Green Revolution Founder Returns to Kate Gleason College of Engineering

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Jay Whelan

Exercise bikes can help with fitness, strength, stamina, weight loss—and they can provide enough renewable energy to keep the lights on in the health club.

Jay Whelan, founder of The Green Revolution, a company developing renewable energy alternatives for fitness centers, will be at Rochester Institute of Technology on Sept. 22 to open the annual Dean’s Alumni Speaker Series. The series is sponsored by the Kate Gleason College of Engineering and the RIT Office of Development.

Whelan’s presentation takes place at 1 p.m. in the Xerox Auditorium in James E. Gleason Hall. It is free and open to the RIT community and general public.

Whelan has more than 20 years of experience in business management, consulting and renewable-energy initiatives. The 1986 graduate of RIT’s industrial engineering program began The Green Revolution in 2007 and is an advocate of renewable energy and a sustainable environment. In 2008, he received the Climate Change Leadership award from Connecticut Gov. Jodi Rell.

The company develops modified cardio-fitness exercise equipment that converts power generated by users into renewable energy. According to Whelan, a typical cycling class of 20 has the potential to produce 3.6 megawatts of renewable energy a year, which is equal to the amount of power needed to light 72 homes for a month.

Other speakers in the series include:

Oct. 13: Cole Standish ’99 (mechanical engineering), manager of custom products, Airtech International

Nov. 3: Ken Obuszewski ’89 (microelectronic engineering), marketing director, multimedia applications, Freescale

Dec. 8: Steve Matteson ’77 (industrial engineering), vice president and general manager, Simpler Health Care North America

All sessions begin at 1 p.m. in the Xerox Auditorium. For more information, contact Donna Benier at 585-475-4045 or dlbdar@rit.edu.