Post by FIUBlue82 on Jan 18, 2008 9:44:59 GMT -5
Not bad for a "joke university".
www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/384071.html
UP FRONT | GREEN BUILDING
FIU engineers bring green house to China
Just outside Beijing's Olympic village, Florida International University will build a house that produces all its own electricity and emits no carbon.
Posted on Fri, Jan. 18, 2008
BY OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@MiamiHerald.com
The tens of thousands of tourists and dignitaries visiting China for the 2008 Summer Olympics will find a unique South Florida representative among the participants: Florida International University's engineering school.
FIU is the only American university participating in the construction of China's Future House community, for which 10 nations were invited to design and build houses using cutting-edge, environmentally friendly techniques.
After the U.S. Department of Energy did not respond to requests to participate, FIU and its private-sector partner, the nonprofit Alternative Energy Living Foundation, stepped up to represent the United States, said FIU mechanical engineering professor Yong Tao.
The houses, including FIU's, will use different combinations of sustainable energy technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, geothermal cooling and heating, and wind power. The FIU home will produce all its own electricity and will be carbon neutral, which means it will not emit carbon into the atmosphere.
The house will also collect rainwater in cisterns and use it to flush toilets and irrigate, making it twice as water efficient as a typical Florida house.
''This project is more than about a house,'' said George Bialecki, Jr., an Illinois businessman and founder of Alternative Energy Living, which is sponsoring a large portion of the project. ``It's a global initiative to bring 10 countries together to try to find solutions to environmental problems that affect everyone.''
Tao, a native of Shanghai, China, is leading FIU's efforts to showcase American green construction technology in China. While the design adheres to Beijing's building codes, aspects could be adapted for Florida, Tao said.
''We might . . .get a real advance in commercialization of sustainable building technology'' that could be cost-effective in the marketplace, Tao said.
According to the website futurehouseusa.org, China's Ministry of Construction commissioned the Future House project ``to address China's growing energy concerns, and will use the 2008 Green Olympics as a platform to inform and educate.''
Construction will be completed in the spring, with the 10 houses going on display during the games and for years afterward.
FIU will provide engineering and consulting services to the project, Tao said. China is footing a portion of the costs, paying for the materials produced there.
Bialecki expects to contribute nearly $500,000 personally to cover the difference. He hopes the project will lead to new opportunities to do business in China.
Development has engulfed China. The country is forecasting the construction of as many homes during the next decade as presently exist in the entire United States.
The rapid growth has brought with it a slew of environmental challenges: Potable water supplies are strained. Deserts are spreading in the wake of deforestation. Coal plants opening at a rate of one a week are fouling the air with unsafe levels of mercury, sulfur dioxide and ozone.
International environmental groups warn that without a significant increase in environmental conscientiousness, the country's growth could accelerate ecological devastation around the world.
Green construction is one area of focus of the Chinese government, said Wang Bao Dong, spokesman for the embassy in Washington.
''The Chinese government does realize the importance of environmental protection, and the consequences of climate change, and it's taking a series of very strong measures to improve the situation,'' Wang said. ``Those subjects are hot topics.''
FIU caught China's attention in 2005, when they completed the solar decathlon, a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored competition where 20 groups built homes that used only solar energy, Tao said. FIU came in 13th overall but won the Energy Balance prize, which ranked entries that ended the competition with more stored energy than they started with.
FIU has nurtured a good relationship with China.
About four years ago, the university opened a branch of its hospitality school in the city of Tianjin.
Its first class graduates this spring.
''It is reflective of the commitment we have made to not only educate our students in the international arena, but to actively participate and interact with other nations throughout the world,'' said FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique.
www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/384071.html
UP FRONT | GREEN BUILDING
FIU engineers bring green house to China
Just outside Beijing's Olympic village, Florida International University will build a house that produces all its own electricity and emits no carbon.
Posted on Fri, Jan. 18, 2008
BY OSCAR CORRAL
ocorral@MiamiHerald.com
The tens of thousands of tourists and dignitaries visiting China for the 2008 Summer Olympics will find a unique South Florida representative among the participants: Florida International University's engineering school.
FIU is the only American university participating in the construction of China's Future House community, for which 10 nations were invited to design and build houses using cutting-edge, environmentally friendly techniques.
After the U.S. Department of Energy did not respond to requests to participate, FIU and its private-sector partner, the nonprofit Alternative Energy Living Foundation, stepped up to represent the United States, said FIU mechanical engineering professor Yong Tao.
The houses, including FIU's, will use different combinations of sustainable energy technologies such as photovoltaic solar panels, geothermal cooling and heating, and wind power. The FIU home will produce all its own electricity and will be carbon neutral, which means it will not emit carbon into the atmosphere.
The house will also collect rainwater in cisterns and use it to flush toilets and irrigate, making it twice as water efficient as a typical Florida house.
''This project is more than about a house,'' said George Bialecki, Jr., an Illinois businessman and founder of Alternative Energy Living, which is sponsoring a large portion of the project. ``It's a global initiative to bring 10 countries together to try to find solutions to environmental problems that affect everyone.''
Tao, a native of Shanghai, China, is leading FIU's efforts to showcase American green construction technology in China. While the design adheres to Beijing's building codes, aspects could be adapted for Florida, Tao said.
''We might . . .get a real advance in commercialization of sustainable building technology'' that could be cost-effective in the marketplace, Tao said.
According to the website futurehouseusa.org, China's Ministry of Construction commissioned the Future House project ``to address China's growing energy concerns, and will use the 2008 Green Olympics as a platform to inform and educate.''
Construction will be completed in the spring, with the 10 houses going on display during the games and for years afterward.
FIU will provide engineering and consulting services to the project, Tao said. China is footing a portion of the costs, paying for the materials produced there.
Bialecki expects to contribute nearly $500,000 personally to cover the difference. He hopes the project will lead to new opportunities to do business in China.
Development has engulfed China. The country is forecasting the construction of as many homes during the next decade as presently exist in the entire United States.
The rapid growth has brought with it a slew of environmental challenges: Potable water supplies are strained. Deserts are spreading in the wake of deforestation. Coal plants opening at a rate of one a week are fouling the air with unsafe levels of mercury, sulfur dioxide and ozone.
International environmental groups warn that without a significant increase in environmental conscientiousness, the country's growth could accelerate ecological devastation around the world.
Green construction is one area of focus of the Chinese government, said Wang Bao Dong, spokesman for the embassy in Washington.
''The Chinese government does realize the importance of environmental protection, and the consequences of climate change, and it's taking a series of very strong measures to improve the situation,'' Wang said. ``Those subjects are hot topics.''
FIU caught China's attention in 2005, when they completed the solar decathlon, a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored competition where 20 groups built homes that used only solar energy, Tao said. FIU came in 13th overall but won the Energy Balance prize, which ranked entries that ended the competition with more stored energy than they started with.
FIU has nurtured a good relationship with China.
About four years ago, the university opened a branch of its hospitality school in the city of Tianjin.
Its first class graduates this spring.
''It is reflective of the commitment we have made to not only educate our students in the international arena, but to actively participate and interact with other nations throughout the world,'' said FIU President Modesto ''Mitch'' Maidique.
