In The Spotlight: Evan Solomonides and his Game Changing, Effective, & Less Expensive Bioplastic

By Jessie Miller

By Jessie Miller 9/22/15


I am a member of the Outreach Committee of the USGBC MA Chapter and we strive to highlight great people who are doing great work in the green building community and beyond. This month, I had the pleasure of meeting with Evan Solomonides. Evan is not your average brilliant freshman starting at Cornell this year (majoring in astrophysics and minoring in mathematics). He is also focused on sharing his innovative bioplastic with the world and taking the insulation industry by storm.

Evan is looking for a company to partner with and take his product to market. His thirty second elevator pitch is: “through this process which I developed, you can produce a plastic that can be processed into an insulation that is virtually as effective as the leading synthetic insulations but is cheaper, completely environmentally friendly, organic, non flammable, non toxic, environmentally safe in every way and for a greatly reduced cost.” The bioplastic concept originated during his junior year at Mass Academy of Math and Science in his STEM class project. With the class’ support, he zeroed in on his interest in material science: “the idea of taking raw materials and making an entirely new substance that has never existed before [is] so cool to me.” During this time, Evan read an article in Scientific American “about bio plastics [as well as] how horrible regular plastics are for the environment…how they are all toxic and petroleum based and they are horrifically inefficient to produce.” At the end of the day, he found his inspiration in bioplastics: “There is no reason there can’t be something better.”

After months of “messing around with compounds that could serve as bonding agents [and] plasticizers” he focused his efforts on using cheap, plentiful, and effective ingredients. After one night of leaving a pot filled with ingredients on the stove for too long, he realized that he had stumbled on a new type of bioplastic: “the thing that is special about it is that its so dirt cheap and thermally resistive” and eventually realized that he could “use it as an insulation.” He recognizes that bioplastics typically have a bad reputation since they are considered not as effective as typical insulative materials and are more expensive. Despite the bad rep, he asserts that his product  “is as effective [and] it’s less expensive.” Others agree with Evan. He has competed his product and recently won third and the BioGENEius Award at the Mass State Science Engineering Fair (MSSEF), as well as a Naval Science Research Award: “that went super well.” However, this win did not come without significant hurtles. Last year his efforts were brought to a standstill after a serious car accident that entered him into a coma for a month last year. He missed the MSSEF during his junior year and doctors suggested he not overstrain himself. However 

Evan was quickly back on his feet, continued to develop his product and made it into an award-winning, insulative bioplastic. Evan took his product once step further by engaging the outside world. He connected with a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute whom Evan had interned with in the past and worked with him to find “the exact thermal conductivity” of the bioplastic. He also leveraged his connections at Mass Academy and who introduced him to contacts in the plastics industry and in turn, these contacts helped him to develop his project for the MSSEF. In addition to networking, he reached out to multiple law firms to help obtain a provisional patent for his product. 

At the end of the day, Evan wants to work with a company that can take his product to market: “I’ve put a lot of work into this thing and I want to see it used.” Evan also recognizes the effective and inexpensive benefits of his product could translate well in developing countries, like insulating hospitals in the developing world with local starches. 

Evan’s story is one of perseverance, resiliency, ambition and humility. He’s not afraid to work hard, make mistakes and change course to maximize his product’s potential impact in this world. Evan’s determination to take his product to market with the help of an interested company is both contagious and inspiring.

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Interest, questions, comments about Evan’s work, please email outreach@usgbcma.org

If you know of someone who should be featured like Evan, please email outreach@usgbcma.org

WELL Building Standard Webinar

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Join us at SMMA's Cambridge office for an in-person webinar focused on introducing the WELL Building Standard. The WELL Building Standard® (WELL) is the world’s first building standard focused exclusively on human health and wellness. It marries best practices in design and construction with evidence-based medical and scientific research – harnessing the built environment as a vehicle to support human health and wellbeing. This webinar will provide an overview of the WELL Building Standard ideology, structure, and certification process. The medical basis for the concept categories is introduced along with design and construction strategies to create healthy buildings.

The objectives for the webinar are to:

  • Articulate the financial, societal, and environmental benefits of WELL certification
  • Identify the role of the International Well Building Institute and the WELL Building Standard
  • Recognize the structure of the WELL Building Standard
  • Explain the 7 concepts of the WELL Building standard, the strategies to achieve them, and the health impacts they address
  • Summarize the certification process of the WELL Building Standard

Register here!

 

 

On the cutting edge: National Grid

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Our chapter is comprised of many of the best leaders in the sustainability field and we are always excited to see what new strides they have made in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. National Grid is an international electricity and gas company and one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the world. They play a vital role in providing energy to millions of customers across the northeastern U.S. and Great Britain in an efficient, reliable, and safe manner. At National Grid, Doing the Right Thing underpins everything they do, and they have been recognised for the fifth year as one of the world's most ethical companies.

