Randolph, VT – Six Vermont Technical College professors have been awarded grants through the Vermont Tech IBM Energy Reduction Project. Five individuals and one team are represented among the group.Earlier this year, IBM awarded Vermont Tech funds for an energy efficiency initiative to reduce its energy use by at least five percent annually. The IBM grant to Vermont Technical College included $15,000 for proposals made by faculty who are interested in adapting existing course components to include energy reduction information.
Vermont Tech President Dr. Philip Conroy said “These projects exemplify Vermont Tech’s commitment to providing sustainable practice education and training.”Individuals were eligible for up to $2,500 in funding to adapt a fall 2012 course in ways that integrate energy reduction information, practices and data into the coursework. The faculty winners are: Barbara D. Conrey, Architectural Building & Engineering Technology; Christopher R. Dutton, Agriculture; Katherine Porter, Business Technology Management; Scott Sabol, Architectural Building & Engineering Technology; and the team of Matthew Gallagher, Electrical Engineering, and Andre St. Denis, Electrical Engineering. The team project will be implemented on both the Williston and Randolph campuses of Vermont Tech. One applicant, Chris Dutton, received grants for two different project proposals.This grant competition was created and managed by Vermont Tech’s Center for Sustainable Practices (CSP) as part of the IBM Energy Reduction Project. Review of proposals was undertaken by Donna Barlow Casey, Director of the CSP, Jay Paterson, Chairperson of the IBM Energy Reduction Team and Director of Strategic Operations for Vermont Tech, and Ruma Kohli, IBM Product Stewardship Program Manager in consultation with IBM staff members.Examples of the projects include:
- Agricultural project to purchase tools for students to use in the evaluation of energy saving strategies on the VT Tech Farm. This will involve measurement and analysis of environmental conditions, their adequacy for animals and the adjustment of energy usage accordingly. Students will be able to make more energy efficient choices in barn design as professionals in the industry.
- Incorporation of Vermont Tech energy reduction data into an introductory spreadsheet data course, whereby students will learn to use spreadsheet software effectively and efficiently to provide forecasting and analysis of data for specific energy reduction proposals and initiatives.
- Architectural/Engineering Management program, to introduce students to the business and management practices found in the world of architectural engineering. Team-based projects will focus on energy related issues, examine how energy-based decisions can be used to affect project planning and design, and to determine how day-to-day business practices can be enhanced by forming companies that embrace energy reduction in their practices.
- Support for the licensing of software that would allow students to create their own interactive models of energy use for proposed or existing buildings.
- Electrical Engineering projects to encourage energy reduction, pushing Vermont Tech towards its 5% energy reduction goals, on scales ranging from producing a modified energy source to a simple LED to creating a small-scale solar energy system.
Vermont Technical College is the only public institution of higher learning in Vermont with the mission of applied education. One of the five Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Tech serves students from throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond, at its two primary campuses in Randolph Center and Williston, and at nine nursing sites located throughout the state. Vermont Tech offers a wide range of programs in engineering, agriculture, technology, allied health, and business that are vital to producing graduates with the knowledge and experience most sought by employers in the state and in the region. It is recognized as one of America’s Best Colleges in U.S. News and World Report. www.vtc.edu.
CONTACT:
Martha Trombley Oakes, Vermont Technical College
802.728.1732
MTrombleyOakes@vtc.edu
Distributed By: Rachel Carter PR
rachelcarterpr.com
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