workers
In a pioneering study conducted at SyracuseCoE by collaborators from Harvard University, Upstate Medical University, and Syracuse University, improved indoor environmental quality was found to double scores of knowledge workers on cognitive function tests. The study was conducted in SyracuseCoE’s unique Total Indoor Environmental Quality Lab, which was configured to conduct a double-blind study of 24 office workers who experienced indoor air quality conditions found in conventional buildings, green buildings, and green buildings with enhanced ventilation.
“The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function” study found that participants’ cognitive performance scores averaged 101 percent higher in green building environments with enhanced ventilation compared to a conventional building environment.
Researchers measured cognitive function for nine functional domains, including basic, applied and focused activity levels; task orientation; crisis response; information seeking; information usage; breadth of approach; and strategy. The largest improvements in cognitive function test scores was found in the areas of crisis response, information usage and strategy.
Crisis response scores were 97 percent higher for the green environment and 131 percent higher for the green environment with enhanced ventilation and lower carbon dioxide levels compared to the conventional environment.
Information usage scores for green and enhanced green environments were 172 and 299 percent higher than in the conventional environment, respectively.
For strategy, green and enhanced green scores were 183 and 288 percent higher than the conventional environment.
A follow-up study was published last month that found that doubling the ventilation rate in typical office buildings can be reached at an estimated annual energy cost of between $14 and $40 per person, resulting in as much as a $6,500 equivalent in improved productivity per person per year. When energy-efficient technologies are utilized, the study found the energy costs to be even lower, with a minimized environmental impact of approximately 0.03 additional cars on the road per building.
Designating hazard is an essential component of chemical alternatives assessment, a process which can lead to increased safety and sustainability of consumer products used in our homes and offices. Performing rigorous hazard analysis requires the evaluation of physical/chemical properties, environmental fate, and ecological and mammalian toxicity endpoints. However, the availability of relevant and high quality experimental data for the chemicals under consideration is the exception rather than the rule. Methodologies for addressing existing data gaps for hazard assessments often include the use of estimation methods such as Quantitative Structure Activity Relationships (QSARs), analogue approaches and read across, either used alone or in combination. Through the use of recent case studies, this presentation will focus on tools developed and/or implemented by SRC, Inc. to identify safer chemicals for consumer products, inform the decision-making process, and educate stakeholders.
Speakers:
Dr. Jay Tunkel, Sr. Scientist and Principal Investigator from SRC’s Environmental Health Analysis (EHA) group. Dr.
Russell Pellegrino Jr., Technical Director of Centek Laboratories
SyracuseCoE invites proposals from current Partners to its Innovation Fund for projects up to $10,000. The Innovation Fund is supported with funding from SyracuseCoE Partners 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
Award Information
Type of Award: Fixed cost agreement – milestone based
Total 2015 Funds Available: $90,000
Funding Rounds in 2015: 2
Anticipated Number of Awards: Up to total of 9 awards in 2015
Maximum Award: $10,000
Project Duration: Up to nine months
Eligibility Information
Eligibility for awards is extended to all current members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program. Proposals may include collaborations with non-Partner Program firms and academic partners; however, proposals must be submitted and led by members of the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.
Budget, Payment, and Match Requirements
Applicants must include a budget signed by an authorized company official, a template for which is provided below. Matching funds are encouraged as either cash or in-kind; while not required, the strength of a proposed match is included among selection criteria. Funding from federal, state, and foundation sources may be used to support a portion of matching funds; awards administered by SyracuseCoE may not be used as match. Applications must include a budget that clearly defines uses of funds, as well as verifiable sources of match, if included. Proposals must also include milestones for payment of requested funds.
Application Information and Timeline
Applications may be submitted online – see “Application” link at top of page – and must include an uploaded project narrative and a signed budget; template documents are provided below.
Two rounds of funding are expected in 2015, with deadlines as follow:
Round 1 deadline: April 15, 2015
Round 2 deadline: October 1, 2015
Proposals will be reviewed based on the following selection criteria:
Technical merit, based on sound engineering and/or scientific principles
Impact in SyracuseCoE areas of focus
Extent to which the proposed technology or process is innovative and has the potential to advance the state-of-the-art
Extent to which proposal moves technology toward commercialization
Expected economic outcomes, , such as potential revenue, jobs created/retained, etc.
