Stanford University
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Stanford Energy System Innovations (SESI), which will reduce campus greenhouse gas emissions by 68% by the end of 2016, is an example of campus operations serving as a living laboratory for impact on air and climate. The SESI program began with the development of the Energy and Climate Plan in 2009, which was a high-priority study that incorporated various industry and faculty peer reviews from inception to approval. SESI studies have also engaged graduate student researchers to verify models and assist with other assessments. For instance, the Department of Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM) partnered with the Stanford Solar and Wind Energy Project, a student group, to carry out studies on the campus solar potential. Additionally, since the new Central Energy Facility came online in April 2015, staff in the Department of Sustainability & Energy Management have provided tours for many classes, student groups and faculty groups, among others, to encourage hands-on learning through this innovative energy system. In fact, many of the spaces within the new Central Energy Facility were built with the concept of campus as a living laboratory in mind, such as amphitheater-style outdoor seating, large windows for easy viewing of the machinery, color-coded piping symbolizing the hot water and cold water supply and return loops, informational signage offering a self-guided tour, and new conference rooms available for use by any campus group. For more information, visit: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/sesi

Each year, the Sustainable Stanford Internship Program hires interns to work on sustainability initiatives in Student Housing buildings through Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) and academic buildings through the Cardinal Green Office Program, the Cardinal Green Labs Program, and a variety of targeted plug load programs run through the Office of Sustainability. For instance, R&DE interns conducted a lighting study during the 2015-16 academic year to learn how many hours per day lights are turned on in dorm rooms. The results of this study were able to be integrated into the retrofit plan for an existing freshmen dorm by helping to prove the high return on investment of installing LED light fixtures. Future dorms will now also contain LED lighting as a result of this intern study.

As another example, in summer 2014, the Office of Sustainability hired 10 interns to conduct a plug load equipment inventory, in which interns surveyed equipment in 220 buildings on campus. The initial equipment inventory was such a success that three additional interns worked on an expanded inventory throughout 2015.

Finally, in 2013, a group of Stanford students designed and built a sustainable, environmentally-friendly “Start.Home” that is now home to the Jasper Ridge resident ranger. This solar-powered, efficiency-designed house was the culmination of a project completed by a coalition of undergraduate and graduate students as part of the national Solar Decathlon competition.

There are several classes offered through a wide variety of departments that teach students about different types of sustainable energy and strategies for implementing and advocating renewable energy on the local, state, and national levels. Many of these courses offer opportunities for hands-on exploration and research in the field of renewable energy, such as projects and field trips. Examples of courses offered in 2015-16 include: MS&E 243: Energy and Environmental Policy Analysis (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=MS%26E243), LAW 455: Energy Law (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=LAW455), CEE 107F: Understanding Energy -- Field Trips (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=CEE107F), ENERGY 101A: Energizing California (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=ENERGY101A), ENERGY 293C: Energy from Wind and Water Currents (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&academicYear=&q=energy293c&collapse), EARTHSYS 102: Renewable Energy Sources and Greener Energy Processes (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=EARTHSYS102), and CEE 107A: Understanding Energy (http://explorecourses.stanford.edu/search?view=catalog&filter-coursestatus-Active=on&page=0&catalog=&q=CEE107A).

Each year, the Sustainable Stanford Internship Program hires interns to work on energy initiatives in Student Housing through Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) and academic buildings through the Cardinal Green Office Program, the Cardinal Green Labs Program, and a variety of targeted plug load programs run through the Office of Sustainability. The lighting study and plug load internships discussed above are also applicable here. As another example, Stanford's Cardinal Green Office Program enlists intern support to conduct energy audits of volunteer buildings across campus each year. In the 2015-16 academic year, the Cardinal Green Office Program Intern audited 10 buildings and provided energy conservation and efficiency recommendations.

The Office of Sustainability also leads a training entitled “Sustainable Office Spaces” that is open to students, staff and faculty that trains attendees on energy efficiency measures that they can take in their offices, workspaces, or dorms. This training is offered twice each fall as part of the university’s Cardinal Green Buildings campaign. For more information on this training, visit: http://sustainable.stanford.edu/trainings.

Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) Stanford Dining hires student interns to manage the eight organic dining hall gardens, greenhouses, and indoor aeroponic gardens that are an integral part of R&DE’s Sustainable Food education and outreach program. Students organize garden work days, educate and engage other students, and grow and provide organic produce to the dining halls and Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford. The students work with Stanford Dining’s Farm and Forage Coordinator (a full-time position) an expert who teaches them about crop planning, starting seeds, growing microgreens, and managing gardens. Throughout this internship, these student interns learn not only sustainable farming and gardening practices, but also accountability and time management skills. Finally, these student interns have the opportunity to work on various other Sustainable Food Program projects as well, in order to learn and expand on the fundamentals of organic gardening, to meet and work with other people interested in sustainable food, and to be involved in educational and community outreach events.

