New philanthropic contributions from Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP) will support university sustainability efforts including zero waste, energy models for buildings, water research and education, and graduate training in sustainable energy.
OSEP has designated $245,000 of its annual $810,000 contribution, part of its commitment to academic collaboration at The Ohio State University, toward sustainability-related projects.
“OSEP shows its commitment to advancing sustainability at Ohio State in many ways. Its willingness to support interesting, creative sustainability projects through these annual philanthropic contributions is much appreciated by many faculty, staff and students,” says Kate Bartter, executive director Sustainability Institute at Ohio State.
Sustainability-related contributions:
- $48,350 to Lisa Hall, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and faculty director of the STEAM Factory, for the STEAM Interdisciplinary Outreach and Research Program in Sustainable Urban Systems. This project develops outreach initiatives to communicate sustainability research at Ohio State and advances community-engaged scholarship in sustainable urban systems to understand complex dynamics between social norms, infrastructure and individual attitudes that influence sustainable behaviors and energy efficient technology adoption.
- $47,831 to Jordan Clark, assistant professor, civil, environmental and geodetic engineering and food, agricultural and biological engineering, and a core faculty member of the Sustainability Institute, for Building Energy Living Lab Digital Twin Pilot Systems, a method for rapidly creating physics-based energy models of all campus buildings by developing and refining the method on two test buildings. The method involves combining images and thermal images from drone-mounted cameras with existing occupancy and smart meter data to rapidly generate physics-based models of campus buildings.
- $42,000 to Jim Stagge, assistant professor, civil, environmental and geodetic engineering, for the Olentangy River as Campus Laboratory (ORACL). The ORACL project will leverage the Olentangy as a testbed for water research and education. Researchers from across the university will build a hydraulic flood model (photo, above) of the lower Olentangy using drone-based surveys, design course modules mimicking ongoing Facilities Operations and Development water projects, and create an app highlighting Ohio State’s commitment to water resources.
- $35,000 to Ramteen Sioshansi, professor, integrated systems engineering, to support a program coordinator for STEM graduate education training. In 2019 Ohio State researchers received a $2.98 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) grant, “Convergent Graduate Training and EmPOWERment for a Sustainable Energy Future,” to develop and implement bold, transformative models for science, technology, engineering and mathematics graduate education training.
- $25,000 to Jay Sayre, assistant vice president, Office of Research; director of innovation, Institute for Materials Research; and research associate professor, materials science and engineering, to refurbish fuel cell test stations and provide access to them to help enable the university’s sustainability goals. As hydrogen and fuel cells play a critical role toward a sustainable energy future, this award would aid in the deployment of equipment that could support a variety of new fuel cell programs.
- $26,690 to Jeremy Brooks, assistant professor, environment and natural resources and affiliated faculty, Sustainability Institute, for the Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab Campus Sustainability Survey. The Environmental and Social Sustainability Lab partners with multiple units annually to administer the Campus Sustainability Survey, which provides longitudinal measures of undergraduate student behaviors, values, attitudes and sustainability knowledge. Survey data contributes to curriculum development, scientific research and programming, and communications that improve resource stewardship on campus.
- $14,000 to Kathryn Williamson, graduate research associate, food science and technology, and student organization, Know Food Waste, for a zero-waste initiative at the Parker Food Science and Technology Dairy Store Café. The goal of this project is to obtain funding for a zero-waste initiative in the Parker Food Science Building café. Funds will go toward establishing a composting program for front-of-house waste (compostable materials and pick-up costs), education and outreach, and data collection (on waste diversion and change in composting awareness over time).
- $6,400 to Courtney Price, education and outreach specialist, Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center, for WestFest 2020, a free STEM outreach event that will celebrate 150 years of Ohio State research excellence through community engagement and science communication.
OSEP also dedicated $250,000 of its philanthropic contributions this year to emerging needs resulting from the coronavirus crisis, including financial assistance for students, COVID-19-related research and community enrichment through the arts. The remaining $315,000 supports other initiatives across the university such as education abroad access and affordability, Middle East studies, faculty and staff recognition, and the 52 Million Project, a grassroots philanthropic effort founded by an Ohio State marketing student.
In 2017, the university and OSEP entered into the comprehensive energy management partnership, which launched an unprecedented energy efficiency program and established Ohio State as an international leader in sustainability. OSEP is a joint venture between ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure. The university’s Energy Academic Collaboration Council provides support for the grant program.