Clearly articulated project timeline, including appropriate milestones
Justified and reasonable budget plan, including strength of proposed match, if applicable
Qualifications and strength of project team
After an initial review by staff, selected applicants will be invited to participate in a proposal pitch to a panel of judges, which may include members of the SyracuseCoE Industry Partners Council, SyracuseCoE staff and others. Funding decisions may be expected shortly thereafter.
In all cases, the review process will be conducted under the oversight of the Executive Director of SyracuseCoE with staff support.
Invoicing
Invoices will be submitted upon completion of pre-approved milestones. A progress report must accompany each invoice.
Reporting Requirements
Progress reports to be submitted with invoices will be reviewed and approved by SyracuseCoE staff prior to payment. Award recipients will be surveyed annually by SyracuseCoE staff for information on outcomes related to the project.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) has hosted the Energy Innovation Summit in Washington, D.C., for the past six years to bring together the very best minds in business, academia, and government to advance cutting-edge technologies that could fundamentally change the way we generate, use, and store energy. Having just returned from the Summit this month, R&T forum speakers will discuss SyracuseCoE’s engagement at the conference including a recap of how energy industry experts, thought leaders and decision makers are thinking about America’s energy challenges and how to move these innovations out of the lab and into the market. Additionally, Tim LaBreche will share highlights of a recent visit to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Speakers: Chetna Chianese, SyracuseCoE Research Fellow Tim LaBreche, SyracuseCoE Associate Director for Technology Commercialization Ryan Falkenstein-Smith, Research Assistants, Syracuse University Combustion and Energy Research Lab James Shomar, Founder and CEO, Solstice Power
Super Bowl victory for EDA innovation accelerator: Regional cluster shines with game-changing LED lights
This year’s Super Bowl featured an epic game on the field, a stunning halftime performance, and—high in the rafters—a pioneering new lighting system that was developed with assistance from an EDA award for regional cluster development.
The next-generation LED lights that lit Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium were developed by Ephesus Lighting, of Syracuse, NY. Ephesus developed its new lights specifically for outdoor stadium sport venues with partnership support from the Advanced Manufacturing in Thermal and Environmental Controls (AM-TEC) program. AM-TEC was awarded EDA funding under the 2012 Advanced Manufacturing Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge; it supports an emerging industry cluster in New York’s CenterState region.
Ephesus Lighting is a shining example of the AM-TEC project’s vision for fueling growth and jobs in the region. The firm’s stadium lights achieve dramatic reductions in energy and maintenance costs, and improve experiences for athletes and spectators. And they’re raising the bar for high-quality sports lighting demanded by professional and collegiate venues.
In 2010, company founders Joe and Amy Casper, created a company that envisioned translating their combined expertise in semiconductor design and production to develop new energy-efficient technologies. That vision resulted in a new company that targeted high-performance LED lighting. They tapped a broad array of resources available to start-up companies in New York State, including business incubation, research and development collaborations with area universities, and other services to develop, test and commercialize their innovative, energy efficient lighting products. In partnership with AM-TEC project partners led by the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE), Ephesus Lighting demonstrated the first outdoor stadium prototype LED fixture using the SyracuseCoE headquarters facility as the testbed.
To date, Ephesus lights have been installed at more than 100 sports venues across the U.S. and Canada. At University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, 312 Ephesus fixtures replaced 753 metal-halide lamps, using 75 percent less energy and providing full illumination instantly, in contrast to the 20-minute warm-up period required by metal-halide lamps.
With the support of EDA and others, Ephesus Lighting and its collaborators in New York’s AM-TEC cluster have demonstrated the benefits of leveraging regional assets and strengths, addressing new markets, and accelerating development of innovative, game-changing products. For more information about Ephesus Lighting, visit http://ephesuslighting.com. To learn more about the AM-TEC regional cluster project, visit http://amtec.syracusecoe.org.
Central to SyracuseCoE’s mission, vision, and purpose, the SyracuseCoE Innovation Ecosystem encourages and funds collaborative projects that develop new environmental and energy systems products and services. Focusing on clean and renewable energy, indoor environmental quality, and water resources, these projects improve built and natural environments—the places in which we live, work, learn, and play. Grants are offered for targeted research, demonstration, and commercialization. In addition, SyracuseCoE outreach activities educate the public and the workforce—a crucial aspect of the green and clean technology sector.