Student volunteers also help manage the BeWell Community Gardens and many graduate and undergraduate students have personal or communal plots in the community garden, including the Graduate School of Education’s Stanford Teacher Education Program, which teaches teachers how to incorporate gardening into their curriculum using the community garden plots.

Visit https://rde.stanford.edu/dining/organic-gardens

R&DE works with students in numerous classes and departments for class projects, research projects, theses, and capstone projects that focus on operations, purchasing, and/or education in the dining halls. Students are very interested in learning more about how the food they eat is grown, cooked, and ultimately disposed of. The Sustainable Food Program works on about 25 class projects each year in classes ranging from "The Global Warming Paradox" to "Design for Extreme Affordability." In 2015-2016, the Sustainable Food Program worked with multiple Earth Systems Capstone students on final projects related to organic purchasing, ugly produce, and sustainable seafood.

In January 2015, R&DE launched, with the support of Jamie Oliver and the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation, the Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford, a groundbreaking cooking education program available to the Stanford University community. In fall 2015, the Teaching Kitchen @ Stanford launched the cooking education program in partnership with Jamie Oliver and the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation using Jamie’s hands-on cooking curriculum, healthy recipes and inspiring teaching style. The classes have sustainability information woven into the curriculum. The students visit the organic dining hall garden and use produce from the garden in their cooking lessons. Additionally, sustainability partners, such as R&DE’s Alaskan fisherman, visit the classes to teach the students about sustainability.

The Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve offers a multitude of educational programs designed to teach Stanford students, professors, and other community member about sustainable land use and grounds practices. These opportunities include formal classes offered through Stanford University as well as other universities in the area, programs for environmental education for teachers, K-12 education programs for area schools, and open community programs such as tours, lectures and continuing education classes. A full list of educational opportunities offered through Jasper Ridge can be found here: https://jrbp.stanford.edu/education/classes.

Jasper Ridge also offers a docent training program for Stanford students to become year-long volunteers at the preserve, leading field-based education programs for younger students and community members and participating in projects and research alongside Jasper Ridge staff. This is an internship-like program offered through the Biology and Earth Systems departments to provide Stanford students with the opportunity to learn firsthand what goes into sustainable grounds care by working directly with faculty in those career fields.

Finally, Jasper Ridge has a Ranger Program that draws from the Stanford undergraduate and graduate community, specifically those involved in docent training, Earth Systems, biology, environmental organizations, and/or cycling clubs. A select group of students is chosen from an applicant pool to become Rangers who patrol the perimeter and trails of the preserve two to three times a week by mountain bike. This program provides another avenue for Stanford students to gain firsthand experience with ecological sustainability and grounds care in a preservation setting.

Stanford also constructed teaching gardens in the Science and Engineering Quad. These gardens mirror the landscaping of Stanford’s original main quad, but were designed specifically as teaching gardens for the interdisciplinary staff residing in each of the four quad buildings to utilize during their classes. Each of the four gardens has a different theme: plants used for dyes, medicinal plants, local and drought tolerant plants, and plants traditionally used by the Ohlone tribe in the Bay Area. Additionally, Stanford’s Building and Grounds Maintenance department constructed a separate Waterwise Demonstration Garden on campus that serves as an example for students and local residents of how to employ alternatives to thirsty residential landscapes. It also has a water meter on display to illustrate its low water consumption and showcases drip irrigation and California native plants. More information on the Waterwise garden is available here: http://bgm.stanford.edu/groups/grounds/special/waterwise.

In 2015-16, interns with Residential & Dining Enterprises conducted a turf study that evaluated the size, slope, shape, usage, sprinkler head count, and amount of shade present in each of the turf areas surrounding Student Housing. The team of interns evaluated over 800,000 square feet of turf throughout graduate and undergraduate student housing space and found that 4% of that turf could be removed or replaced with drought-resistant plants. The team is also studying the quantity and flow rates of sprinkler heads in each area to estimate water savings from turf removal and determine if any areas are currently being over-watered.

