RIT Named Campus Sustainability Leader
William Dube, October 8, 2009, RIT University NewsUniversity included on list of Most Sustainable Campuses in the nation
Rochester Institute of Technology’s efforts to develop comprehensive campus, research and education programs in sustainability have earned the university recognition as one of the most sustainable campuses in the nation.
The College Sustainability Report Card has selected RIT as a “Campus Sustainability Leader” as part of its annual survey of American colleges and universities. It is the first time RIT has been selected for this honor.
"We are very excited to have been included in this list of sustainable campuses and are honored that our efforts in this area have been recognized," says RIT President Bill Destler. "RIT is committed to incorporating sustainability into all aspects of university operations, from construction and facilities management to research and education."
To be named a “Campus Sustainability Leader,” universities had to receive an average grade of A- or better in the survey’s six campus categories. RIT received a B grade overall, with A grades for administration, green building development, student involvement and investment priorities.
RIT was praised for its policy on green construction—as all new facilities built on campus need to be LEED certified—and the incorporation of sustainability into the university’s latest strategic plan. The university was also cited for strong student involvement across the university in sustainable activities, including RIT’s annual Greeks Go Green competition and strong university chapters representing the Student Environmental Action League and Engineers for a Sustainable World.
The College Sustainability Report Card evaluates campus and endowment sustainability activities at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, focusing on administration and investment priorities; student involvement; transportation, recycling and energy use; and endowment transparency and shareholder engagement.
The Sustainability Report Card is produced by the Sustainability Endowments Institute, a non-profit corporation dedicated to enhancing sustainable practices in campus operations and endowment practices.
To view RIT’s complete report, visit www.greenreportcard.org/report-card-2010/schools/rochester-institute-of-technology.
Leadership and Sustainability Course Open to Teens Entering Grades 10-12
Michelle Cometa, June 2, 2009, RIT University NewsOnline course developed and presented by the RIT Women in Engineering
and RIT Leadership Institute staff
Rochester Institute of Technology is offering a new course, We Lead: Women Leadership and Sustainability, a nine-week online program, taking place from June 15 through August 14.
The course is a pilot program designed for young women in grades 10-12. It is developed by WE@RIT, the Women in Engineering program in RIT’s Kate Gleason College of Engineering and RIT Leadership Institute to help the young women develop critical leadership skills, the importance of sustainability in leadership, complexities of ethical decision-making and effective interpersonal skills.
Program faculty includes Mary-Beth Cooper, RIT vice president for Student Affairs, Margaret Bailey, professor of mechanical engineering at the Kate Gleason College of Engineering and Molly McGowan, director of the RIT Leadership Institute and Community Service Center.
The cost for the program is $75. To register and for more information, go to http://we.rit.edu or contact Julie Olney at 585-475-6321 or we@rit.edu
Click here for more information.
RIT to have its fleet use hydrogen as fuel
Jim Stinson, Staff writer, May 27, 2009, Democrat and ChronicleRochester Institute of Technology hopes to eventually have its entire fleet of vehicles using alternative fuels.
For now, it has three trucks that can use hydrogen as fuel.
On Tuesday, the college got a big boost when New York state government helped RIT unveil its Hydrogen Fueling Station.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority gave $1 million for the fueling station and granted $1.5 million for a clean-energy business incubator to help young companies grow in the field. The announcements were made Tuesday at RIT.
The decision to grant RIT the money is one aimed at the future and growth, said Francis J. Murray Jr., president and chief executive of NYSERDA.
Paraphrasing President Barack Obama, Murray said investment in alternative energy is not a choice between economics and the environment.
Leaders such as Murray are betting that, eventually, the world economy will turn away from fossil fuels and begin using electricity, hydrogen, fuel cells and ethanol to power automobiles.
To make the point, RIT staff and Nabil Z. Nasr, assistant provost for academic affairs and director of RIT's Golisano Institute for Sustainability, filled up one of three Ford trucks that use the hydrogen.
A third announcement at the event was the formation of clean-energy classes at RIT and Monroe Community College, which will collaborate on the curriculum.
Nasr said the region is already leading the way, as Monroe County government and General Motors Corp. collaborate with RIT on fueling alternative-energy vehicles and sharing resources.
Click here to read original story from the Democrat and Chronicle.
RIT and NYSERDA Partner to Advance Clean Energy Research and Education
$1.5 million to establish clean energy business incubator$1 million for hydrogen fueling station demonstration project
A new research and education collaboration seeks to promote upstate New York as a clean energy hub, while also enhancing the development of alternative energy technologies and professional development.
Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), announced the new partnership with Rochester Institute of Technology during a ceremony on campus on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. The multi-million dollar effort includes expanded research initiatives in hydrogen fuel technology, the development of a clean energy incubator and the creation of a clean energy research and training center.