SyracuseCoE members leverage world-class R&D facilities, including the SyracuseCoE headquarters, the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory (BEES Lab) at Syracuse University, bio-fuels facilities at SUNY-ESF, full-scale wind turbine testing operations at Clarkson University, and more.
Cool Technology: ARPA-E awards $3.2 to Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE researchers for ‘personal air-conditioning’
Syracuse University was recently awarded a $3.2 million grant from the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to develop innovative new technologies that regulate temperatures for each person inside an office building, rather than heating or cooling the whole building itself.
SyracuseCoE scientists aided the project team in the development of the proposal and will be key players in the execution of the research, including bringing the technolog
y to market.
Syracuse University’s Professor H. Ezzat Khalifa will lead the team of researchers to develop a near-range micro-environmental control system. The system will provide heating and cooling via a box about the size of an old desktop computer. A high-efficiency micro vapor compression system will utilize an evaporator embedded in a phase-change material. This material will store the heating or cooling produced by the micro vapor compression system at night, releasing it as a breeze to make occupants more comfortable during the day.
“This award allows us to develop a transformative technology that could alter the way we approach heating and cooling buildings.” says Dr. Khalifa, NYSTAR Distinguished Professor, Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Syracuse University. “Ultimately this system will create a much more affordable and energy efficient way to ensure individual occupant comfort.”
In addition to researchers at Syracuse University and SyracuseCoE, the project includes United Technologies Research Center, Air Innovations, Bush Technical LLC and Cornell University. Substantial financial contributions have also been given by Syracuse University, the partners, ESD (Empire State Development) and NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority).
Prof. Khalifa and colleagues join the country’s top scientists and engineers in advancing ARPA-E’s mission of developing transformative energy technologies that enhance the economic and energy security of the United States. ARPA-E’s Delivering Efficient Local Thermal Amenities (DELTA) program plans to provide $30 million to support 11 project teams in developing technologies that can regulate temperatures focused on a building’s occupants and not the overall building.
The team hopes to create an affordable system that can condition only the space immediately surrounding an individual user rather than all of the space in an office, saving a great deal of energy. Such an innovation could revolutionize the way offices are heated and cooled.
Professor Godlewski examined the socio-political context of these groundbreaking pieces of art and architecture during the Renaissance and their renewed importance today. Bill Chadwick discussed Carrier Corporation’s recently completed innovative heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) solution for the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. The new system will help preserve Michelangelo’s masterpieces against deterioration caused by the increasing numbers of visitors.
Speakers: Joseph Godlewski: Assistant Professor, Syracuse University School of Architecture Bill Chadwick: PE, CEM, LEED BD+C, Sr. Building Systems Engineer for United Technologies Corp., Building & Industrial System
Research projects and opportunities related to stormwater management in Onondaga County.
Prof. David Chandler – Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science Professor Dave Chandler will present ongoing research on the green infrastructure installation along East Washington Street;
Michael Lasell, PE, LEED AP BD+C – O’Brien & Gere Project Associate Mike Lasell will address the stormwater management plan developed for the SyracuseCoE Intermodal Transportation Center, soon under construction;
Khristopher Dodson – Assoc. Director, of the Center for Sustainable Community Solutions. Khris Dodson will offer an update on the Onondaga County Save the Rain green infrastructure projects, including a discussion of project goals and expectations.
The Near Westside Initiative, a not-for-profit organization housed in Syracuse University’s Office of Community Engagement and Economic Development, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Mayor Richard M. Daley Legacy Award for Global Leadership in Creating Sustainable Cities from the U.S Green Building Council (USGBC). The award was presented during the USGBC’s annual Greenbuild conference in New Orleans on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014.
This is the post excerpt (edit post, click “Screen Options” in the top right corner and check the box for excerpt). It allows you to type exactly what you’d like on the homepage. When you click the post title, in this case “Homepage 1”, you’ll get to the actual contents of the post. The image associated with this content is the “Featured Image” of the post.
Research & Technology Forum, focused on the work of two prize-winning student teams!
Presentations by:
Montage Builders Northern Forest – a team of SUNY ESF, Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University students who won the Grand Prize in the national Challenge Home Student Design Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Homebuilders Association.
