Green Grants – 2008-2009 Awards

As part of our commitment to making operations at Union College as sustainable as possible, and to contribute to the environmental health of the region and world, Union has created Presidential Green Grant awards. Grants, up to $2000 each, are awarded to support the following initiatives: 1) Campus projects are projects that will make Union more sustainable in such areas as energy use, recycling, transportation, or dining, among others; 2) Research projects are projects that will make specific contributions to sustainability at the regional or national level. Proposals are invited each fall. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to apply. For more information download the application or visit the U Sustain website.

Funded projects for 2008-2009:

Michael Bono – "Fabrication of an aerogel composite catalytic converter”
This project is aimed at developing composite aerogel catalysts capable of converting the pollutants in automobile exhaust into less environmentally harmful compounds. Existing catalytic converters use platinum and palladium to accomplish this; however, these metals are expensive and frequently environmentally damaging to mine. This project aims to create alternative, aerogel-based catalysts which effectively convert carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides into less environmentally harmful compounds with increased thermal stability and decreased or eliminated use of platinum and palladium. The plan is to fabricate composite alumina aerogels, measure their catalytic effectiveness, and optimize aerogel recipes for enhanced catalytic ability.

Kevin Donovan and Malysa Cheng – “Design and implementation of a micro-wind turbine to assess wind power generation on the Union College campus”
With increasing demand for alternative energies, wind power is emerging as one of the Earth’s viable renewable resources. In a joint senior project between the electrical and engineering departments, this project aims to design and manufacture a vertical axis micro-wind turbine. With this turbine, we plan to test the feasibility of wind turbine locations and applications on campus. This project will contribute to sustainability by laying the foundation for wind energy development and integration at Union College.

Kimberly Floeser – “Canvas bags for U”
The ultimate goal of this project will be to remove the use of plastic bags from campus by replacing them with reusable canvas bags made out of recycled materials. The bags will then be placed in a container at the C-store where people can use them and take them home with them, or they will be behind the counter with the cashier, who will fill the bag and give it to the customer. There will then be boxes in each dorm and Reamer for people to return them to, and we will have someone collect the bags (similar to the U-Recycle program) and bring them back to the C-store.

Cathy Griffin – “The Union Exchange Website”
The Union Exchange website is an online forum for which Union students, faculty and staff can exchange used items with one another. The purpose of this project is to create an incentive for the college community to reuse their goods and consider purchasing used goods instead of buying new, unused items. This is a campus project that will not only dimish the overall amount of waste generated at Union, but will also enhance our sense of community.

Edward Hancock and Malcolm T. Dennison – “Examination of ocean wave energy through the method of a point absorber wave energy buoy”
The purpose of this project is to investigate the techniques used in many of the devices used to harness wave energy at offshore locations. The intentions include the process of designing multiple wave buoy prototypes and then attempting to build one and/or multiple downscale models of them. We hope to build several models in order to reach the overall goal of producing a wave energy farm or developing the plans for one. While in the process, a full understanding of the wave energy to electrical energy conversion process is to be acquired. The scope of this project will be to better understand the ways in which to better harvest wave energy at a cost efficient level. More specifically, to fully understand the design techniques used and needed in the wave energy buoys already implemented.

Hugh Jenkins – “Octopus’ Garden Organic Garden expansion”
Octopus’ Garden is an organic garden run by students, faculty, and staff, providing fresh food to local food shelters, campus dining services, and the Ozone Café. Last year we provided approximately 150 pounds of produce to these entitites. We seek $2000 to expand to double its current size. Most of the costs of this expansion would be increased seed purchases and some equipment purchases as well.

Tom McEvoy – “Mugs for Minervas”
This proposal is submitted to request funding to help purchases 200 re-usable coffee mugs per house [ excluding Wold House, which has already purchased cups for its membership.]  The cups would replace the paper cups now used and students would need to keep the re-usable cups on their person [backpack] in order to get a cup of coffee or tea.  Students who live in the house would bring the new reusable cup down from their rooms.  We expect that coffee and tea consumption may also decline, which will save the Minervas some money, and apply it toward other programs. 

David L. Sanders – “Eco-Friendly Potting Shed”
This eco-friendly potting shed will be approximately 12x14feet. It will be made entirely of environmentally friendly materials, including straw bale insulation, and will operate off the grid in terms of electricity. Its purpose is to both provide the Octopus’ Garden with a storage facility for tools and to educate the Union community about the possibilities of building green. The tentative idea has been approved by Facilities.

Jordan Silletti – “An energy audit of Golub House and Fox Hall”
This project is an energy audit of Golub House and Fox Hall. This includes compiling energy usage (kilowatt hours-kWh) of each building since 2001 and analyzing how to decrease energy usage within these buildings. The kWh measurements are known for each building on campus starting in July 2001. The goal is to divide up the kWh measurements for each aspect of these buildings that use energy. Thus, the grant money would be used to purchased data loggers that measure the kWh usage of a light. By measuring the kWh usage of a light, the percentages of kWh used in each building can be determined solely for lighting. Once this is done, a proposal will be made for lighting projects that would help decrease lighting energy usage in these buildings.

Tyler Willey – “Lighting the way to a more environmentally friendly campus”
This project is aiming to cut down Union’s energy useage and costs through the installation of motion sensor lights in the showers and bathrooms in Davidson, Fox, West and Richmond dormitories. By installing motion sensors, the lights in these facilities will only be running when the facility is in use.

Find out more about sustainibility at UNION

 

PV panels on the Campus security building on Hull Place. This project was funded in part by the New York State Energy Regional Development Authority (NYSERDA). (Photo: JI Garver)

This document can be located from: http://minerva.union.edu/env/ES_home.html

© Geology Department, Union College, Schenectady N.Y. 12308-3107.All rights reserved. No part of the document can be copied and/or redistributed, electronically or otherwise, without written permission from J.I.Garver, Geology Department, Union College, Schenectady NY, 12308-2311, USA.