The EEMI Advisory Board held its third semiannual meeting on April 26, 2017 in the Science and Engineering Hall. The Advisory Board is composed of 14 distinguished individuals, including three former Assistant Administrators of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a former Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, and several corporate CEOs and NGO leaders.
Remote WebEx connection was provided for those who could not be physically present. In all, twelve of the 19 Board members participated in the meeting as well as a number of affiliates and associates physically present and willing to contribute to the discussions. Exchanges were lively, and as with previous Board meetings, EEMI leadership again received valuable suggestions and recommendations for the continued progress of EEMI. Board members were so eager to explore new ideas that a follow-up meeting is being scheduled for the very near term to specifically discuss strategies for pursuing new opportunities for research and the delivery of educational offerings.
A summary of the topics discussed at the meeting follows:
Graduate Certificate Program: Greenhouse Gas Management. EMSE 6920: The Scientific Basis of Climate, the first course in this EEMI 4-course online program is currently in session. Professor Rachael Jonassen, the program’s originator and director is the instructor. Dr. Tod Delaney, Dr. Mark Trexler, and Mr. Marco Buttazzoni, the three other instructors, are diligently working with the GW eDesign Shop to prepare the other three courses. For program details, go to the following link [https://eemi.seas.gwu.edu/greenhouse-gas-management-online-certificate-program].
Graduate Certificate Program: Environmental and Energy Systems Management. Three of the six courses in this program were offered in the fall of 2016. One of the three, EMSE 6992-11: Beyond Compliance: Next Generation Environmental Self-Governance had a successful debut as evidenced by the student ratings. For course details, go to the following link [https://eemi.seas.gwu.edu/course-offering-emse-6992-11]. For program details, go to the following link [https://eemi.seas.gwu.edu/environmental-and-energy-systems-management-certificate-program].
DoD Chemical & Material Risk Management (CMRM) Program. This program provides technical and management support to the Chemical & Material Risk Management Program of the Department of Defense. In January, EEMI Senior Research Scientist Dr. Kelly Scanlon began a year-long detail in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment via the Intergovernmental Personnel Act Mobility Program. Her support of DoD will continue to focus on risk assessment, life cycle assessment (LCA), and worker health and safety topics related to “emergent contaminants” and product stewardship activities.
Duke Energy Renewables: Microgrid Financing – Challenges and Solutions. Professor Ekundayo Shittu is collaborating with the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) to conduct a town hall in the upcoming February/March timeframe to present the research results. Participants will include Law and Engineering Schools. The report is presently being typeset by C2ES, after which it will be circulated externally to the micro-grid community and to academia. For more details, go to the following link https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/meet-inaugural-duke-energy-renewables-innovation-fund-awardees.
Research on Public-Private-Partnerships (P3) for the National Association of Water
Companies (NAWC) kick-off. Led by Professor Royce Francis, this multi-year research on public-private-partnerships for water supply and water treatment systems is kicking-off next month. It will investigate and contrast financing methods, regulatory compliance, performance drivers, cost-effectiveness, and risk allocation between facilities operated under public-private arrangements and those operated by municipalities.
EEMI/EEC Course Offerings. Through our partnership with the European Energy Centre (EEC), EEMI is offering the following 2-day short courses, scheduled in the next five months:
· “Practical Application of Circular Economy Methods” Roger Feldman and Ed Pinero
· “Environmental Management Beyond Compliance (Implementing an ISO 14001 System)” Joe Cascio
· “Renewable Energy Management & Finance” course, Michael Ware & Scott Sklar
· “Distributed Energy Generation” Scott Sklar
· “Solar Photovoltaic Fundamentals” Scott Sklar
CPLC Partnership. In November 2016, EEMI became an official academic partner of the World Bank/IFC Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC), joining Yale and MIT as academic partners of the CPLC. Dr. Rachael Jonassen, Director of the EEMI GHG Management Program, will serve as the EEMI Liaison. The Coalition is a voluntary partnership of 74 national and sub-national governments and more than 1,000 businesses and civil society organizations that agree to advance the carbon pricing agenda. Members of the Carbon Pricing Panel include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, French President François Hollande, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor Jerry Brown of California, and Mayor Eduardo Paes of Rio de Janeiro. EEMI will host a CPLC Seminar on April 20, 2017.