Syracuse University “Orange Goes Green” team, which won First Place in the NYS Pollution Prevention Institute’s (NYSP2I) R&D Student Competition with “Green Heating: Reduce Overheating and Pollution on Campus,” a project designed to reduce waste heat in SU buildings. Team members are affiliated with the Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center, based at the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
The session will be moderated by Todd Moss, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship & Sustainability, and Faculty Director, Sustainable Enterprise Partnership, Department of Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises, Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University.
Vice President of Business Development & Global Growth, Building Efficiency, Johnson Controls, Inc.
A Framework for Intelligent Building Efficiency
Improved building efficiency lowers operating costs and improves asset reliability. Simple payback and net present value are common methods for making return on investment (ROI) decisions for building efficiency improvements. This presentation highlights 58 “building intelligence measures” applied at a reference building in Arlington, VA. Presenter Andrew DeGuire, Vice President of Business Development and Global Growth at Johnson Controls will present a financial and decision-making framework and the 58 measures that can be applied to any building in any location once it has been adjusted for building structural differences and the energy and labor costs of the location.
Speaker:
Prof. H. Ezzat Khalifa
NYSTAR Distinguished Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and founding Director of the multi-institutional STAR Center for Environmental Quality Systems at Syracuse University
Thermo-economic Assessment of Data Center Energy Efficiency Measures
Data centers are a major consumer of electricity in the US, accounting for over 2% of the total US electricity consumption, and growing in recent years at a compound annual growth rate of ~6%. Nowadays, the total cost of data center ownership is dominated by electricity costs, and wide-ranging efforts are underway to improve data center energy efficiency, including the use of detailed modeling and simulation tools to assess the relative energy efficiency, economic and environmental impacts of various energy efficiency measures. In this presentation we discuss data center energy efficiency measures, describe tools developed by SU in collaboration with IBM to assess their thermo-economic benefits, and show examples of the application of these tools.
Moderator and speaker – Hugh Henderson, CDH Energy, DHW systems Field and Lab Results
Pete Skinner, E2G Solar, Solar DHW systems
Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Systems are the second largest energy user in NYS homes. While furnaces and boiler have become much more efficient, water heaters still have relatively poor efficiency (50-60% for gas water heaters). Federal standards to rate water heaters are several decades old and are based on usage patterns that might not apply in today’s homes.
Several high efficiency water heating options are now available — from solar thermal systems and heat pumps to gas-fired tankless units and condensing storage units. Changes to the federal rating standards are also underway that will use more realistic usage patterns and change the relative performance of these different options.
This NYSERDA funded study at the SyracuseCoE is using side-by-side laboratory testing along with real-world field measurements to understand and climatic factors and usage patterns that affect the performance of these systems. The goal is to help consumers and contractors in New York State understand the best water heating options for homes.
Our discussion will include two presentations and a tour of the SyracuseCoE DHW Laboratory.
Moderator – Ian Shapiro, PE, LEED AP, Chairman, Taitem Engineering, Ithaca, NY
Caren Ruben, PE LEED AP, Mechanical Engineer, Labella Associates, Ithaca, NY
Jason Gilbert, PE, Mechanical Engineer, Binghamton University
VRF is an HVAC technology that is sweeping the world. Already the most common form of heating and cooling outside the U.S., VRF heat pumps are seeing widespread adoption for both new construction and retrofits in the U.S.
Our discussion will include presentations from three different perspectives: a design engineer, an energy engineer, and an owner’s representative.
NUAIR is a regional alliance of private industry, academic institutions and military assets and operations, working together to establish a Federal Aviation Administration-designated test site for unmanned aircraft systems in the Northeast.
speakers include:
Bob Alger, Business Development Director, SRC, Inc.
Bryan Luce, Founder of Green Highway, Syracuse, NY
Donald McKeown, Distinguished Researcher, Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
The session will be moderated by Bob DelZoppo, Assistant Vice President, Strategic Technology Programs, SRC, Inc.
For more about NUAIR, click here.
For more about the UAS test site at Griffiss International Airport, click here.
*SyracuseCoE is located on the Connective Corridor. Limited parking is available in the lot accessed at 713 East Fayette Street.
Interactions of Jet Flows: From Subway Ventilation to Personal Ventilation.
