University of Virginia
IN-1: Innovation 1

The University of Virginia is located in the watershed of the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States whose health is greatly impacted by a variety of complex factors. The University of Virginia hosts numerous programs to educate the community on the problems facing the Bay and research potential solutions. UVA Bay Game: The UVA Bay Game is a large-scale participatory simulation based on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Game allows players to take the roles of stakeholders, such as farmers, developer, watermen, and local policy-makers, make decisions about their livelihoods or regulatory authority; and see the impacts of their decisions on their own personal finances, the regional economy, and watershed health. It is an adaptable educational and learning tool for raising awareness about watershed stewardship anywhere in the world; a tool for exploring and testing policy choices; and a tool for evaluating new products and services. Developed by a multi-disciplinary faculty and student team, the UVA Bay Game combines a video game format with current demographic, economic, and scientific data to create a powerful tool with real-world applications and impact. It has been hailed by federal and state agency, NGO, and corporate and education leaders as "the first of its kind." From the US Congress to industry leaders, the Game's unique capacity to test the environmental and economic impact of policies and corporate decisions on watershed resources and communities is creating a virtual testbed for real-world challenges. In November 2010 IBM selected the UVA Bay Game as one of three global projects (the others in China and Brazil) in water safety and conservation for support through its World Community Grid network. With IBM assistance we are building a second simulation, far more detailed than the UVA Bay Game, for evaluating the watershed impact of new policies, products, services-and stakeholder and citizen behavior. http://www.virginia.edu/baygame/ UVA Learning Barge and Elizabeth River Project: Powered by sun and wind and equipped with live wetlands, an enclosed classroom, composting toilets and a rainwater filtration system, the 120 by 32 foot Learning Barge is designed to both model and teach ecology and sustainability to the next generation of lower Chesapeake Bay stewards. The mission is to help teach how to help make the Elizabeth River swimmable and fishable by 2020. The vessel, a collaborative research, design and fabrication initiative of University of Virginia architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, education, art and history students, incorporates research and sustainable design principles to promote environmental education. Phoebe Crisman, associate professor of architecture at the University of Virginia, has been selected as a 2008 recipient of the American Institute of Architects Education Honor Award for her work on the Learning Barge. Over 10,000, K-12 students have visited the Learning Barge since 2009. http://www.arch.virginia.edu/learningbarge/