Exploring Opportunities in China:
· On August 22, 2016, EEMI hosted a seminar on “The Carbon Exchange in China.” Professors Jonathan Deason, Joe Cascio and Alex Beehler organized the event with the International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE). Main speakers at the event were Mr. Dewen Mei, President of the Beijing Environmental Exchange (CBEEX), and Dr. Ping He, President of IFCE. The EEMI is exploring partnership arrangements with the CBEEX and IFCE in conjunction with its new online graduate certificate program in Greenhouse Gas Management.
· EEMI has been approached with a proposal to establish some form of affiliation with a large (550 km2) industrial technology park (Huizhou) in Guandong Province (near Hong Kong). The general idea is to create a relationship that enables educational events (executive, seminar, certificate programs, etc.), promotes technology incubation, and can entertain research proposals from technology tenants in the Park. We have proposed an overarching agreement (LOI) with no financial or other mandatory commitments and are awaiting a response for further discussions.
Energy and Sustainability Extravaganza, Febrary 24, 2017. The AEE NCC and Leaders in Energy joined forces with EEMI for its 3rd annual Energy & Sustainability Extravaganza. The Extravaganza has two components:
a. AEE NCC Council on Women in Energy and Environmental Leadership (CWEEL) Luncheon Panel on “Career Perspectives in Sustainable Solutions”;
b. Leaders in Energy “Sustainable Solutions for Tomorrow’s Campuses” Showcase
Other Topics of Interest:
· The LMI Research Institute has awarded Prof. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) a one-year $50,000 grant for his project, “Developing a Low-Cost Integrated Internet of Things Ecosystem for Asset Management.” This project continues the development of a solution platform based on the use of IoT to create business efficiencies in parts replacement and robust condition-based maintenance, and to enhance worker productivity in certain functional areas. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, MD, where a demo of the outcome of the first phase of this project has been shown are keenly interested in this project. This is the third GW project with Prof. Shittu as PI that LMI has funded over the past three years.
· On December 12, Alex Beehler participated in a roundtable titled “The Role of Higher Education in Accelerating Clean Tech Innovation & Deployment" as part of the Global Solutions Summit (GSS) P80 Group gathering held at the University of Arkansas, Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock, Arkansas. Alex discussed the role of EEMI at GWU. The panel explored how universities are stimulating innovation in the field of clean technology research, applications, and global deployment.
· A presentation by Prof. Joe Cascio was delivered for him by Mr. Erik Puskar, Group Leader, Standards Services, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the October 12 workshop of the International Conference on Education of Standards (ICES). The conference was arranged by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Frankfurt, Germany. The presentation covered the educational content of international, voluntary consensus standards in the EEMI graduate certificate
program, Environmental and Energy Systems Management.
· On September 29, Dr. Kelly Scanlon, EEMI Senior Research Scientist, presented “Characterizing Life Cycle Occupational Health and Safety Impacts for the Department of Defense and its Supply Chain” at the annual meeting of the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment in Charleston, SC.
· The 2015 article "An approach to integrating occupational safety and health into life cycle assessment: development and application of work environment characterization factors," co-authored by Dr. Kelly Scanlon, Dr. Royce Francis, Assistant Professor, EMSE Department, and three others was recognized as a Best Paper by the Journal of Industrial Ecology.
· Dr. Kelly Scanlon, co-authored the paper "Conceptual framework to extend life cycle assessment using near-field human exposure modeling and high-throughput tools for chemicals" with colleagues from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
· Professor Joe Cascio chaired an ad-hoc team of U.S. standards experts to craft a statement on the value proposition of ISO management system standards (ISO/MSS). The statement was duly crafted and has been adopted for ISO’s use in characterizing the global value of such standards.
· Professor Joe Cascio, was invited, by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations, and Environment (OASD(EI&E)), to be a judge for the Secretary of Defense (SecDef) yearly Environmental Awards. Installations, teams, and individuals who receive the SecDef Environmental Awards consider it a great achievement and honor.
The 2017 award categories are:
1. Natural Resources Conservation
2. Environmental Quality (two awards)
3. Sustainability (two awards)
4. Environmental Restoration
5. Cultural Resources Management (two awards)
6. Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition
To read more about the awards and past winners, visit website at: www.denix.osd.mil/awards.