Building Energy Benchmarking: Energy Wise: Citizen Scientists and Open Data
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
12:00 PM-2:00 PM
This event will focus on issues of citizen science and data practices in relation to energy use. How does citizen science engage with local and regional energy issues? How do/could citizen science projects be leveraged to educate and shift citizen engagement with energy use? How do these projects work through digital platforms, and how often do citizen scientists collaborate with academics or campus communities?
“Energy Wise” panelists will describe citizen science projects they have worked on, highlighting how the projects 1) leverage digital platforms for data collection and public communication, 2) how citizen scientists work with universities or academic researchers, and 3) how these projects shift public thinking about energy use writ large.
Session Speakers:
- Gwen Ottinger, Drexel University
- Kirk Jalbert, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Nick Shapiro, Chemical Heritage Foundation
- Sara Wylie, Northeastern University
SPONSORS INCLUDE:
Institute for Energy and the Environment · Center for Science, Technology and Society · Center for Mobilities Research and Policy · Center for Electric Power Engineering · College of Engineering · College of Arts and Sciences
About the Shifting Energy Culture Project
The Shifting Energy Cultures Series is part of a multidisciplinary research project funded by the Institute for Energy and the Environment that explores the social ordering of choices, problems and practices that shape “energy cultures” in campus environments. We will use Drexel’s “smart grid” building system as a case study and living lab.
The Talk Series: This series of talks invites students and others on campus to look more closely at our electricity systems, power usage, and how “smart” technologies are helping us to understand campus energy usage better. A group of invited speakers will help us to bring energy issues to the foreground, engaging in discussions of energy efficiency and informing us about what resources exist to manage energy demand on campus, locally in our city, in our region and beyond.
The Survey: We will be conducting a short survey in the lobbies of five Drexel buildings (Hagerty Library, Pearlstein, Bossone, Main, and Creese). The survey takes approximately 5-10 minutes and is being recorded by a team of Drexel graduate students. The survey aims to understand how students, faculty, and staff interact with Drexel energy systems, how they understand energy technology (such as smart grids) and the energy market, and how energy efficient behaviors can be extended through improved interfaces and processes.
Next steps and additional information: The results from this project will be incorporated into a curated website that collects videos of each talk and related information and resources. We hope that this educational resource will help the campus community better understand their energy use practices and efforts to reduce demand. This website, its resources, and the results of this study will be available at:
http://www.envirohealthsense.org/project/shifting-energy-cultures-drexel/shifting-energy-culture-survey/.
Any questions about the study can be directed to
envirohealthsense@gmail.com.
Contact Information
Derek T. Parrott
406.529.8541
dpt54@drexel.edu
Attachments for this Event:
Location
NEW LOCATION! Creese Student Center, Behrakis Grand Hall, 3210 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19104
Audience
Special Features