“Under the leadership of Governor David A. Paterson, New York has been at the forefront in investing in the alternative fuels and clean energy technologies that will revolutionize our use of energy,” said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. “The investments and partnerships will improve our environment, reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, create a highly-skilled workforce, and enhance the ability for innovative New Yorkers to develop new technologies that compete in global marketplaces.”
During the event, Murray unveiled RIT’s new hydrogen fueling station, which powers three hydrogen fueled vehicles currently operating on RIT’s campus. The demonstration initiative seeks to expand public understanding of the benefits of hydrogen fuel as well as to enhance education and research initiatives in sustainable mobility and alternative technology development. The project is being conducted by RIT’s Center for Integrated Manufacturing Study, a unit of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability.
"Hydrogen fuel has the opportunity to become a central alternative to fossil fuel and it is our hope this project will increase general knowledge of the technology and ultimately assist designers in improving hydrogen transportation,” noted Nabil Nasr, director of the Golisano Institute for Sustainability
In addition, two new RIT projects, funded by NYSERDA, were announced at the event: the Rochester Clean Energy Education Partnership and the RIT Clean Energy Incubator.
The Rochester Clean Energy Education Partnership is a collaboration between RIT and Monroe Community College and will create new college level courses, professional development initiatives and training programs in alternative energy technology and clean energy development. The courses, offered to undergraduates, graduates and professional engineers, will promote the continued incorporation of clean energy concepts in traditional engineering and science classes.
“This education partnership seeks to provide current and future engineers with the skills necessary to excel in the growing clean energy field which requires knowledge of a host of new technologies including fuel cell systems, wind power systems and solar cells,” added James Myers, director of RIT’s Center for Multidisciplinary Studies and principle investigator for the project.
The RIT Clean Energy Incubator is a joint effort by the Golisano Institute for Sustainability and RIT’s Venture Creations business incubator and will assist early stage clean energy companies in product development, business and marketing planning and technology commercialization. The incubator is one of four statewide and is a part of Governor David A. Paterson’s comprehensive clean energy initiative announced in April as part of the state’s Earth Day celebration.
“Rochester has a tremendous potential to be a center for the growing clean energy economy and this incubator will enhance continued economic development in a host of areas, including wind energy, solar power and fuel cell development,” said Jerome Mahone, director of Venture Creations.
Murray added, “These efforts in Rochester mirror NYSERDA initiatives across the state and signal a transformation of the economy and transportation sector to better address the needs and opportunities of clean energy processes and technologies.”
Singapore and RIT to Collaborate on Sustainability
The two academic institutions will collaborate on the development of sustainable manufacturing technologies.
Click here to read more
RIT Joins in Climate Commitment
Visit the Presidens Climate Commitment Website
The Presidents Climate Commitment, which has been signed by hundreds of college and university presidents nationwide, provides support and a framework for America’s colleges and universities to go climate neutral. Particular emphasis is placed on neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions while accelerating research and educational programs.
“As part of this commitment, we will need to come up with an institutional strategic plan for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas production, and provide institutional structures and support that can move the campus toward the goals set in the plan,“ explains Destler. “This plan will include a green building policy, an energy-star procurement policy, encouragement of public transportation, green power production and purchasing, and waste minimization.”
In addition, he pledged to make RIT a national center of excellence in the areas of environmental science and sustainability.
Destler previously outlined green initiatives the university has already undertaken. He highlighted the new College of Applied Science and Technology Building, which earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification and serves as a model of energy efficiency for current and future construction projects on campus. He also acknowledged updates to the heating and cooling infrastructure, campus participation in the national Recyclemania program, and new academic programs in environmental science, sustainable engineering, and the nation’s first doctorate focused on sustainable manufacturing and production.
“These are impressive and many in number,” he says, “but they are not enough. Nevertheless, they demonstrate what we can accomplish if we work together on these goals, and they serve as good models for what we can do in the future.”
To learn more about the Presidents Climate Commitment:
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/html/commitment.php
http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org/pdf/ACUPCC_IG_Final.pdf
RIT and Global Warming - Challenges and Opportunities
Bill Destler, President
It is a pleasure to speak to you today about the role that RIT has played and will play in worldwide efforts to address the issue of global warming and to discuss with you ways in which we might contribute to the worldwide movement toward a more sustainable future for all living things on planet Earth. I am very proud of the commitment that the RIT family has shown to these issues through the very impressive participation I have seen in today’s global warming teach-in. I also want to acknowledge and thank the Campus Environmental Committee, who initiated efforts to bring together our campus community for the teach-in and who was pleasantly overwhelmed by the response.
To reveal my personal position on this issue, let me begin by stating that I believe that the accumulated scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that the Earth is warming and that this climate change is primarily a result of human activity. Moreover, let me state that I also believe that the evidence indicates that the primary contributor to global warming is the human-produced increase in the carbon dioxide content in our atmosphere, and that only by reversing this trend can we hope to avoid dramatic climate changes on our planet within this century with potentially disastrous negative effects.