Guest speakers include:
Wang (Amy) Lihui, Ph.D., Institute of AV&AC Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology
Joe Kummer, Ph.D., President, Propulsive Wing and Principal Scientist, Allred & Assoc.
Meng Kong, Ph.D. Candidate, Syracuse University
The session will be moderated by Dr. Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Professor and Director of the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, Syracuse University.
The R&T forum series is brought to you by the SyracuseCoE Partner Program.
For more information on joining the Partner Program, click here.
SyracuseCoE’s initiative to strengthen Central New York¹s industry cluster in advanced manufacturing of thermal and environmental control products enjoyed national attention on Wednesday when U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez visited The Fulton Companies and SyracuseCoE.
On February 6, 2014, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) launched The Energy Efficiency Innovation Collaborative (EE-INC), a public-private collective of energy industry leaders working to improve energy efficiency in New York State buildings and accelerate economic growth in burgeoning technologies and statewide businesses.
On December 9th, SyracuseCoE facilitated a meeting of Governor Cuomo’s energy leadership team and principal stakeholders from CNY manufacturing, engineering, and design firms to discuss opportunities to accelerate the adoption of clean energy technologies in New York State through public-private partnerships. Participants examined specific market barriers and recommendations that would accelerate adoption of heat and power (CHP) systems and energy-efficient retrofits statewide.
Energy Team members in attendance included NYS Chairman of Energy and Finance and Chairman of NYSERDA, Richard Kauffman; Commissioner of NYS Public Service Commission, Gregg Sayre; Senior Advisor to the Chairman of Energy and Finance, Greg Hale; Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning for NYPA, Robert F. Lurie; NYSERDA Director of Energy Analysis, John G. Williams; and Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Energy and Finance for NYS, Kate Burson. Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud provided opening remarks.
This is the second time the energy leadership team has convened in Syracuse, following a panel discussion with SyracuseCoE Partners at the SyracuseCoE Symposium in October 2013.
COE Syracuse Center of Excellence 13th Annual Symposium 2013 Urban Reinvention and Resilience
The SyracuseCoE Annual Symposium features the best and latest innovations in energy efficiency and indoor environmental air quality, among other topics.
This year, symposium highlights included a statewide first: the three newest leaders of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s energy team appeared together for a discussion of the state’s emerging clean energy economy. Symposium attendees left with renewed optimism for collaboration and progress in key financial, regulatory and programmatic areas.
The trio—Richard Kauffman, chairman of energy and finance for New York and chairman of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); John Rhodes, president and CEO of NYSERDA; and Audrey Zibelman, chair of the New York State Public Service Commission—was appointed over the past year by Governor Cuomo to lead his ambitious plans to scale up clean energy and enhance New York’s competitiveness.
The three are working together and with the rest of the NYS energy leadership team, on strategies and policies to expand innovation in energy to boost the state’s clean energy economy and stimulate economic activity, while ensuring an affordable and reliable energy system.
“Governor Cuomo is committed to clean energy and New York has long been a leader in clean energy, but we want to do more,” Kauffman told the symposium participants.
He encouraged the stakeholders to communicate with the state regarding existing market barriers, so they can determine what government tools may alleviate challenges and allow for private-sector forces to play a more significant role in the clean energy marketplace. “We’ve got to hear from market participants,” Kauffman said. “We want to hear what’s going on in the market—what’s working, what’s not.”
Louis Schick, a partner with NewWorld Capital Group, valued the invitation to offer ideas and help accelerate adoption of energy efficiency measures.
“It has been easy to become jaded and cynical about change and progress generally. Specifically, the gap between promise and progress in New York has traditionally been wide,” Schick said. “The state’s new top energy leaders have shown the will, courage and creativity in getting together, breaking traditional ‘fief’ boundaries and addressing stubborn challenges. I am grateful for their time, consideration and optimism.”
Another industry leader at the event, Kevin LaMontagne, chief financial officer at Fulton Companies, also found the discussion encouraging for increased collaboration between government and business leaders.
“It was wonderful to hear the team’s commitment to working together to transform energy policy in New York,” said LaMontagne. “I was happy to see the team’s receptiveness to feedback and input from Central New York’s vibrant clean tech sector.”
The dialogue and perspectives will also help inform the work of the SyracuseCoE, as it seeks to propel research, development and education in environmental and energy innovations with its partners.
