Engineers for Sustainable World
 
I intend to focus my future engineering career on sustainability research and technology, with the goal that we can find economical solutions to reducing waste. This year I became an active member of Engineer’s for a Sustainable World, which is a national action-orientated organization for students to work on sustainability projects for their local or the global community. Current Projects This is an exciting and busy year for the organization! As part of Smith College’s Climate Action Plan of the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment (http://acupcc.aashe.org/cap-report.php?id=235), we have several projects to assist with college’s goals of becoming a more sustainable campus. Some of the projects include the following; Solar Assessment Smith College is considering implementing renewable energy, one of which includes solar. In order to determine which buildings are able to support photovoltaic or hot water systems, ESW is collecting shading data. The students have evaluated a majority of the buildings on campus to determine which have none, partial, to complete shading. For any building considered to be partially shaded, the students are using a Solar Pathfinder, a device that is able to detect surrounding obstructions and determine the energy loss for each month of the year. From this, buildings with limited partial shaded can also be considered for PV or solar hot water panels. In addition to collecting this data, it is our goal to teach the ESW members solar geometry and the reasoning for determining panel orientation and tilt. College Hall Energy Audit It is an rewarding experience for our organization to teach the Smith community about sustainable practices and reducing their consumption. This semester, ESW members are conducting an electrical energy audit for an important administrative building on campus, College Hall. The students will meter and account for all the electrical appliances in the building. They will then survey the staff to learn about their electrical consumption. The goal is to teach simple ways to reduce consumption with the hope that after conducing a following audit at the end of the semester, the faculty will have reduced their electrical consumption. 2008-2009 Project Lear year ESW completed bike parking analysis for Smith College, supervised by Smith College’s Sustainability Director. Over the last few years, there has been an influx of bike use on campus by both students, faculty, and staff. Unfortunately, the bike racks are not appropriate for Smith’s growing and diverse bike community. Members of Smith College’s Sustainability Committee wanted to foster this growing trend of sustainable transportation by addressing this issue and find bike parking solutions. Varying styles of bikes and different uses for bike racks around campus at different hours of the day make the current general racks not functional. The students of ESW spent the first semester analyzing the conditions of the bike racks by collecting a large database of photos for each bike rack. In addition, we learned how to conduct survey’s to gain outside perspective of what the school needs. During the second semester, we completed the final phase of the analysis by researching previously bike parking reports and manufacturers to find the style of bike racks that best suit Smith. At the end of the semester, we gave a final presentation and provide a complete written report to the Sustainability Committee. Our solutions included short-term and long-term goals, cost-benefit analysis, and methods for transferring Smith College’s campus to be a bike-friendly community. Future Projects Beginning this semester, ESW is initiating new outreach sustainability projects to build a stronger connection with the local community. Such projects include weekly trips to the local community gardens of Northampton. Please check back to this page in the coming month to find out about future projects. To learn more about sustainability at Smith College, please visit the following site http://www.smith.edu/green/index.php http://acupcc.aashe.org/cap-report.php?id=235http://www.smith.edu/green/index.phpshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1
Co-President, Treasurer