But even if I am wrong and the current observed global warming is a statistical glitch, which the optimists may hope for but is not likely, I believe that there are equally compelling reasons aside from the threat of global warming that mandate immediate actions on our part to reduce worldwide consumption of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas production, and conserve all of the life-giving elements on our planet. Worldwide population growth threatens to produce shortages of most valuable commodities within the next couple of decades, including such essentials as food, fuel, and fresh water, and ensuring a future for our children and grandchildren will require a real commitment from all of us to move toward renewable sources of these commodities. In addition, even if increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere are not a problem, decreased oxygen levels surely will be, and world population growth and the rapid decrease in worldwide vegetation caused by ever increasing human encroachment on hitherto wilderness areas, together with the negative effects of human activity on ocean-based sources of oxygen, could ultimately result in even greater devastation of life on our planet than global warming might produce.
So, what has RIT done in the past, and what can we do in the future to address these challenges? First let me review just a few of the activities we have already undertaken. These are impressive and many in number, but they are not enough. Nevertheless, they demonstrate what we can accomplish if we work together on these goals, and they serve as good models for what we can do in the future.
In the area of facilities and operations, RIT can boast of many committed staff members who have pushed the sustainability agenda forward in meaningful ways. The various trenches you have seen being dug around campus are part of our $35M program to install an updated heating and cooling infrastructure throughout the campus that should result in really significant reductions in our fuel and electricity consumption. Also in this area, our fraternities and sororities are involved in a competition to see which organization can reduce its consumption of fuel and utilities, and we are hoping to extend this competition to other RIT housing units as well. RIT also actively participates in the national “Recyclemania” program intended to markedly increase recycling efforts on campuses nationwide.
All new construction projects are being designed to meet green standards and to gain LEED certification (for example, the new CAST building is certified LEED-Gold), including the administrative services building and student innovation center currently under construction, the new School for American Crafts and Vignelli Design Center facility which has just started construction, the Global Village Housing complex to be constructed starting this Spring, and the planned new facility for the Golisano Institute for Sustainability. In addition, students, faculty, and staff, are working on the design of a sustainable “Habitat for Humanity” house to be constructed next Fall in downtown Rochester. Incidentally, we plan to install solar panels on the Student Innovation Center in a move to begin to replace externally purchased energy with locally-generated renewable sources.
Finally, we have worked to reduce our landfill contributions through experimentation with compost-able service items in our cafeterias (here, more work needs to be done to effectively address this issue) and we have eliminated the use of trays in Gracie’s Dining Hall to reduce our consumption of hot water. In addition, all of our cafeterias now use baking powder to wash dishes instead of phosphate-laden detergents. Recently, RIT participated in the Rochester “Low Carbon Diet Challenge”, and we were given a special award in recognition of our strong efforts.
On the academic side, we have introduced new programs in environmental science (where you can take a course on “The Greening of RIT”), sustainable engineering, and the nation’s first Ph.D. program focused on sustainable manufacturing and production. An informal faculty learning community called “Middlemarsh”, has encouraged students and faculty across disciplines to get together to discuss sustainability programs and practices all over the campus, and the Collaborative Learning Group will also focus on some of these issues. We now can boast of arguably the world’s pre-eminent research program in the area of sustainable manufacturing, and we have growing and nationally recognized research programs in such areas as sustainable transportation, remote sensing for environmental systems, and renewable energy systems. In addition, RIT librarians recently assembled and published a monograph of essays, poems, and cartoons by RIT students, faculty, staff, and alumni addressing global warming and related topics entitled, “The Promise of Sustainability”. Several of our departments, including chemistry, art, and printing, are exploring less-toxic materials use in teaching and research laboratories. We have dedicated student groups working in all of these areas, including the Students Environmental Action League, Engineers for a Sustainable World, and the NTID Green Club. It is safe to say that their interest and enthusiasm has been an important driving force in moving all of us toward these shared goals. Finally, we have had many excellent speakers on these topics brought to campus by various groups, including recent talks by Anne Mulcahey, Diane Creel, and Bill McKibben.
Administratively, the Academic Senate oversees a Campus Environmental Committee and we have recently established a Campus Sustainability Committee chaired by Jim Watters. Our Food Service department is buying more locally produced food and working to discourage the use of disposables. We have campus vehicles using biodiesel fuels and thanks to the GIS we now have a hydrogen fueling station on campus. We have recently put up a “Green RIT” web site to communicate all of these activities to a broader audience, and RIT has just recently joined the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
And what about the future? Today, I am pleased to announce that I will sign the “American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment”, a pledge by academic leaders to move their campuses toward more sustainable programs and practices. As part of this commitment, we will need to come up with an institutional strategic plan for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas production, and provide institutional structures and support that can move the campus toward the goals set in the plan. This plan will include a green building policy, an energy-star procurement policy, encouragement of public transportation, green power production and purchasing, and waste minimization.