“It was a great privilege to hear from Governor Cuomo’s newest energy leaders at the SyracuseCoE Symposium this year,” said Sherburne B. Abbott, vice president for Sustainability Initiatives and University Professor of Sustainability Science and Policy at Syracuse University. “We appreciated their candor and openness, and we look forward to working together to engage our partners in emerging statewide priorities and opportunities.”
During the symposium, Kauffman, Rhodes and Zibelman participated in a plenary panel moderated by Abbott on Oct. 21 at the Oncenter in downtown Syracuse. The session was sponsored by the New York Power Authority.
“Working in policy in New York is especially rewarding because it’s so quick that we’re able to turn policy ideas into real actions,” said Jill Anderson, NYPA chief of staff and director of energy policy. “You can actually see changes in our industry.”
Kauffman, Rhodes and Zibelman discussed Governor Cuomo’s vision for a new clean energy economy and such initiatives as the proposed “Green Bank” that will help attract private capital to accelerate clean energy projects.
“This state has all of the key ingredients to seize the opportunity: smart energy and environmental policies, outstanding academic institutions, tremendous R &D assets, a robust capital marketplace, big Fortune 500 companies in the market and smaller entrepreneurs entering the market,” said Rhodes, adding that the governor is committed to seizing this opportunity.
“It’s also clear more needs to be done to create an environment where commercialization of clean energy technology can flourish in this state,” Rhodes said.
The establishment of the Green Bank is helping in that area. “The most important metric for the Green Bank will be the investments that it enables in clean energy projects,” Rhodes said. “The purpose of the Green Bank is to take Green Bank funds and leverage them with funds from other entities, principally the private sector, so you get a multiplier there. And because the monies go out of the Green Bank and come back, they then can go out again.”
As chair of the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), which regulates the state’s electric, gas, steam, telecommunications and water utilities, Zibelman addressed how she sees the role of the PSC in driving innovation and meeting demand. She noted how, as with any system, the electricity system will only work at its best when it works together and works efficiently and is aligned throughout the system.
“We’re at a point in time where we’re actually changing and fundamentally rethinking this system,” Zibelman said. That includes thinking about the customer’s needs as an active part of the system, identifying and removing barriers in market entry and investing in infrastructure.
“New York is in a fabulous position to have both national and international leadership. We certainly have the brains and we certainly have the energy—what you’re seeing is an opportunity to turn this into a true benefit to the state,” Zibelman said.
Kauffman also spoke about several principles that are driving changes in the state’s overall strategy in rethinking energy policies, including making change happen faster, encouraging innovation to achieve better value and choice for customers, leveraging ratepayer funds beyond grants and subsidies to maximize the benefit and enabling markets to work better. “We know that market forces are powerful and by harnessing them we can do more,” he said.
Ed Bogucz, executive director of SyracuseCoE, welcomed the participation of Governor Cuomo’s new energy leaders at the symposium for their first joint appearance. “We applaud their fresh ideas and their keen interest in connecting with New York firms and institutions that are creating innovations in clean energy and environmental systems,” Bogucz said.
The energy leaders brought insights that will help shape the vision for New York’s energy future. “The state is clearly on a path that is leading policy and programs nationally,” said Jim Fox, CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors of O’Brien & Gere. “Central New York’s cluster of manufacturing, design and construction firms is extremely well positioned to develop innovative enabling technologies and deploy integrated solutions here and across the country.”
The SyracuseCoE is New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. Its 2013 Annual Symposium, held Oct. 21-22, attracted more than 400 attendees—including industry practitioners, state and local officials, university faculty and students, and citizens—from throughout New York, more than 30 communities across the United States, and internationally.
This year’s symposium addressed “Urban Reinvention and Resilience,” including presentations on innovations to improve energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality in buildings, construction materials management, urban stormwater management using green infrastructure and community resilience through district energy systems.
TravelNerd, the travel division of consumer finance website NerdWallet, has recognized the Syracuse Center of Excellence for its work in promoting the creation of environmental and energy technologies in an article that rated Syracuse, N.Y. as one of the top destinations for green travel.
Moderated by: Doug Call, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University
William Kappel, Hydrologist, USGS Michael Madigan, Technical Director, O’Brien & Gere Sam Cosamano, President, IPD Engineering Dr. Younggy Kim, Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University
Ian Shapiro
