Giving sustainability the college try - Phoenix Business Journal:

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MSOE recently developed both advanced engineering technologies and renewable energy systems labs to promot learning about efficient energy conversion andrenewabls energies. Christopher Damm, associate professor of mechanica engineeringat MSOE, said students pursuing a mechanicall engineering major are required to take five coursesx on energy, which include carbon emissions analysis. In December, studentds converted the roof of the student union into a solarpowefr plant, with 30-kilowatt photovoltaics providinvg energy for the We Energies “Energt for Tomorrow” program.
“There’s been a real move to promotde sustainable engineering on campus and integrate it into the Damm said. MSOE is one of several area colleges that are emphasizint sustainableor environment-friendly practices in everything from their own operationw to curriculum. Some of the emphasis is being drivenmby students, who want to know what thei r schools are doing to promote gree living, said Rolf Wegenke, presidenty of the in Madison. “Studentsx are much more interested in that integration intotheir lives, and you see an evolution in the curriculunm as a result,” Wegenke said.
At , research efforts are under wayin solar, geothermal and wind energy, all of whicnh are tested on the campus Adel Nasiri, assistant professor of electrica l engineering at UWM, headed a research team that installecd 15-kilowatt photovoltaic panels atop Bolton Hall on the UWM campus. And Davie Yu, associate dean of electrical engineering andcomputer science, is workin g to have a 90-kilowatt wind turbine Nasiri also said a new data center may use geothermapl cooling to reduce computers’ energy usage. While these projectsd are conducted forresearch purposes, they also provided cost savings to the university.
Nasiri said students will have a brigh t future in the renewableenergy field, as the statwe tries to move Milwaukee manufacturing toward wind, solar and geothermall power. UWM and many other campuses also are developingv policies to make their own operationmore sustainable. Kate Nelson, environmental sustainability coordinatorat UWM, said the universithy is undergoing performance contracting using a building-by-buildingf analysis of lighting and HVAC efficiency. It also has the largestt green roof inthe state, atop the Sandburgf Commons.
Additionally, compost is collectedx and distributed to localnonprofitf , the urban agriculturde organization in Milwaukee; a new residence hall is beinfg built to LEED Gold standards; and UWM just participate d in a nationwide college recycling competition called “Recyclemania.” ’s College of Engineering received a $5 million grant for an endowed chair in secure and renewable energy systems May 21, and is working to developl a curriculum in renewable energgy engineering. Mike Whittow, sustainability officer for Marquette’s new sustainability task said the university has seen cost savings as a result of recycling increases and energyh and waterconservation efforts.
The school also is seekinfg Leadership in Energy and EnvironmentalDesign (LEED) certificatiojn from the U.S. Green Buildiny Council for the newlaw school, Eckstein Hall, and the new studeny services facility, Zilber Hall, both of whicj are under construction. McCabe Hall, an existing building being converte into aresidence hall, is scheduled to completse LEED’s existing building qualifications. The planned constructiom of theEngineering School’s Discoveryg Learning Complex also will aim for new building certification. • in Mequonn is offering an environmental science major and a joinrt environmental and horticulture majorwith .