University of Vermont
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

There have been many projects funded through UVM’s Clean Energy Fund. One example was the “Cow Power Demystified” project, in which two Community Development and Applied Economics graduate students explored the possibility of the University purchasing local “Cow Power” (RECs from local farm methane) in the context of work on farm methane projects by Extension Services. The result was that the University purchased Green-e certified power for all the Extension offices. See http://www.uvm.edu/sustain/cef/cef-projects/internship-for-cow-power-demystified

Greening of Aiken class :
http://www.uvm.edu/rsenr/?Page=news&storyID=22778&category=rsenr

Spring (2016) marks the 15th year of the Rubenstein School Greening of Aiken Intern class. The class is taught by Gary Hawley, with help this year from mentors Carl Waite, retired long-time research staff member, and Colleen Armstrong, manager of the UVM Greenhouse.
Student interns completed 5 projects that focused on increasing the energy efficiency and environmental sustainability of the Aiken Center and other Rubenstein School buildings and helped to build the vision for the Rubenstein School Zero Energy Initiative for 2016.

(Dr. Mads R. Almassalkhi, Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering & Mathematical Sciences, has research interests that lie at the intersection of power systems, optimization, and controls. He works on developing novel feedback and optimization algorithms that improve resilience of power systems, which is increasingly more important as power systems are operating closer and closer to their limits. Dr. Almassalkhi is a partner in an on-campus project funded by UVM’s Clean Energy Fund to bring new integrated controls systems that will allow both operators and researchers to obtain real-time, high resolution data about campus buildings’ utilities.

http://www.cems.uvm.edu/~malmassa/About_Me.html)
http://www.uvm.edu/sustain/cef/cef-projects/internship-for-cow-power-demystified

UVM’s campus food system is a living laboratory for understanding the connections between production, distribution, consumption, and sustainability. The Real Food Challenge provides the institution with tools and strategies to support the development of a sustainable, local, fair, and humane food system through responsible procurement decisions.
Real Food @ UVM
Since 2009, UVM students have been auditing UVM's food purchases using the Real Food Calculator, as one of the first universities to pilot the tool.
In the 2011-2012 academic year, UVM students advocated for UVM to sign the Real Food Campus Commitment as part of the Real Food Challenge national campaign. Their efforts came to fruition in March 2012, when Interim President John Bramley signed the commitment, thereby pledging UVM to purchasing 20% "Real Food" by 2020.
The Real Food Working Group, a dedicated group of students, faculty, and staff, is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Real Food Campus Commitment.

https://www.uvm.edu/foodsystems/?Page=rfwg.html&SM=realfoodmenu.html

The Real Food Working Group, in collaboration with UVM Dining, is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Real Food Campus Commitment.

Dr. Mark C. Starrett teaches horticulture and plant pathology at UVM, and among his other numerous duties serves as Internship Coordinator for Sustainable Landscape Horticulture majors. Under his tutelage students tend several vegetable and ornamental gardens that serve as teaching tools and pleasant places to be on main campus.

In addition to the Real Food Challenge, UVM has committed to ending sales of bottled water. One faculty member, Dr. Rachel Johnson, worked with an undergraduate student to study what packaged beverages people bought in the semester subsequent to the end of bottled water sales. They found that a greater percentage of the beverages sold in bottles contained high levels of sugar. As a result, the Eco-Reps and University Dining Services have since run campaigns to encourage people to make healthy choices, in addition to promoting use of reusable bottles for water.

One example is the EV Charging Station study in which ›an undergraduate student researcher worked with the Vermont Clean Cities Program, › UVM Transportation and Parking Services, the UVM› Energy Management Office and an outside consultant to define best locations for EV charging stations. The project, funded through the UVM Clean Energy Fund, and resulted in the installation of four charging stations.
http://www.uvm.edu/sustain/sustain/sites/default/files/uploads/Documents%20Archive/For_Website/Documents_for_Website/Clean%20Energy%20Fund/uvm_electric_vehicle_charging_station_study_mms.pdf)

The Clean Energy Fund sponsored two composting studies by students and faculty, both to explore using compost for heating UVM greenhouses in winter. The studies contribute to defining the feasibility of handling campus waste on UVM’s own campus, versus partnering with larger entities. See also http://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Energizing%20Energy.pdf.

In addition, a project by undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences researched the desirability and feasibility of installing an anaerobic digester at the Miller Research Farm in spring 2015. The students built a small digester prototype for Miller testing which Avatar, a consulting company for AD projects, then took to their site this summer test its adaptability to other products. A Rubenstein student examined whether the same prototype could digest food products. The result was that the anaerobic digester project was found not to be feasible.

The University of Vermont Bioretention Laboratory is a site of ongoing research on the use of bioretention systems to absorb and treat stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces. Built in 2012 near a major visitor parking lot on the UVM Campus, this project serves as a public demonstration of bioretention “rain gardens” and is an example of environmental science research in action. Our research investigates the mechanisms influencing sediment and nutrient retention and greenhouse gas emissions within eight stormwater bioretention “cells.” See also http://www.uvm.edu/~pss/?Page=bioretentionproject.html
UVM Physical Plant Department supports and encourages student research on campus. See http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmppd/?Page%3Dgrounds/grounds_default.html

Eugene Korsunskiy in Arts & Sciences teaches a class called "Design Thinking," in which students worked with staff to develop a strategic plan for the Clean Energy Fund at the Office of Sustainability in 2015. The class emphasized the need for students to understand the fund’s purpose and to have visible student involvement in projects. The class recommended finding a way to connect with Athletics and to include a renewable power component into Athletics facilities.

The Socially Responsible Investing Advisory Council has been coordinated by a doctoral student whose fellowship involves researching questions about sustainability in investing and presenting findings to the Council. The Natural Resources pH.D candidate coordinated communications leading to the transition of the Clean Energy Fund from Office of Sustainability to SRIAC, and supported the SRIAC during the process of creating the new position of Sustainability Funds Coordinator. In addition, she has included elements of her work at UVM into a portion of her final dissertation focused on the fossil fuel divestment movement.