Rolling out the green carpet at SEAS

On April 23rd at the first annual Harvard Green Carpet Awards, sponsored by the Office for Sustainability, staff member Kate Zirpolo-Flynn and undergraduate Henry Xie '11 were honored with Individual Awards on behalf of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Each Harvard school was asked to nominate one staff member and one student in their respective communities to receive individual awards in recognition of exceptional contributions to sustainability at Harvard.

Specifically, Zirpolo-Flynn was honored for her efforts related to the Green Team at SEAS. She led the early push to establish a staff-based green team as well as helped to bring lab and faculty-based efforts into the fold.

The nomination letter read: "More than anyone, Kate has remained focused, vocal, and passionate about ensuring that the SEAS community makes going green not just a priority but a 'standard' way of working and living. Her continued enthusiasm and dedication have truly inspired the entire school. She is truly deserving of the Green Carpet Award."

Xie, a junior computer science concentrator, was selected for his development of the Harvard Reuse List an online space for swapping office supplies, furniture, and other used or surplus items from Harvard's workplaces.

The nomination letter read: "Henry is the ideal kind of engineering student, someone who has deep technical expertise, but at the same time can translate such skills into real solutions that can make an immediate difference on campus."

SEAS community members also nominated project-based efforts by faculty, staff, and students in the team categories:

• SEAS Facilities Office. SEAS has made a lot of progress towards reducing its carbon footprint thanks in large part to the hard work of the SEAS Facilities Office. Highlights include: achieving a 60% recycling rate (without composting); installation of efficient lighting; and implementation of automated energy management; and use of green cleaning products. The nomination letter read: "The SEAS custodial team are truly the definition of unsung heroes. While sustainability is not officially part of their primary job duties, they have made it a priority. In doing so, they have enabled and encouraged change and made it easier for all of us to go green."
• Engineering Sciences 96. As part of the course, students formed a Green Dorms team to design a room in one of the Houses to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. Another group formed an HVAC team to look at the latest breakthroughs in ventilation for full buildings.
• The Laboratory at Harvard.The Laboratory at Harvard helps students and faculty translate their ideas. A number of recent projects have been focused on green technologies: sOccket: a portable energy-harvesting power source in the form of a soccer ball; VertiGrow: a device that allows residents of slums to grow food by utilizing the vertical space along the sides of their houses or roofs; and Lebone Solutions, a social entrepreneurship start-up using an innovative way to convert “garbage” into energy to help light Africa.

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The new Harvard Green Carpet Awards recognize the many students, staff, and faculty across the University who are leading the way toward a more sustainable Harvard.

For more information about the awards celebration, visit:

http://green.harvard.edu/greencarpet