Define the campus environmental problem that you are attempting to solve:

The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating and certification program for buildings emphasizes energy efficiency through conservation and innovative technologies. Points toward certification are earned on the basis of designed building performance compared to a baseline model. While there are performance models for all LEED buildings, there is currently no comparison of predicted results with actual performance for the LEED projects. In order to have an effective adaptive management approach to capital projects at the University, this comparison must be made. In addition to energy, there are opportunities to work on other comparisons and challenges related to the certification of LEED projects.

Describe your proposed solution to this problem:

Interns will be hired to perform the energy use analyses of University LEED projects. The project will entail the collection of actual energy performance data for the University’s completed LEED projects, and the predicted performance data for planned projects. Other comparisons of design baselines to actual performance will be included in this position (i.e., water, product performance comparison, etc.). Creation and maintenance of a database from this information will serve as the basis for evaluation of the effectiveness of LEED building standards on campus. The interns will work in the Capital Projects Office, and fall under the guidance of the Sustainability Manager, Clara Simon. The internship will be open to any student with a suitable educational background and personal interest, and will be available for four quarters, preferably filled by a new student each quarter.

What form and amount of student leadership will your project involve?

The position, if used to provide opportunities for Capstone Experiences or similar student projects, will provide 4 students with intimate working knowledge of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating and building certification system as it is practiced and implemented on current University projects. The compilation of data will be an ongoing project, but each student will be responsible for maintaining the database and making necessary analyses. When their quarter is completed, the students will have resume-building experience in energy efficiency analysis in an office that is unique in its involvement with so many large LEED projects in the design, construction, and operational phases. Students will also become intimately knowledgeable as to the LEED process during building design, construction and into building operations. Students will be encouraged to study for and obtain LEED Green Associates or LEED Accredited Professional’s exam, as applicable, while working in the Capital Projects Office. Interns will have the opportunity to gain USGBC-required experience necessary to achieve accreditation that is usually only available to working professionals in the architectural, engineering, and consulting fields.

What type and amount of outreach and education will your project involve?

The Sustainability Internship will be an opportunity for students to create projects that share the experience and the work of the University administration with the student body as well as create a conduit for sharing classroom experience with the staff that is responsible for sustainability at the institutional level. There is a separation between administrative operations and educational programs that hides the very good work being done on both sides to build a more sustainable campus. This internship will make more porous the perceived barrier between students and staff. Ideas about sustainability that are fostered and encouraged in the classroom are also present in the discussions that take place in the Capital Projects Office, but the intellectual resources are not shared as freely as they could be.This internship will provide a very direct interface between students and staff that will foster the interactions that make innovation possible.

What amount of funds do you anticipate your project will require from the CSF?

A student intern is allowed to work 19.5 hours per week, and a suitably experienced candidate will be paid $16 per hour. There will be an intern working for 10 weeks per quarter, including an intern working for 10 weeks during the summer, for one year. The total required funding will be $12,480 for compensation, plus $1,600 for LEED Green Associate and/or LEED Accredited Professional application and exam fees, totaling $14,080.