In addition, we must continue to work to make RIT a national center of excellence in the areas of environmental science and sustainability, both in our education programs and our research programs. Toward this goal, the natural and built environment on our campus, which is already being used as a valuable teaching and research laboratory in these areas, can be better utilized in support of these programs if we think creatively. We must also do a better job of communicating what we are doing to the outside world, which should encourage students, faculty, and staff interested in these goals to consider joining us at RIT.
These are challenging goals, but these are challenging times. Let us work together to contribute to a future for our children and grandchildren, and let us not be afraid to stumble along the way. If we support each other and offer help when we see an opportunity to do so, we can accomplish much. Thanks for listening.
Sustainable Living Competition: "Greeks Go Green!"
In a collaborative effort to increase environmental consciousness and reduce the current strains on energy resources within the on-campus housing community, Housing Operations and members of Apartment Life are organizing a utility conservation competition to occur between the fraternities and sororities residing in the houses on Greek Row. The competition is designed to promote sustainable living habits by providing incentives for students to limit their collective energy consumption use. This program will provide tangible benefits, in the form of energy savings, for the Institute.
RIT Wins Green Building Award
Rochester Institute of Technology is the winner of this year’s NAIOP Green Building Award.
Each year the Upstate New Your Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) recognizes a few select projects that exhibit excellence, ingenuity and success in the commercial and real estate industry. The awards are determined by the NAIOP Selection Committee, which is comprised of professionals in the commercial and industrial real estate. This year, RIT’s new College of Applied Science and Technology Building made it to the top of the list of Upstate’s sustainable projects.
Founded in 1967, NAIOP comprises over 16,000 members in 55 North American chapters. The organization promotes responsible, sustainable development that creates jobs and benefits communities in which we work and live.
RIT’s First Green Building Certification
U.S. Green Building Council awards RIT LEED gold certification status
Rochester Institute of Technology’s new College of Applied Science and Technology building has officially turned “green,” earning the U.S. Green Building Council’s Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, commonly called LEED, certification.
LEED is the most widely accepted rating system for evaluating sustainable, high-performance buildings and gold is the second highest of four levels of LEED certification. The College of Applied Science and Technology building is only the 16th building in New York state to achieve this level of environmental recognition. It is the second university building to earn the honor.
“This type of recognition demonstrates that RIT does not just preach sustainability, we embrace sustainability,” says RIT President Bill Destler. “We look forward to continuing to lead the world toward a sustainable future.”
The building features unique energy and water-saving design strategies, which include rainwater reuse systems and lighting and climate control systems that reduce demand for energy and water. These systems reduce annual water use by an estimated 70 percent and annual electric use by an estimated 21 percent.
The building excelled in the “Innovation in Design” category, where it was commended for providing sustainable educational opportunities, implementing a green cleaning program and establishing a curriculum that uses the building as a teaching tool.
“Not only will our new building benefit the environment, but the learning that takes place within the building will also benefit the environment for years to come,” says Fred Walker, dean of the College of Applied Science and Technology. “That’s what makes us most proud.”
The 43,000 square-foot building, which opened in April, is home to the college’s Department of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering Technology and the Department of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety.
For more information about LEED certification, visit www.usgbc.org/LEED.
RIT’s Sustainability Ph.D. Receives State Approval
Rochester Institute of Technology has received New York state approval for its doctoral degree in sustainability. The Ph.D. program is the first in the world focused on sustainable production and seeks to advance research and education in alternative energy development, sustainable design, green product development, industrial ecology and pollution prevention.
The program is being offered through RIT's Golisano Institute for Sustainability (GIS), a comprehensive academic, research and technology transfer center devoted to enhancing the development of sustainable systems in all aspects of society.
RIT's doctoral degree in sustainability focuses on a broadly defined, multidisciplinary mission that is designed to produce graduates who can be sustainability "change agents" throughout the industrial, academic, governmental and nongovernmental worlds. Students will develop skills in such diverse areas as environmentally conscious product design and manufacturing, life cycle analysis, environmental science and sustainable business enterprises.
RIT plans to admit students into the program immediately and is also recruiting additional faculty and research associates. The development of the program was made possible through an initial grant from the Henry Luce Foundation.
The GIS was founded in 2007 thanks to a $10 million gift from B. Thomas Golisano, founder and chairman of Paychex Inc. and an RIT trustee. The center has received additional funding from the Chester & Dorris Carlson Charitable Fund, Xerox Corp, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. RIT is now developing plans for the construction of a new facility that will house the Golisano Institute and Ph.D. program.