Doing the Right Thing is essentially their 'code of conduct' and it sets out how they do things at National Grid and offers guidelines for ethical compliance in important policy areas. It applies to all employees from the Board down and defines the values that underpin their everyday decisions. It provides guidance for dealing with different situations that they may face from time to time. They believe that ethical business behavior depends on all of us accepting our responsibility for upholding the highest standards of behaviour and decision-making.The World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies designation recognises companies that truly go beyond making statements about doing business “ethically” and translate those words into action. WME honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, they exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices today. 

Steve Holliday, CEO of National Grid since 2007 had some interesting perspectives on the future of the energy industry recently. “This industry is going through a tremendous transformation. We used to have a pretty good idea of what future needs would be. We would build assets that would last decades and that would be sure to cover those needs. That world has ended. Our strategy is now centered around agility and flexibility, based on our inability to predict or prescribe what our customers are going to want.” The assertion that we can no longer predict how energy usage will change, and moving from a one size fits all approach to a more consumer-focused unique approach, is certainly an interesting idea. Flexibility and agility would surely be key if this were true. Holliday cites certain worldwide trends that would suggest this change, including a movement towards distributed energy production and microgrids.

The rate of change of the energy industry has also caught many by surprise. Holliday states that “the amount of solar being added to the system is incredible. 1500 MW in the first three months of this year. That’s the capacity of two power stations. I made a comment to the Energy Minister four years ago that there was little probability we would have 20,000 MW of solar in the UK. Now three of our scenarios have more than 20,000 MW of solar by 2035.”

We look forward to seeing how these predictions will affect our Massachusetts energy industry. Check out the full article here.
 

Join us at the Green Breakfast: Transportation with Carrie Havey and Alyson Fletcher

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

event_GB_transportation

Come join us for a discussion on Location and Transportation as it relates to the LEED system. We will be hearing a short presentation whch will be folloed by a group discussion. Breakfast will be provided. This is a great networking opportunity as well as a way to dig into subject matter through a discussion. 

REGISTER HERE

Time:

September 23rd, 2015 8:30 AM   through   9:30 AM

Location:

50 Milk St, 17th Floor
Hercules Conference Room

 

 

 

 

 

This session will discuss the elements that make up a comprehensive multimodal transit system and how to integrate sustainable transit into a LEED project. To begin, Carrie Havey will take an in-depth look at the LEED v4 Location and Transportation (LT) credits. She will start with an overview of this new credit category and then take a closer look at some of the credits and how to achieve them. Discussion will include: credit options, cost implications, and tips for documenting credits. In the second half of this session, Alyson Fletcher will discuss designing communities that balance the needs of those who walk, bike, take transit and drive. Concepts such as complete streets, sustainable parking policies and best practices, downtown and regional mobility, transit-oriented development, and transportation demand management will be discussed.

Carrie Havey, LEED AP BD+C Project Manager at The Green Engineer, Inc.

Carrie Havey is a Project Manager with The Green Engineer, Inc. and has over fourteen years of experience in the fields of planning, landscape architecture, and sustainable design. As a project manager, she works with development and design teams from the visioning stage through construction completion, managing the LEED certification process and providing sustainable design guidance. Carrie is on the USGBC Massachusetts Board of Directors, is a member of the Collaborative for High Performance Schools Operations and Metrics Subcommittee, and is a member of the USGBC Location and Transportation Technical Advisory Group.

Alyson Fletcher Associate at NelsonNygaard

With a background in landscape architecture and architecture, Alyson brings an interdisciplinary approach to transportation planning. She has specific expertise in multimodal, parking, and transportation demand projects as well as drafting designs for improved intersections and streetscape facilities. Before joining NelsonNygaard as a transportation planner, Alyson was an intern on the Neighborhood Bikeways Campaign at the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago and a Public Landscape Design and Management Intern at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in Philadelphia.

GRESB Networking Night Tomorrow

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Tomorrow night join us, USGBC National, and EnerNOC to learn about the next level of green building market transformation. 

Our friends at EnerNOC are excited to take us on a tour with presenters from GRESB international headquarters. 

The 2015 survey results are out and we want to invite you to join us and our friends at GRESB to review the results together at EnerNOC’s upcoming networking night on September 22nd. Complimentary drinks and appetizers will be served!

Where: EnerNOC Headquarters – 1 Marina Park Drive, Boston, MA

Agenda:

5:15 pm – 6:00 pm   Networking, Drinks, and Appetizers

6:00 pm – 6:10 pm  Opening remarks, EnerNOC

6:10 pm – 6:40 pm  2015 GRESB Results and Q&A , Chris Pyke, COO, GRESB

6:40 pm – 7:00 pm  Conversation with Boston Properties

·         Dan Winters, Head of North America, GRESB

·         Amy Gindel, SVP Finance & Planning, Boston Properties

·         Ben Myers, Sustainability Manager, Boston Properties

·         Jon Hartnett, Commercial Real Estate Team Lead, EnerNOC

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm – Drinks, Reception, and Networking

 

To join, please register on their website!