Stanford hires a Stanford Dining Intern to research and analyze existing food purchases and make recommendations for new sustainable food purchases, as noted in the following excerpt from the Stanford Dining Intern position description:

The Sustainable Food Program intern will assist the Sustainable Food Program manager in all aspects of sustainability. Example projects include:
• Research on sustainability topics, farms, and vendors
• Analysis of current and future purchasing
• Writing and editing newsletters
• Organizing educational events
• Waste analysis to improve composting program
• Energy use analysis and project management
• Assist in gardens and running community gardens

Below are examples of how Stanford’s Parking & Transportation Services (P&TS) utilized the campus as a living lab philosophy throughout the 2014-15 academic year:
• P&TS worked with the School of Education’s Social Ecology Lab to examine the relationship between learning and travel behavior: which conditions and mechanisms impact that link and the role(s) that institutions do or do not play in commute choices and behavior. Research methods included a survey of employees, interviews and commute documentation with up to 10 employees, observation of transportation-related events (e.g., Bike to Work Day, employee orientation events, Commute Club events), focus groups, and document analysis. Existing survey and other data from P&TS will be used as background and baseline data.
• Working with the Precourt Energy Efficiency Center, P&TS collaborated on a study to evaluate what Transportation Demand Management measures are relevant and applicable to employees’ mode choices. Research included a series of focus groups to understand employee transportation and parking behavior and the underlying factors that determine employees’ attitudes toward existing and hypothetical transportation and parking policies.
• P&TS worked with Stanford graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from the Graduate School of Education, Statistics Department, and Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to improve the research methodology used in developing its annual commute survey.
• P&TS consulted with a group of Summer Undergraduate Research Institute (SURI) students on an opensource transportation modeling system that highlights the benefits of purchasing electric buses compared with conventional diesel, compressed natural gas, or hybrid buses. Once completed, this model could help other universities or municipalities determine institutional benefits realized through the electrification of their fleet, such as total savings compared to initial cost.

Each year during New Student Orientation, the Office of Sustainability works with PSSI and R&DE to host a Zero Waste Lunch. At this event, all incoming freshmen are provided with lunch in 100% compostable containers, and staff and volunteers are present to talk to new students about campus waste initiatives and answer students' questions. The goal of the Zero Waste Lunch is to provide students with a satisfying meal while simultaneously making them aware of recycling and composting practices on Stanford's campus.

PSSI also works with interns annually to improve waste and recycling at Stanford. Student interns work in the areas of cafe composting and developing a cafe rating system, outreach and social media, zero waste efforts at Stanford's on-campus elementary and pre-schools, and planning and execution of Recyclemania, a national recycling competition among schools in higher education. All interns gain experience in the field of waste reduction, recycling and composting, in addition to a deeper understanding of the challenges of achieving a sustainable zero waste society. Visit http://sustainable.stanford.edu/internships.

PSSI is also spearheading a local collaboration to turn food waste into animal feed. During the R&D process for this new technology, Stanford contributed several shipments of food waste for testing.

On March 25, 2014, Stanford broke ground on a new wastewater facility entitled the William and Cloy Codiga Resource Recovery Center (http://web.stanford.edu/group/cr2c/). Construction was finished in May 2016. The facility is a collaborative effort among university water resource specialists in the Department of Sustainability and Energy Management (SEM) and faculty researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Woods Institute for the Environment and the Stanford-led Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure (ReNUWIt). Faculty and student researchers will use the facility to test promising technologies for both recovery of clean water and energy from wastewater. Visit:
http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/march/water-recovery-facility-032414.html
https://news.stanford.edu/2016/04/04/codiga-recovery-center-040416/

In 2015 and 2016, the Office of Sustainability worked with the Stanford Environmental Behavior Group, a group of graduate students focused on sustainable behavior change, to develop the Cardinal Green action network, which is an engagement platform developed by the Office of Sustainability to facilitate sustainability action among faculty, staff and students alike. The graduate students have consulted heavily on aspects of the action network such as the incentive structure and messaging, and the students will evaluate the results of the pilot from a demographic standpoint.

The "Intergroup Communication" class is co-taught by Professor Hazel Markus and the Training Director in the Diversity and First Gen Office, Dereca Blackmon. The goal of the course is to challenge explicit and implicit assumptions about different groups and to enhance students' abilities to successfully communicate across the complex web of identity. Throughout the course, students explore four aspects of identity (sexual orientation, race, gender and socioeconomic status) and engage in dialogue at the intragroup, intergroup and interpersonal levels. The class is based on one of Stanford’s most popular courses, Group Communication, taught for many years by Professor Helen Schrader.

