I2SL, in partnership with R&D Magazine and Laboratory Design newsletter, is pleased to acknowledge the winners of the fourth annual Go Beyond Awards. Go Beyond Award winners show their commitment to the goals of Labs21 and demonstrate that excellence in sustainability means going beyond the laboratory, beyond the U.S. and beyond being green when considering building projects, products and services. The Go Beyond Awards were presented in September during the Labs21 conference in Providence, R.I.
The fourth annual Go Beyond Awards recognize the following outstanding winners.
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Brad Cochran, CPP, was the winner of the Individual Award. All photos courtesy of I2SL.
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Individual award: Brad Cochran
Throughout his successful career, Brad Cochran, senior associate at CPP (Cermak Peterka Petersen), Fort Collins, Colo., has managed projects for several universities, federal agencies, and pharmaceutical companies. Using computational fluid dynamics and modeling, Cochran's work informs his clients on reentrained exhaust, plume impacts on neighboring communities, indoor-air circulation patterns, and potential for cross-contamination.
Cochran has been instrumental in the development of the Equivalent Building Dimension concept, which provides greater accuracy in estimating concentrations due to building downwash using EPA's Industrial Source Complex model. Brad has developed a workshop describing the process and benefits of wind tunnel testing and computational fluid CFD modeling for the safe design and operational performance of laboratories. The workshop promotes the environmental and
human health advantages of understanding the movement of laboratory exhaust and indoor air movement.
Cochran is an active member of the Labs21 community, consistently going above and beyond to regularly present at conferences, lend his technical expertise to a variety of Labs21 best practices and case studies, and through the development of his workshop.
Innovate technology and systems award: Caltech
Several initiatives at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), including a Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Plan, Energy Conservation Investment Program, and the aggressive Caltech Retro-Commissioning Program, are working together to help the university reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.
The 2009 Caltech Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Plan called for large-scale deployment of renewable energy generation in the form of solar photovoltaic and fuel cell installations.
Annually, Caltech's solar installations generate 1.3 megawatts (MW) and reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 1,600 metric tons. Caltech's 20 fuel cells produce 17,000 megawatt hours annually and are fueled by directed biogas, making them 88% cleaner than grid power, resulting in 10,000 metric tons of avoided emissions annually. Caltech generates more than three MW of renewable energy onsite and has reduced its purchases of coal based power by half to roughly 20%.
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Extensive efforts in mitigation of greenhouses gases contributed to Caltech's Innovative Technologies and Systems.
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Ultimately, the strength of Caltech's Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Plan is that these energy conservation and renewable energy generation projects complement each other to maximize Caltech's greenhouse gas emissions reduction. This synergy is illustrated perfectly by Caltech's three LEED Gold-certified laboratories, all of which achieve at least a 20% reduction in energy use with two hosting roof-top photovoltaic arrays. The marquee project is the Linde + Robinson Laboratory, which brings together concentrated solar photovoltaics and fuel cells to power the nation's first LEED Platinum-certified laboratory in a historic building.
New construction project award: UC-Davis WBF
Designed by Flad Architects, the Teaching and Research Winery at the August A. Busch III Brewing and Food Science Laboratory combines active learning with applied research. Agricultural heritage and scientific inquiry define the University of California-Davis programs in viticulture and food sciences that are housed in the facility. Bench-top science is combined with applied process technologies to create an extended learning environment. The building is the first in the region to meet all domestic and irrigation needs through stormwater harvest, facilitated by a 176,000-gal rainwater storage system. It is also the first process science facility to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
Initiatives that led to LEED credits include a 40% reduction in water demand, 36% improvement over the energy baseline with exemplary performance in onsite renewable energy, and night purge ventilation and piping of fermenters for CO2 capture. In addition, the students have direct involvement in the operation and monitoring of building systems. In this entirely donor-funded project, all was achieved on a lean construction budget through the use of design/build delivery that engaged the vision of the benefactors. (For photos and additional information on this project, see the June 2011 digital edition, as well as Stevens Williams' article "A Conversation Over Drinks").
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Waldner's commitment to sustainable design and manufacturing earned the company this year's Equipment Manufacturer's Award.
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Equipment manufacturers' award: Waldner Inc.
Waldner is committed to low-energy-use practices and the creation of efficient, effective
products. Waldner fume hood products are designed to reduce energy consumption both in their manufacture and usage in the laboratory. During their manufacture, fume hood components are bonded at low temperatures to generate fewer emissions and reduce energy consumption. Techniques to shorten the production processes also further reduce manufacturing energy use. Waldner has also chosen to considerably reduce its use of energy-intensive aluminum in products.
Once in the laboratory, Waldner products are designed to expend less operational energy.
Their fume hoods optimize flow patterns in the air supply and exhaust while maintaining
performance and safe operation. This four-year Labs21 Annual Conference Technology and Services Fair exhibitor's commitment to energy recovery, energy efficiency, and material recycling is evidenced in all areas of their facility operations. Waldner exhibits a strong commitment to rainwater capture and water conservation, as well as great sensitivity to its role as a resource consumer in a small rural community setting. Waldner has been very active with Labs21 and I2SL, participating in I2SL's Global Sustainable Laboratory Network, which engages a global network in sustainable laboratories collaboration and research. Waldner also helped create EGNATON, a European nonprofit organization and I2SL partner that aims to support the development of sustainable practices in laboratory design.
For more information about the Go Beyond Awards, visit http://i2sl.org/labs21/conference/awards.html.
