Spotlights: Campus Energy Activities
Walking the Talk at MIT: John DiFava
Switching from titanic gas-guzzlers to more fuel-efficient hybrids and V6s for security, grounds crews, and mail distribution is just one of the environmentally friendly measures John DiFava is incorporating as director of Facilities Operations and Security. Posted 16 October 2009
Chilled beams hit the roof
Employees in a handful of MIT buildings might notice what look like slim, fin-tubed radiators in ceiling cavities. These cooling devices, called chilled beams, use water, not air, to remove heat from a room. The energy savings can be considerable. Posted 16 July 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Richard L. Amster Jr.
Richard L. Amster Jr., director of campus planning, engineering, and construction for the Department of Facilities, sees MIT as an enormous, working prototype for the sustainable campus of the future. Posted 24 June 2009
Welcome to MIT Earth Week 2009
This year’s MIT Earth Week—held April 21 through April 24—includes a major address by James McCarthy, chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); an Earth Day Fair; the EcoExpo/Sustainability Summit Poster Session; the MIT Sustainability Summit; and a showing of the film “Our Daily Bread.” Posted 21 April 2009
MIT dorms vie for greatest energy reductions
For the third year, MIT students are now pitting dorm against dorm to see which can achieve the greatest reduction in electricity use over an eight-week period. This year, for the first time, the seven graduate dorms will join the 11 undergraduate dorms in the competition. Posted 17 April 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Jerrold M. Grochow
Jerrold Grochow, vice president for Information Services and Technology, and his team work with the MIT community to identify and implement strategies for reducing energy use in the thousands of personal computers and servers across the campus. Posted 26 March 2009
Going green saves MIT green
MIT students, faculty, and staff are working hard to put improvements in energy efficiency into practice on their campus. Those efforts are the focus of Energy Futures Week, an annual set of events coordinated by the MIT Energy Initiative to educate, inspire, and engage the MIT community in all things energy. Posted 22 January 2009
Walking the Talk at MIT: Karen A. Nilsson
As a member of MITEI's Campus Energy Task Force, Karen Nilsson, senior associate dean for Residential Life, works with her fellow Task Force members to engage the entire campus community in identifying, developing, and implementing sustainable energy practices. Posted 9 January 2009
Turning bricks and mortar green
Using innovative technologies, systems, and design methods, MIT has been making its new campus buildings as green as possible—both to meet Institute-wide commitments to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and to serve as a model for other organizations. Posted 5 November 2008
MIT students seek to harness waste heat
A team of MIT students is looking to harness waste heat at MIT's cogeneration plant, which provides most of the electricity, heat, and air conditioning for the campus. The plant is already a model of energy efficiency—but the students aim to make it even more so. Posted 26 September 2008
$500K funding helps MIT walk the talk
Lights that turn themselves off when no one is around and lab bench fans that shut down when you walk away are two of a series of new campus energy conservation projects that will help MIT reduce its carbon footprint. Posted 2 April 2008
Students launch new campus energy projects
With MITEI support, student groups are now examining energy-saving retrofits for campus buildings, developing a solar thermal dish concentrator, finding ways to encourage energy-saving habits like printing two-sided, and more. Posted 5 March 2008
Tricked out electric bike beats car during rush hour
An electric bike developed by an MIT physics professor promises a low-cost, energy-efficient commute. Posted 14 November 2007
MIT competes in DOE’s Solar Decathlon
For the first time, MIT had an entry in the Department of Energy's annual Solar Decathlon—a village of 20 off-grid solar homes that were built by college students, assembled on the National Mall in Washington, and open to the public from October 12 to October 20. Posted 12 October 2007
Pedal-powered laptop
MIT students have come up with a way to recharge your laptop without plugging it in. In a class project, they designed and built an exercise bicycle that uses “pedaling power” to charge a laptop computer. Posted 19 September 2007
MITEI enlists student help reduce MIT’s energy, environmental footprint
Last spring, MITEI awarded funds for seven student projects aimed at cutting campus energy use and encouraging adoption of sustainable energy practices. Supported by that funding, students are now developing a map displaying energy intensity for each campus building, preparing a wind turbine design competition for Independent Activities Period, and more.Posted 19 September 2007
The winds of change: MIT aims sky-high to reduce emissions
A 12-foot diameter wind turbine on MIT's 29-story Eastgate tower would help make a dent in MIT's electric bill, offset CO2 emissions and serve as an educational resource for future student projects related to energy and wind. A team of undergraduates provides the lowdown on aiming for energy up high. Posted 11 June 2007
Fresh air: MIT campus education campaign pays off
Scientific equipment called fume hoods—widely used in industry, hospitals and universities—are big energy users. An MIT student's review of fume hood use in one building led to a laboratory education campaign resulting in significant savings and a chance to improve MIT's energy and carbon footprint. Posted 23 May 2007
Walking the talk: MIT tackles its own energy challenge
MIT has launched a plan for greening the campus that enlists the help of the entire community, including the campus itself. The goal: major reductions in campus-wide energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Posted 9 May 2007