On the cutting edge: Tsoi/Kobus & Associates

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Our chapter is comprised of many of the best leaders in the sustainability field and we are always excited to see what new strides they have made in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. Now in its 30th year, Cambridge-based Tsoi/Kobus & Associates is one of the nation’s leading architecture, planning, and interior design firms for life sciences, college and university, healthcare, and commercial real estate projects. The firm is known for creating environments that advance the discovery of new knowledge and for award-winning designs that combine cutting-edge technology with compassion and creativity.

Their mission is to play an active role as sustainability leaders within the A/E/C community through outreach, research, knowledge and sharing. Their core market sectors each have missions fundamentally aligned with the goals of sustainability. Whether to promote rest and wellbeing (healthcare), facilitate learning (higher education), or establish efficiency and best practices (laboratory environments), their focus is on adding value for clients and creating memorable experiences. Delivery of these goals demands a high level of expertise and rigor that is essential to their success and viability as a practice.

Blake Jackson, Sustainability Practice Leader at TK&A is one associate that truly embodies this mission. Versed in all things sustainable, Blake provides multidisciplinary guidance for integrated project teams. He carefully articulates their approach toward sustainable design and is a passionate team player who is able to coordinate green practices within multiple large-scale projects. Blake’s international experience and certifications add to his status as a leader within the firm and design community.

Take a look at some of their cutting edge work:

Stokes Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Center for Life Science, Boston


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loeb Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the cutting edge: emersion DESIGN

By Celis Brisbin, Programs Manager

By  on October 8, 2013 in AdministrativeGovernmentNon-profitWorkplace

The Massachusetts Chapter would like to thank Chad Edwards and Shawn Hesse for visiting our office last week to present on the their Net-Zero Police Station in Cincinatti. The project is a great example of how net zero was a great decision for Cincinatti but came with it's hurdles.

Cincinnati Police
District 3 Headquarters

The City of Cincinnati has commissioned emersion DESIGN as part of a design-build team to design and construct the District 3 Police Station Headquarters. This new 40,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility is located on the City’s west side and will allow 200 of Cincinnati’s finest to better respond to citizens’ needs in the 14 western neighborhoods encompassed by District 3.

The building program includes a public lobby, administrative spaces, investigations offices and work areas, patrol functions, file and records storage, property and evidence handling areas, support areas for the police staff, and mechanic’s bays.

Additionally, this headquarters has the potential to become the first Net-Zero-Energy police station east of the Rocky Mountains. Working with the police staff, neighborhood committees, and city planners, aggressive goals have been set to reduce life-cycle cost of the building while maintaining function for police activities, security for occupants, and an aesthetically appealing design within the community. The project will act as a catalyst for appropriate means to integrate both environmental and community sustainability.

Paying particular attention to notable existing buildings in the 14 District 3 neighborhoods, features from each were transformed to create a city building that meshes into the fabric of the existing community. Community engagement, through the neighborhood committees, will factor into the design process as well as public art within the building and on the surrounding site.

emersion DESIGN is a collaborative architecture, interiors, ecoconsulting, planning and engineering practice located in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are driven by a passion for exceptional designs that advance clients, nature and society. ‘emersion’ signifies immersion and emergence. They dive into each client’s needs and aspirations to ascend with solutions that are both strategic instruments and inspiring spaces. Portfolio

Join us for Greenbuild 2015!

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


In just two months Greenbuild 2015 will be held in Washington D.C. This conference and expo is the premier event for sustainable building. The three days will include speakers, networking opportunities, showcases, LEED workshops, and tours of green buildings in Washington, DC. A number of the speakers are also members of our USGBC Massachusetts Chapter, including Robert Andrews.

Bob is the Partner Managing Director in the Cambridge office for A|H|A Consulting Engineers. He has been involved with LEED projects and LEED related consulting for more than 14 years, and was one of the original LEED AP's in 2001. Bob has been personally involved with more than 80 LEED certified projects. He has a BSME from UMASS Amherst, and has been an HVAC Engineer and Project Manager for more than 29 years.

The Massachusetts Chapter is planning transportation down to the event and discounted group accomodations, email here for more information. For more details about the conference check out their website here.

On the cutting edge: Gilbane Building Company

By Allison Maynard, Communications Associate


Our chapter is comprised of many of the best leaders in the sustainability field and we are always excited to see what new strides they have made in their work. Their ingenuity and tireless commitment to sustainability are what make our chapter such a wonderful community of professionals. One such company is Gilbane Building Company.

Gilbane understands the impact the life-cycle of a building has on the environment, from material acquisition to transportation, construction, use, and eventual disuse. As part of their Gilbane Cares program, they’ve established their Sustainability Council and Green Teams who go beyond the basic issues of going green. Their corporate Sustainability Council is a central clearinghouse for providing project support and the most up-to-date information to our employees and their Green Teams assist their offices worldwide with collecting and disseminating the latest technologies, policies and actions relating to LEED, Green Globes, and other rating systems.

Check out some of the amazing work Gilbane has been doing locally and nationally:

Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems – Boston, MA


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul W. Crowley East Bay Metropolitan Career and Technical Center (MET) – Newport, RI


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design – Kent, OH