Each week, students explore an aspect of identity (sexual orientation, race, socioeconomic status and gender). Students are asked to break into self-identified groups that are derived, in part, from the initial class demographic survey. Each group develops a set of questions for each of the other groups in the identity topic. To encourage authentic inquiry, questions are presented anonymously with no reference to who developed the question. One at a time, each group sits in the center of the room and answers questions from the other groups until every group has had a chance to sit in the middle. Once a topic is completed, students return to their original groups to debrief. After debrief, students pair up for one-on-one conversations targeting someone who can help them to engage new ideas and perspectives. Over 90 students enrolled in the course in 2015 and 127 in 2016.

Stanford’s Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing (APIRL) contains two undergraduate student members and two graduate student members. These students contribute to all of the committee’s activities and are selected by the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU).

Stanford offers many courses that transform the campus into a living laboratory for public engagement. For instance, the course "Sustainable Cities," offered through the Earth Systems and Urban Studies departments, is a service-learning course that exposes students to sustainability concepts and urban planning as a tool for determining sustainable outcomes in the Bay Area. The course focuses on the relationship of land use and transportation planning to housing and employment patterns, mobility, public health, and social equity. Topics include government initiatives to counteract urban sprawl and promote smart growth and livability, political realities of organizing and building coalitions around sustainability goals, and increasing opportunities for low-income communities and communities of color to achieve sustainability outcomes. Students participate in team-based projects in collaboration with local community partners and take part in significant off-site fieldwork. In the past, the class has collaborated with Bay Area non-profit organizations and government agencies, including Redwood City, the SF Bicycle Coalition, Friends of Caltrain, the San Mateo County Health Department, and many others. More information about the course can be found here: http://sustainablecities.weebly.com/.

In addition, one of the four tenants of Stanford’s Cardinal Service program is Cardinal Courses. Through this initiative, the Haas Center for Public Service works with faculty on campus to provide hands-on service learning opportunities throughout the Bay Area. Through a group of staff positions focused on expanding community-engaged learning opportunities, the Haas Center is expanding the academic opportunities available to students to partner directly with non-profits, government agencies, and other local organizations while engaging in hands-on learning. Specifically, one Director of Community Engaged Learning focuses only on sustainability initiatives and works with local organizations to identify and incentivize living lab opportunities in public engagement. For further information see https://haas.stanford.edu/students/cardinal-courses.

The Haas Center also awards the Miriam Aaron Roland Volunteer Service Prize each year to faculty “who engage and involve students in integrating academic scholarship with significant and meaningful volunteer service to society.” It was created by alumna Miriam Aaron Roland, ’51, and includes a $5,000 cash award. In 2016, the award was given to Biology Professor Rodolfo Dirzo for his commitment to community engagement as integral to teaching and research, and for inspiring students from underserved communities to pursue conservation projects and careers. More information on Dirzo's inspiring efforts can be found here: http://news.stanford.edu/2016/05/20/stanford-biologist-rodolfo-dirzo-receive-roland-volunteer-service-prize/

Stanford’s BeWell program launched a wellness program for students on October 1, 2013 to expand upon the wellness program it has offered to employees since 2008. As one example of student involvement in this program, BeWell developed a new online student wellness magazine called Student Health 101, which features articles written by Stanford students and staff. Visit https://bewell.stanford.edu/ppl/students.

The Vaden Student Health Center also operates the iThrive program. Derived from research studies of the science of happiness, iThrive offers courses, workshops, discussion groups and internships as student opportunities to examine the knowledge and skills of sustainable emotional well-being. Students can explore their natural capacity to thrive, to be happier and accomplished, and to handle challenging situations with more ease, reilience, and confidence through this program. Visit https://vaden.stanford.edu/caps-and-wellness/ithrive-emotional-well-being.

Finally, Stanford has also invested significant resources over the last several years in building out its Arts district, which includes buildings focused on the mindset of the user inside. From museums, such as the new Anderson Collection and the new McMurtry Building, to contemplative centers like Windhover Pavilion, these buildings not only incorporated key sustainability features in their construction, but they also contribute to the overall health, wellness, and vibrance of the campus community. For instance, Windhover is a contemplative center located in the heart of campus accessible to Stanford students, staff and faculty. Art by Nathan Oliveira inspired both its name and
its construction, turning Windhover into an elegant and natural space.

Arts and Culture: The opportunities to promote ongoing active participation in arts and culture include the Arts Theme Dorm (Kimball Hall), the freshman year ITALIC arts immersion program (https://undergrad.stanford.edu/programs/residential/italic), and the Art Focus Lecture Series sponsored by the Cantor Arts Center (https://museum.stanford.edu/participate/classes_study_groups.html).